History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 39

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III > Part 39

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"Being now requested by Lawrence Wilkinson, to make search for the an- ciente coate Armor belonging to that name and Familye, which fynde to be Azure a fesse erminiois between thre unicorns passant Argent, and for that I can fynde noe Crest proper or be- longing thereunto, as unto manye anci- ente coates at this day there is wanting, he hath further requested me to confrme unto him such a one as he maye law- fullye beare-I hav likewise condescend- ed and allowyde him the Crest ensvinge, (vide) a demy unicorne erazed erminoys standing on a murall crown gules, as more plainly appearth depicted in the margent hereof. All of which Arms amd Crest, I the said Richard St. George Norrey, doe give, grant, ratifye and con- fyrme unto sayd Lawrence Wilkenson and to the several descendants of hys bodye forever, bearing their due dif- ferences."

Lawrence Wilkinson, the younger, first above mentioned, was born in Lan- caster. county Durham, at about the date of the confirmation of the arms to his grandsire as above recited. He became a lieutenant in the army of Charles I., and was taken prisoner by the Scotch

and Parlimentary troops on the surren- der of Newcastle-on-Tyne, October 22, 1644. In common with many others who. fell into the hands of the enemies of the crown, he was deprived of his property. On the records of sequestrations in Dur- ham we find the following item, in the period between 1645 and 1647: "Lawrence Wilkinson, of Lancaster, officer in arms, went to New England." His estate hav- ing been sequestered and sold, he ob- tained permission from Lord Fairfax to. emigrate to America, and in 1652, with his wife and son, he settled in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, where lie had lands granted him. He was made a freeman in 1658, and in 1673 was chosen deputy to the general court. He was known as Captain Wilkinson, and was a soldier in the Indian wars. He was a member of colonial assembly which met at Ports- mouth in 1659. He died May 9, 1692. This Lawrence Wilkinson had married Susannah Smith, daughter of Christo- pher Smith, who also settled at Provi- dence, Rhode Island. The children of Lawrence and Susannah (Smith) Wil- kinson, were six, viz: Samuel, Susan- nah, John, Joanna. Josias, and another Susannah. While we are chiefly con- cerned with the descendants of Samuel. the eldest of the above children, it might be pertinent to here state that John, the second son, married Huldah Aldrich, of Rhode Island, and their son, Ichabod Wilkinson, born in Rhode Island in 1720, removed to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, bringing a certificate from Smithfield, Rhode Island, to Wrightstown Meeting of Friends, 12 mo. 1, 1742, and married at that meeting, 7 mo. 7, 1743, Sarah Chapman, of Wrightstown, and settled at New Hope, where he erected a forge in 1753, and became the owner of exten- sive tracts of land in Solebury township .. He died prior to 1780, leaving children: Joseph: Zibiah, wife of Peter Ink; Sa- rah, wife of John Prince; Huldah and Mary, some of whom have left descend- ants in Bucks county.

Samuel Wilkinson, eldest son of Law- rence and Susannah, married Plain Wickenden, daugliter of Rev. William Wickenden, the second pastor of the first Baptist church in America. Samuel Wilkinson was commissioned a captain in the provincial militia of Rhode Island, April 4, 1697, and took part in the carly Indian wars. He was a surveyor, and assisted in running the line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island in 1711. He was also a member of the provincial assembly, and a justice of the peace. He died August 27, 1827. He took a very active part in the Indian wars, and the old records of Providence give abund- ant evidence of the high position he held in provincial affairs. A summary of the positions he held. as taken from the original records. is, as follows: Samuel Wilkinson appointed constable July 12,

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

1683: swore allegiance to Charles I, May 1, 1682; chosen justice of the peace May 3. 1704; October, 1705, Captain Samuel Wilkinson, deputy to colonial assembly for Providence; February 25, 1708, fc- appointed deputy; October 27, 1707, Cap- tain Samuel Wilkinson, deputy to as- sembly held at Warwick; October 31, 1716, deputy for Providence; May 14, 1719, Captain Samuel Wilkinson appoint- ed to settle boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. (John and Josiah, brothers of Samuel were also in the Indian Wars, and the historians say "fought valiantly").

Samuel and Plain Wilkinson were the parents of six children, viz: Samuel, John. William, Joseph, Ruth, and Sus- annah. Of these Ruth married William Hopkins, and became the mother of two distinguished men, Stephen Hopkins for many years governor of Rhode Island, and a signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, and Essex Hopkins, the first commander of an American fleet in 1776.

