Wilson W. Hensley (McMahan) was born in Burnsville (Yancey County), North Carolina on March 14, 1839. Hensley was a Confederate veteran and farmer who served as a member of the Mitchell Peak Park Commission in 1915. He died in Bald Creek (Yancey County) on January 16, 1919. Records indicate he may have been adopted in his youth, his birth surname being McMahan.