Capt. John Wilkins

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Husband Capt. John Wilkins ^{1 2}

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           Born: 1 Jun 1733 - Donegal Twp, Lancaster Co, PA 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 11 Dec 1809 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 2
         Buried: 

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         Father: John Wilkins (      -1741) 2
         Mother: 

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       Marriage: 

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Wife

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 M Gen. John Wilkins ^{2 3}

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           Born: 1761 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 30 Apr 1816 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 2
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Catharine Stevenson (      -      ) 3 4

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2 F Nancy Wilkins ^{1 4 5 6 7 8}

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           Born: 1775 - Carlisle, Cumberland Co, PA 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 1 May 1806 2 8 9 10
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Maj. Ebenezer Denny (1761-1822) 1 5 7 11 12 13 14
           Marr: 1 Jul 1793 1 2 6 8

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3 M Hon. William Wilkins ^{2 15}

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           Born: 1779 - Carlisle, Cumberland Co, PA 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 23 Jun 1865 2
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Catharine Holmes (      -      ) 15

         Spouse: Matilda Dallas (      -      ) 15

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General Notes: Husband - Capt. John Wilkins

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A noted business man of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he removed to Pittsburgh, in 1783, to engage in business, Col. E. Blaine being his partner. He had been a captain in the Continental service, participating in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, was a member of the convention of 1776, and afterward one of the associate judges of Allegheny County, chief burgess of Pittsburgh, treasurer of as many as nine counties at one time, member of the Supreme Executive Council, etc. He had twenty children, and many of his descendants were of national prominence as well as in the western part of Pennsylvania.

He removed to Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1763, and ten years later to Bedford, engaging in mercantile pursuits. At the outbreak of the Revolution he organized a company of associators and in 1778 was commissioned a captain in the Continental service, and was at Brandywine and Germantown. He was a member of the Convention of July 15, 1776, from Bedford County. In November, 1783, he removed to Pittsburgh, opened a store at the northeast corner of Fourth and Wood streets, and, upon the organization of Allegheny County, was appointed one of the associate judges of the court. He served as member of the Supreme Executive Council in 1790; was chief burgess of the borough of Pittsburgh; commissioner of public buildings, and was county treasurer from 1794 to 1803.

A quote from the manuscript of Captain John Wilkins:
"I was born in Donegall township, county of Lancaster, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, about thirteen miles from Lancaster (June 1st, 1733, authority, T. J. Brereton), educated in the principles of the Presbyterian Church. My father died when I was a little boy. When a proper age I was bound apprentice to the saddler trade in Lancaster. When free I took possession of my father's tract of land in Donegall. I had four sisters who had shares. I bought them out, married there, and had three children born there, my son John being the first born. Two Presbyterian congregations being within my bounds, the one called the Old Light and the other the New Light, joined and paid them both."
In 1763 he removed to Carlisle, and ten years later to Bedford, Pennsylvania, engaging in mercantile life in both places. At the outbreak of the Revolution he organized a company of Associators, and in 1776 was commissioned a captain in the Continental service and fought at Brandywine and Germantown. He was a member of the Convention of July 15, 1776, from Bedford county. In November, 1783, he removed to Pittsburgh, opened a store at the northeast corner of Fourth and Wood streets, and upon the organization of Allegheny county was appointed one of the Associate Judges of the court. He served as member of the Supreme Executive Council in 1790; was Chief Burgess of Pittsburgh; Commissioner of Public Buildings and County Treasurer, from 1794 to 1803.
Again a quote from his manuscript:
"In the winter of 1766-67 I received a captain's commission from General Washington with orders, if accepted, to enlist a company of men and join the army of the United States. I accepted the commission, recruited, and in a short time enlisted sixty-four men. I then made a vendue, sold my land, my store in Bedfordtown. Attended by my son John, and all my stock and furniture, except my team, one riding horse and some light furniture, which I carried in my wagon, then set out with my family towards General Washington's headquarters, with my sixty-four men, two lieutenants, one ensign, together with twenty-two deserters. Out of my own money I paid the bounty and monthly wages, also their rations, together with the deserters until I arrived at Carlisle, where I first began to draw rations. But continued paying my men and officers monthly wages until the latter part of August following when our army lay in Wilmington. I settled up my accounts and there received all the money I had laid out for my company, together with my own pay, which amounted to a very large sum. During the time I was recruiting, I paid eight dollars for each deserter brought to me and the mileage, found them in rations and other necessaries until I arrived at Carlisle, there I began to draw their rations, from thence took them to camp, and then sent them to their respective regiments; for this great expense I never received a cent."
He tells how his fortune was swept away by the depreciation of the Continental currency, of his efforts and final settlement with his creditors and his years of struggle to retrieve his fortunes; of his arrival in Pittsburgh, and his efforts to better business conditions there; of his efforts to establish a Presbyterian congregation and the erection of the first log church. He says:
"At the first establishment of the church I was ordained one of the elders, and still continue in that station. I was also voted in one of the trustees of the church, and at every election since I have been continued in that station, and a very great part of the time president of the trustees."

He was twice married. Each wife bore him eleven children, twenty-two in all.
"I never got a shilling of fortune with either of my wives, yet ever since my first marriage to this day, I have lived happy with them and God hath blessed me with plenty to keep my children until they were able to provide for themselves." "A strong trait of his character," says Brereton, "was his devotion to his numerous children. His daughters were his especial pride, and despite the large number of them, it is said that he could not bear to have young men, no matter how bright their prospects, come a wooing. As the girls were bright and attractive, it is to be supposed that he had his own troubles on that score."

1 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 77.

2 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 588.

3 Conway P. Wing, D.D., History of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations (Philadelphia, PA: James D. Scott, 1879), Pg 160.

4 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 2.

5 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 581.

6 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 879, 986.

7 Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old and New Westmoreland, Vols. III & IV (New York, NY: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918), Pg 642.

8 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 379.

9 —, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 78.

10 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 879.

11 —, The History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Part II (Chicago, IL: A. W. Warner & Co., 1889), Pg 215.

12 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 877, 985.

13 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 1.

14 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 377.

15 Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876), Pg 106.