Joseph Lapsley Wilson

Joseph Lapsley Wilson (September 17, 1844 in Philadelphia – April 12, 1928 in Merion, Pennsylvania) was an American railroad executive, author and horticulturalist.

Part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, he served as the troop's captain, 1889-1894, and wrote its centennial history in 1875.

Forty years later, he revised and updated the history: Book of the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, 1774-1914 (1915).

He built a mansion, "Red Slates", and turned the grounds into an arboretum, collecting more than 200 specimens of trees.

In 1922, he sold the estate to Dr. Albert C. Barnes, and he and his wife moved to a smaller house on the property.