John Wilkinson, second son of Sam- uel and Plain Wilkinson, was born on his father's homestead at Loquiessett, Providence, Rhode Island, on January 25, 1677-8. He left there when a young man and located in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, where he married Mary He later removed to Wrights- town township, and in 1713 purchased three hundred and seven acres of lan' lying partly in the three townships of Wrightstown, Warwick and Bucking- ham, near what is now Rushland Sta- tion, on the Northeast Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1728 he returned to Provi- dence and participated in the settlement of his father's estate, signing on July 3 of that year a power of attorney for his brothers and brothers-in-law. to sell his father's land. The deed for the land, dated July 6, 1728, and recorded at Providence, is signed by Josiah Wilk- inson, of Providence, John Wilkinson of Wrightstown, in the county of Bucks and Province of Pennsylvania, William Hopkins and Ruth, his wife, James An- gell and Susanna his wife, David, Sam- uel, and Huldah Wilkinson, Ichabod Comstock and Zabiah his wife, and Jo- seph Arnold and Patience his wife. John Wilkinson was one of the justices of the peace of Bucks county who were commissioned to hold the court of com- mon pleas, quarter sessions and orphans' court for the county, and he became a large landowner on both sides of Ne- shaminy, and a prominent man in the community. He was an active member of Wrightstown Friends' .Meeting. His will is dated February, 1751, and was proven April 23, 1751. He had seven children, viz: Mary, born July 17, 1709, married Joseph Chapman; Keziah, mar- ried Thomas Ross, and was the grand- mother of Judge John Ross (see Ross family) ; Plain, married Peter Ball; Su-

sanna, married Adrien Dawes; Ruth, married Joseph Chapman; John, see for- ward; Josiah, who married Rosanna Kemble and (second) Mary Carver, daughter of William Carver and Mary Walmsley; and Joseph, who married Barbara Lacy. The last two removed to Chester county in 1762.

John Wilkinson, son of John above mentioned, was born in the year 1711. He became a very prominent citizen of Bucks county, serving in the colonial . assembly for the years 1761, 1762-3, and in that of the commonwealth of Penn- sylvania for the years 1776-1781, and 1782, and as a justice of the peace from 1764 to 1774 inclusive. At the organi- zation of the committee of safety in 1774 he participated therein, and was one of the delegates from Bucks county to the conference held at Philadelphia July July 15, 1774; was selected on December 15, 1774, as one of the committee of ob- servation; was again a delegate to the provincial convention at Philadelphia, January 23, 1775, and a member of the first constitutional convention, July 15, 1776. When, however, it became evident that war would ensue, he, with a num- ber of other members of the Society of Friends, on July 21, 1775, "alleging scruples of conscience relative to the business necessarily transacted by the Committee, desired to be relieved from · further attendance." Later, however, his patriotic feelings got the better of his religious feelings; and in spite of the protests of Wrightstown Meeting, of which he was a member, he again united himself with the defenders of the rights of his country. and continued to take an active part in that defence until his death on May 31, 1782, serving as lieutenant- colonel of militia, and filling other im- portant positions. He was appointed lieutenant-cononel of the Third Bucks County Associators, August 16, 1775; and member of conference of delegates for all the counties at Philadelphia, July 18, 1776. He was constantly on important committees as representative of either the assembly or the commit- tee of safety, in both of which he rep- resented his district, during the most trying time of the Revolution. He was appointed justice of the peace and judge of the court of common pleas, September 3, 1776; committee and referee to In- dian lands; one of committee to consider draft and report to the house what laws it will be necessary should be passed, at this season; (Journals of Assembly, vol. i. p. 133); was appointed by assem- bly one of committee to consider an act for emitting the sum of 200,000 pounds in bills of credit for the defence of the State, and providing a fund for sinking the same by tax on all estate, real and personal: as a member of the committee of safety he served upon the committee of observation and committee of cor-

LIEUT. COL. JOHN WILKINSON

THE NEW PUBLIC LIEF AL

ANTON, LENTY AND TILDN F

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

respondence, and was a delegate to the second convention and conferences, and also, February 19, 1763, was appointed a committee to audit accounts of Ben- jamin Franklin. He died May 31, 1782. The Pennsylvania Gazette of June 19, 1782, has the following obituary article: "On Friday, the 31st ult., departed this life at Wrightstown, in the county of Bucks, John Wilkinson, Esq., in the seventy-first year of his age, after a long and painful illness, and on the Sunday following his remains were interred in the Friends' burying ground, the fun- eral being attended by a very large con- course of people of all denominations. Mr. Wilkinson was a man of very repu- table abilities and of a sound judgment, scrupulously just in all of his transac- tions, free from bigotry to religion or to party, and a friend to merit whenever it was found. As a companion, a friend, a neighbor, a master, an husband, a father, a guardian to the orphan and the wid- ow, his life was amiable and exemplary. He served his people in several import- ant offices with fidelity and applause, under the old constitutions as well as the new. His conduct in the present Revo- lution was such as entitled him to the peculiar esteem of all the friends of this country, but it drew on him the rage of enthusiastic bigots.

