Editing Henry Wilson (section)

==Career==
[[File:Henry Wilson shoeshop.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Henry Wilson's shoeshop in [[Natick, Massachusetts]]]]
[[File:A gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts - with numerous illustrations (1890) (14580448908).jpg|thumb|right|Henry Wilson's Natick home.]]
After trying and failing to find work in New Hampshire, in 1833 Wilson walked more than one hundred miles to [[Natick, Massachusetts]], seeking employment or a trade.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} Having met William P. Legro, a shoemaker who was willing to train him, Wilson hired himself out for five months to learn to make leather shoes called [[Brogan (shoes)|brogans]].{{sfn|Giddings|1889|p=551}}  Wilson learned the trade in a few weeks, bought out his employment contract for fifteen dollars, and opened his own shop, intending to save enough money to study law.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} Wilson had success as a shoemaker, and was able to save several hundred dollars in a relatively short time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bateman |first=Horatio |date=1871 |title=Biographies of Two Hundred and Fifty Distinguished National Men |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zgEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA164 |location=New York |publisher=John T. Giles & Co. |page=164 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> This success gave rise to legends about Wilson's skill; according to one story that grew with retelling, he once attempted to make one hundred pairs of shoes without sleeping, and fell asleep with the one hundredth pair in his hand.{{sfn|Hide and Leather 1919|page=36}}  Wilson's [[shoemaking]] experience led to the creation of the political nicknames his supporters later used to highlight his [[Working class in the United States|working class]] roots—the "''Natick Cobbler''" and the "''Natick Shoemaker''".{{sfn|Winks|1883|p=362}}

During this time Wilson read extensively and joined the Natick Debating Society, where he developed into an accomplished speaker.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} Wilson's health suffered as the result of the long hours he worked making shoes, and he traveled to Virginia to recuperate.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} During a stop in Washington, D.C., he heard Congressional debates on slavery and [[abolitionism]], and observed African American families being separated as they were bought and sold in the Washington slave trade.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} Wilson resolved to dedicate himself "to the cause of emancipation in America,"{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} and after regaining his health returned to [[New England]], where he furthered his education by attending several New Hampshire academies, including schools in [[Stratford, New Hampshire|Strafford]], [[Wolfeboro, New Hampshire|Wolfeboro]], and [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]].{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}}

Having spent part of his savings on his traveling and schooling, and having lost some as the result of a loan that was not repaid, Wilson worked as a schoolteacher to get out of debt and begin saving money again, intending to start a business of his own.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}} Beginning with an investment of only twelve dollars, Wilson started a shoe manufacturing company.{{sfn|McKay|1971|p=16}} This venture proved successful, and he eventually employed over 100 workers.{{sfn|Haynes|1936|p=323}}