Winfield Wilkinson was born in Skaneateles, Onondago county, New York, September 11, 1812. In 1834 he went to Georgetown, Kentucky, and remained there until 1837, when he came to Jacksonville, Illinois, and was employed at that place, and at Springfield, as civil engineer in the service of the State, until October, 1839, when he came to Como, Whiteside county. Mr. Wilkinson was married November 10, 1841, at Como, to Miss Francis Elizabeth Sampson, daughter of Capt. Henry B. Sampson. Their children have been; Mary C born at Como April 14 1843; Alfred E born at Skaneteles, Onondaga county New York December 6 1846; Henry B born at Como, April 8 1849 and Frank, born at Sterling March 11 1857. Mary C married Charles H Cogswell, May 20, 1869 and resides at Clinton Iowa; children, Francis E and Charles H. Alfred E married Miss Annie Oldham of Gainesville Texas November 4 1875 and resides at Sherman Texas where he is engaged in the practice of law, and now wears the judicial ermine; one child, Henry. Henry B resides in Chicago. Frank died at Morrison, November 21 1860. Mr. Wilkinson resided in Como until September, 1856, when he moved to Sterling, and in 1858, at the removal of the County Seat, came to Morrison.
Probably no man in Whiteside county has taken a more active and prominent part in its affairs than Mr. Wilkinson. His peculiar qualification for an able and honest discharge of the duties of a public trust, were early recognized, and for more than a quarter of a century his fellow citizens freely conferred these trusts upon him. When the lands upon which Como is situated were placed into market by the government, he was one of three gentlemen selected by the claimants to bid them in, and for the lands in Hopkins township he was the only one selected to make the purchases. In 1842 he was elected County Surveyor of Whiteside county, and held the position five years. In 1844, and while still County Surveyor, the people of Whiteside called upon him to represent them in the General Assembly of the State, which he did, greatly to their satisfaction, and to the interests of the State, for a term of two years. When the County Court which superseded the the County Commissioners' Court in all county affairs, was first organied, he was elected one of the associate justices, and in 1853 was again elected County Surveyor, holding the position until 1857, when he became County Clerk, the duties of which office he conducted with signal ability until 1869, a period of twelve years.
At the conclusion of his term, the Board of Supervisors, for whom the County Clerk is ex-officio clerk, passed a resolution highly complimenting him for the able and faithful manner in which he had discharged the multifarious duties of this office, and sincerely regretting that he had concluded to retire from it at the close of his term. He has also represented the township of Mt. Pleasant in the Board of Supervisors. In 1870, upon the adoption of the new Constitution, he was elected a Senator of the General Assembly from the district then comprising the counties of Whiteside and Lee, and served a term of two years, during which time he aided materially by his sound judgment, discrimination mind, and close attention to legislative duties, in properly completing the laws of the State so as to make them conform to the newly adopted Constitution. The labors of the General Assembly when he was Senator were made unusually arduous and exacting on account of the conflict of the then existing laws with the new Constitution, and itrequired the utmost care and ability on the part of the members of both Houses, to remodel the former so as to make them conform to the latter without rendering them nugatory by reason of unconstitutionality. Mr. Wilkinson gave the new fundamental document the closest study, and by that means, aided by a comprehensive and systematic mind, was enabled to readily discover the objectionable features in a bill proposing the remodeling of an old law, or the creation of a new one. At the close of his Senatorial term, Mr. Wilkinson retired from public and political life, as wella s from active business cares. He is the owner of a large farm near Como, a find residence in Morrison, besides other property, and surrounded by friends, is passing the days of the sere and yellow leaf with that ease and contentment which a well spent life always brings to the happy possessor.
Bent & Wilson History of Whiteside County Page 302
Winfield Scott Wilkinson, of Morrison, became a resident of Whiteside County in 1839, and had been in the State two years previous to that date. He has been prominently connected with the municpal affairs of that county during the entire period ofhis active life. He is widely known in his public and official relations and as a staunch friend and promoter of the general welfare.