"He was born and educated among the people called Quakers, and was a member in full standing in the Wrights- town Meeting. His life was an orna- ment to the Society.

"He mingled not in idle strife and furious debates, but lived as became a Christian, studying peace with all men.

"His principles led him to believe that defensive war was lawful. He was strongly attracted to a republican form of government and the liberties of the people, and when Great Britain, by her folly and wickedness, made it necessary to oppose her measures from judgment and principle he espoused the cause of his country. He was unanimously chosen a member of our convention, and after- wards served in the Assembly with zeal and integrity, becoming a freeman and a Christian.

"This unhappily aroused the resent- ment of the Society with which he was connected, so that one committee after another were dealing with him and per- secuting him to give a testimonial re- nunciation of what they were pleased to consider as errors of his political life, though there was no rule or order of the meeting which made his conduct a crime.

"This demand he rejected although as tending to belie his own conscience, but at length. worried with their impor- tunities, weakened by the growing in- firmities of age, and fondly hoping that. his country might dispense with his sery- ices, he consented to promise that he

would hold no other appointments under the constitution.

"This seemed to be satisfactory for a time, but, when Sir William Howe be- gan his victorious march through Penn- sylvania, a more pressing sense of duty urged his brethren to renew their visit, while his dear son lay dying in his house, and to demand an immediate and preemptory renunciation of his past conduct.

"Provoked by this indecent and unfeel- ing application he gave them a decisive answer, and preferred the honest dictates of his conscience to his membership in the meeting and was, for his patriotism alone, formally expelled as unworthy of Christian fellowship.

"The testimony of the meeting against him on this occasion was heretofore pub- lished in this paper. We trust he is now in those mansions where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest."

Colonel Wilkinson was twice married. By his first wife, Mary Lacy, married 3 mo. 21, 1740, who was a sister to General John Lacey, he had five chil- dren: Mary, born in 1741, married Steph- en Twining: John, married Jane Chap- man; Stephen, James and Rachel, all died unmarried. By his second wife, Han- nah Hughes, (born 3 mo. 7, 1742, mar- ried 2 mo., 1770. died April 18, 1791), he had four children: Martha, who married a Bennett: Ann Lucy, married General Samuel A. Smith: Hannah, who married May 22, 1796, Abner Reeder, and re- moved to Trenton, and Colonel Elisha Wilkinson. Hannah Hughes, the sec- ond wife of Colonel John Wilkinson, was a daughter of Professor Mathew Hughes, Jr., (he was lieutenant-colonel of the Associated Regiment of Bucks county, 1747-8) and Elizabeth Steven- son, married March 17, 1733, the latter being a daughter of Thomas Stevenson and Sarah Jennings, and granddaughter of Thomas Stevenson, of Newtown, Long Island, and Elizabeth Lawrence, daugh- ter of Colonel William Lawrence.

Sarah Jennings was a daughter of Governor Samuel Jennings, of New Jersey. Mathew Hughes, Sr., the grandfather of Hannah Wilkinson, was a very prominent man in Buckingham, Bucks county, a member of assembly, justice, etc. His wife was Elizabeth (Biles) Beaks, daughter of William Biles. provincial counsellor, and widow of Stephenson Beaks, the record of whom is noted elsewhere in this volume.

The Wilkinsons now residing in Bucks county are principally the descendants of John and Jane (Chapman) Wilkinson, who had children, John, Abraham, Elias and Amos. John, the father of these children, died in 1778, and on his death- bed received from his father a deed for one hundred and fifty acres of the old homestead, that part of his grandfather's

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

purchase lying in Warwick township, and it has descended from father to son to the present day, being now occupied by Charles T. Wilkinson, a grandson of Abraham, the son of John and Jane (Chapman) Wilkinson. (See sketch of Charles T. Winkinson in this volume.) Colonel Elisha Wilkinson, born 1772, died March 15, 1846, youngest son of John and Hannah (Hughes) Wilkinson, became a very prominent man in Bucks county. He was lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty-first Regiment Pennsylvania militia, as early as 1807, and filled that position and that of colonel for many years. He was sheriff of Bucks county for the term of 1809-18II. During the war of 1812-14 he was quarter-master of the Second Division, First Brigade, Pennsylvania militia, of which his

He died of cholera, while on a visit to Paris, France, June 20, 1854, at the age of twenty-five years, and is buried at Mount Parnasse, Paris. 5. Elisha, died in infancy. 6. Algernon Logan Wilkin- son, born October 22, IS21, settled in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1844, where he practiced medicine, married, and reared a family of children.

