bishop of Sodor and Man, was born in 1663, at Burton, in Cheshire. He received the rudiments of his education at the county town, and from thence was removed to the university of Dublin. His allowance at the university was L20 a year; a sum, small as it may now appear, which was in those days sufficient for a sober youth in so cheap a country as Ireland. His first intention was to apply himself to the study of physic; but from this he was diverted by Archdeacon Hewetson, by whose advice he dedicated himself to the church. He continued at college till the year 1686, when, on the 29th of June, he was ordained deacon by the bishop of Kildare.

The exact time of his leaving Dublin is not known, but, on account of the political and religious disputes of those days, it was sooner than he intended. On the 10th of December in the same year he was licensed to the curacy of New Church in Winwick, of which Dr Sherlock, his maternal uncle, was rector. His stipend was no more than L30 a year; but being an excellent economist, and having the advantage of living with his uncle, this small sum was not only sufficient to supply his own wants, but it enabled him to supply the wants of others; and for this purpose he set apart one tenth of his income. In 1692 he was appointed domestic chaplain to William earl of Derby, and tutor to his son James Lord Strange, with a salary of L30 a year. He was soon after elected master of the alms-house at Latham, which brought him L20 a year more. Having now an income far beyond his expectations or his wishes, except as it increased his ability to do good, he set apart one fifth of it for pious uses, and particularly for the poor. In short, as his income increased he increased the portion of it which was allotted to the purposes of charity. At first he set apart a tenth, then a fifth, afterwards a third, and lastly, when he became a bishop, he dedicated the full half of his revenues to pious and charitable uses.

He had not been long in the family of Lord Derby before he was offered the valuable living of Buddesworth in Yorkshire, which he refused to accept, as being inconsistent with the resolves of his conscience against non-residence, the earl choosing still to retain him as chaplain, and tutor to his son. In 1697 he was promoted, not without some degree of compulsion on the part of his patron, to the bishopric of Man, a preferment which he held fifty-eight years. In 1698 he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Patten, Esq. of Warrington. By this lady, who survived her marriage above six years, he had four children, none of whom survived him except the late Dr. Wilson, prebendary of Westminster.

So great was the bishop's attachment to his flock, that no temptation could seduce him from their service. He more than once refused the offer of an English bishopric. There is an anecdote of Bishop Wilson and Cardinal Fleury, which reflects great credit on both. The cardinal wanted much to see him, and sent over on purpose to inquire after his health, his age, and the date of his consecration, as they were the two oldest bishops, and he believed the poorest, in Europe; at the same time inviting him to France. The bishop sent the cardinal an answer which gave him so high an opinion of him that the cardinal obtained an order that no French privateer should ravage the Isle of Man. This good prelate lived till the year 1755, dying at the advanced age of ninety-three. His Works were collected by his son in 1780, 2 vols. 4to. Another edition was published in 2 vols. fol. by the Rev. Clement Cruttwell, who likewise published an edition of the Bible in 3 vols. 4to, with notes by Bishop Wilson.