The genealogical record of the Wilkinsons in America is complete. Lawrence Wilkinson was the founder of the race, and Mr. Wilkinson belongs to the sixth generation. Lawrence was born in Lanchester, in the shire of Durban, England. His father was named William, and his grandfather bore the same name as himself. He settled at Providence, R.I., in 1645, as nearly as can be estimated, and he died in 1692, nine years after the death of Roger Williams. From William Wilkinson, who married Mary Conyers, the succession is traced as follows: Lawrence married Susannah Smith; John, their third child, married Deborah Whipple; Daniel, fifth child of John and Deborah, married Abigail Inman. John, who was the seventh child of the latter, married Betsey Tower, and they became the parents of four children - Alpha, Alfred, John and Diana - all now deceased. Alfred was born in Cumberland, R.I., July 6, 1786. His parents went thence to Troy, and from there to Skaneateles, N.Y., where he died, July 19, 1859, on the farm where the family settled, and on which he was buried. He was distinguished for his learning, conscientiousness, public spirit and religous fervor. He married Susan Smith, by whom he had six children: Joab, Winfield Scott, Harry, Morton Smith, Elizabeth and Sarah. After the death of his first wife he married Laura Edwards, who survived him. Two children, Harry and Elizabeth, are deceased. Joab is a farmer in Macon Co., Ill. Morton is an attorney at Welles, Minn. He studied for his profession at Skaneateles, began his practice at Eaton Rapids, Mich., and removed, in 1847, to Minnesota. Sarah resides on the homestead which was the pioneer home of her grandfather. The generations that have descended from Lawrence Wilkinson have included some of the most distinguished names in the history of the country. Ruth Wilkinson, daughter of Samuel, eldest son of Lawrence, was the mother of Stephen Hopkins, Governor of Rhode Island, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Jemima Wilkinson, the Prophetess, belonged to the fourth generation. The roll of those who attained distinction in learning, law, theology and mechanics is too extensive for the scope of this sketch.
Mr. Wilkinson was born Sept. 11, 1812, in Skaneateles, N.Y. He was under the parental authority during his minority, and obtained a good education. He first engaged in teaching on reaching the period of his legal freedom, and afterward acquired a thorough and practical knowledge of the business of civil engineering. In 1837 he came to Jacksonville, Ill., and was employed by the State in the capacity of civil engeineer until the fall of 1839, when he located in Whiteside County.
In October of that year he bought a farm on section 25, near Como, in Hopkins Township, which contained 70 acres. Como flourished, and became the leading settlement in the eastern part of Whiteside County. The Government land sales took place in 1843, and Mr. Wilkinson was one of three selected by the claimants of Como to bid them in. He was chosen to perform the same service for the settlers in Hopkins Township. During the entire period of his residence in Hopkins, his peculiar fitness for the transaction of business in the interests of a pioneer community were recognized and kept in active use. In 1842 he was elected County Surveyor, and discharged the duties of the position five years. In 1844, he was elected Representative, and served two years in the General Assembly, fulfilling the obligations of his trust in a manner that reflected credit upon himself and upon the judgment of his constituents.
The business of Whiteside County was transacted by a Commissioners' Court, until the institution of the County Court. Mr. Wilkinson was named for the chief official, but declined, and accepted an appointment as Associate Justice. The first meeting of the Court was held in March, 1850, In 1853 he was again elected County Surveyor, and held the position until 1857, when he was elected County Clerk, the event being made conspicuous by his being the nominee of the Independent Democratic element of the county. He was twice re-elected, and served an aggregate of 12 years, or until 1869, when he declined a further incumbency. The ability and public spirit he had manifested in his official relations won for him the appreciation of the community, and the commendation of the officials of the county with whom he was connected ex officio. He was elected Senator in 1870, when the adoption of the new Constitiution of Ilinois demanded that the people should be represented by the soundest judgment and most disinterested integrity. His district included the counties of Whiteside and Lee, and the service rendered by Mr. Wilkinson in the Legislature justified the discretion of his constituents. In September, 1856, he removed to Sterling, then the county seat. On the removal of the county government to Morrison, in 1858, he changed his residence to the latter place, of which he has since been a resident. At the termination of his Senatorial term, in 1872, he retired from public and active life.
Mr. Wilkinson owns a farm on section 34, Hopkins Township, which is conducted by a tenant, and also his residence at Morrison, and 16 acres of land.
His marriage to Frances E. Sampson, occurred at Como, Nov. 10, 1841, and they have had four children. Mary, born April 14, 1843, married Dr. C. H. Cogswell, and resides at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alfred E, born Dec. 6, 1846, is an attorney at Dennison, Texas. He studied at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated in 1869, reading the class poem. Henry B., born April 8, 1849 is in company with his uncle, Hon. H.R. Sampson, and is doing business as a real-estate and loan agent. They are the owners of the only complete set of abstracts in Whiteside Sounty. Frank, born March 11, 1857, died Nov. 21, 1860. Mrs. Wilkinson is the daughter of Capt. H.B and Nancy (Turner) Sampson, pioneers of Hopkins Township. She was born Jan 8, 1814. On her mother's side, she is descended from Governor Carver, of Massachusetts, and her grandfather, Colonel Turner, was a graduate from Harvard in 1767 and joined the Colonial army at Boston with a company of volunteers.
Portraits and Biographical