Anna (Dungan) Wilkinson belonged to one of the oldest families in Pennsyl- vania. Her father, Elias Dungan, was a soldier during the Revolution, and a prominent member and deacon of South- ampton Baptist church. He was a son of Clement and Eleanor Dungan, and a grandson of Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Drake) Dungan, and a great-grandson of Rev. Thomas and Elizabeth (Weav- er) Dungan, who came from Rhode Isl- and in 1684, and established the first Baptist church in Bucks county. (See Dungan Family).

brother-in-law, General Samuel A. Smith, was brigadier-general. He later became assistant quartermaster general of Pennsylvania Volunteer militia. He Ogden Dungan Wilkinson, second son of Colonel Elisha and Anna (Dungan) Wilkinson, was born in Bucks county, 1807; married, March 6, 1834, Sarah Snowhill Dill, born August 16, 1801, daughter of George Dill and Ann Red- inger, who were married at Germantown, February 6, 1797, she being the daughter of John Redinger and Elizabeth Beker, who were married February 14, 1758. George Dill was the son of John and Elizabeth Dill; his father, John Dill, was an officer during the Revolutionary war. George Dill was born February 7, 1772, settled in Trenton, New Jersey, and April 2, 1798, purchased his home- was proprietor of the inn at Bushington from 1805 to 1809, and from ISII to 1836 of the popular hotel at Centreville, Buckingham township. He was a man of fine appearance and a great horse- man. He introduced into Bucks county a very fine breed of Arabian horses, and maintained a track near his tavern, where his blooded colts were broken and trained. He was twice married, first on April II, 1792, to Anna Dungan, daughter of Elias and Diana (Carrell) Dungan, of Northampton township, who bore him four children: John A., a mem- ber of the Doylestown bar, wifo died in 1830; Ogden D., see forward. Eleangy stead property. He was one of the larg- born March 22, 1794, married October est real estate holders in Trenton, and did much to build up and improve the city. He was interested in numerous business enterprises, was one of the founders of the Mechanics' Bank and for some years its president. Ogden Dun- gan Wilkinson moved to Trenton, New Jersey, in 1832. He and his brother- in-law, Crispin Blackfan, built the Dela- ware and Raritan Canal, from Trenton to New Brunswick. They were many years in business together and opened up and built up much of the city. 18, 18II, Crispin Blackfan, who was prothonotary of Bucks county in 1821- 4, and later removed to Trenton, New Jersey. Nommal died May 8, 1818, and Blackfan married her sister, HAVntk born August 14, 1796, died December 6, 1858. Anna (Dungan) Wilkinson died May 31, 1810, aged thirty-six years, and Colonel Elisha married (second) Maria Whiteman, by whom he had six children: I. Sarah Ann, who died at Trenton. New Jersey, in 1880, unmar -- ried: 2. Ross Wilkinson, who was edit- Ogden Wilkinson (or Colonel Wilkin- son, as he was known, he having been colonel of militia), was one of Trenton's most influential citizens. He was inter- ested in many of the business enterprises and acted as director of several of the banks and filled other local as well as municipal positions of trust. He died August 24, 1866. His wife died Febru- ary 16. 1891. They were the parents of several children, only one of whom, Frederick Redinger, survived infancy. cated at West Point. and served as a ma- jor during the civil war, and after its close purchased a plantation in Louisi- ana, where he died in 1880. He was Uni- ted States .marshal of the district at the time of his death. He married Hannah Ann Folwell, of Philadelphia, and had two children; his son, Henry Clay Wilk- inson, was also educated at West Point, and was adjutant of Coloney Woodman's Forty-fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers during the civil war. 3. Frederick Redinger Wilkinson, only surviving child of Ogden D. and Sarah Snowhill (Dill) Wilkinson, was born in Trenton June 9. 1837; and graduated from Princeton, in the class of 1857. He married, January 24, 1860, Harriet Sarah Samuel Smith Wilkinson left Bucks county and settled in Dallas, Texas, where he died, February 26, 1879. 4. Edward Blackfan Wilkinson, was a dent- ist, and located at Huntsville, Alabama.

