Born in Coldwater, Mississippi, Wilson attended the public schools of his native city.

He was graduated from the law department of the University of Mississippi at Oxford in 1913.

He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced the practice of law in Laurel, Mississippi.

He was appointed a Federal judge for the Virgin Islands and served from 1933 until 1935.

He served as member of the Parole Board in the Justice Department, Washington, D.C. from 1935 to 1947.