Uncle Sam is the personification of the United States of America. First given its unique name in 1813 by a meat packer from Troy, New York named Samuel Wilson, it was popularized in the 1860s and 1870s by the cartoonist Thomas Nast. About the Creator: Wiswell is likely William Wiswell, an engraver at 70 West 4th Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the copyright holder of the image that appears on this envelope.