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

Folwell, born December 13, 1839, daugh- ter of Robert Folwell and Harriet Gra- ham. Robert Folwell, born April 5, 1800, died July 10, 1875, was son of Nathan and Rebecca (Iredell) Folwell; Harriet Gra- ham, born April 24, 1815, died January 18, 1842, was daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Lasher) Graham. Thomas Gra- ham was a son of Michael Graham, and Margaret Kittera, daughter of Thomas Kittera.

Frederick R. Wilkinson was a lawyer and resided in Trenton, New Jersey, but owing to his large real estate interests did not practice. He was actively inter- ested in a number of financial enterpris- es, was for many years director of the Mechanics' Bank and the People's and Standard Fire Insurance companies, and held a number of important positions both in private and municipal affairs. He was one of the influential men of the city. He died December 30, 1883. They were the parents of three children, two of whom are now living. Ogden Dungan, the subject of the sketch; and Eliza- beth Dill, wife of Louis Gompertz, now living in Paris, France; they are the parents of four children: Harriet, Helen, Ogden and Francisque.

Ogden D. Wilkinson, son of Frederick Redinger and Harriet (Folwell) Wilk- inson, was born in Trenton, New Jer- sey. May 2, 1863, and now resides at 2031 Walnut street, Philadelphia. His early education was acquired at Chel- tenhan Academy, and at Tivoli Military Academy. He later spent some time abroad, and attended Mr. Edward Foazy's school at Geneva, Switzerland. On his return to America he attended Phillips- Andover Academy and the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of his University course he read law, but the care of the large family interests. most of which consisted of valuable real estate in the city of Trenton, have al- most entirely engrossed his attention, and he has of late years devoted his entire attention to the improvement of the property there. He has built and owns some of the most valuable and important buildings in the business cen- tre of Trenton, among them being the new State Street Theatre, said to be one of the most complete and attractive play houses in the State. The large department store opposite the postoffice: the Wilkinson building; the Hotel Ster- ling; and many others. Among the most extensive and attractive of Mr. Wilkin- sont's building operations. is Wilkinson Place, a very attractive residence portion of the thriving city of Trenton, consist- ing of two large apartment houses and forty-five very attractive and stylish dwellings. While not a resident of Trenton, having large interests there. he is deeply interested in the affairs of the citv. and in its improvement and devel- opment and spends much of his time there.

In Philadelphia he has been for many years quite actively interested in the patriotic societies of that city, and has from time to time acted as a member of the councils of most of them. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution; the Founders and Patriots' Society; Colonial Society of Pennsylvania, of which he is a mem- ber of the council; Society of the War of 1812; member and secretary of Pennsyl- vania Commandery, Military Order of Foreign Wars; member of the Order of Albion; the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania; Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Bucks County Historical Society: Society of Descendants of Co- lonial Governors: Union League Club of Philadelphia; New York Yacht Club; and of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia, of which he was a found- er and its first vice-commodore, and for several years commodore. He owned the schooners "Lydia" and "Speranza," and the steam yacht "Speranza."

During the Spanish-American war Mr. Wilkinson, after offering his services to the volunteer navy, assisted in organiz- ing the Wetmore Regiment, which was tendered to the United States, but, not being accepted, was finally distributed among the several National Guard regi- ments, and was a great factor in bring- ing the old regiments up to the new standard of efficiency. Mr. Wilkinson was later first lieutenant and commis- sary of the 'Nineteenth Regiment, Na- tional Guard of Pennsylvania, which was formed as a provisional regiment for the Spanish American war, Colonel O. C. Bosbyshell, commanding, and was later commissioned captain and quarter- master of the same regiment, and was mustered out with the regiment after the close of the war. Mr. Wilkinson is a director of the Broad Street National Bank of Trenton, and of the Standard Fire Insurance Company of the same city.

He was married, April 4. 1883 to Sara Jane Taylor, daughter of Robert and Sarah Taylor, of Philadelphia. and they are the parents of two children: Sarah Dill, born December 30, 1883, and Eliza- beth. born January 3, 1888.

SCARBOROUGH FAMILY. The family of Scarborough is an old one, and doubtless derived its name from the lo- cality where its early progenitors resided when surnames first came to be used. Scarborough Castle, an old Norman fortress in Yorkshire. England, is built on a high, narrow, rocky promontory. extending seaward about a half-mile, at the foot o which the ancient seaport of the same name is nestled in a sheltered nook along South Bay. The modern town of Scarborough is now a noted watering place of about 40.000 inhabi-

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History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 39

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 Publication date: 1905 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040