James Wilson was born in Carskerdo, near St. Andrews, Scotland. His parents were William Wilson and Alison Landall. Wilson attended a number of universities in Scotland without attaining a degree. Imbued with the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in British America in 1766, carrying valuable letters of introduction. These helped Wilson to begin tutoring and then teaching at The Academy and College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania). He petitioned there for a degree and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts several months later.