Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America, published 1869
Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America, 1869
Fifth Generation, cont.

Benjamin Wilkinson4    [76] Jeremiah,3 [19] John,2
      and   [4] Lawrance.1 [1]
Hannah Staples,  *

Of Cumberland, R. I.

191.I. Amey,5 b. Oct. 26, 1770, d. April 4, 1859.
192.II. Benjamin,5 b. May 8, 1772, d. Nov. 3, 1772.
193.III. Welcome,5 b. Dec. 10, 1773, d. June 20, 1795.
194.IV. Vernum,5 (383-93)b. d.
195.V. Russel,5b. d.
196.VI. Cynthia,5b. d.
197.VII. Ben Green,5b.             1781, d. July 11, 1806.

I.  Amey married Joseph Staples.  Their children are:

III.  Welcome never married—was drowned in the Pawtucket River.

"And the youthful and the brave,
    With their beauty and renown,
To the hollow chambers of the wave
    To darkness have gone down.
They are vanished from their place—
    Let their homes make moan!
But the rolling waters keep no trace
    Of pang or conflict gone."
Hemans.                  

IV.  Vernum married Freelove Glazier, in 1800. They had a family of eleven children; his boys all died young and unmarried. The name is extinct in this line. Vernum moved from Providence to New York(?) [name of city is illegible on scanned page; this is a guess] and his daughters married and live in the latter city.

V.  Russel married Peggy Folger. They had no children—lived in New York City.

VI.  Cynthia married John Sprague. Their children are:

*Census of 1774, 1 male above 16, 1 under; 1 female above, 2 under.

Stephen Wilkinson4    [81] Jeremiah,3 [19] John,2
Elizabeth Sheldon,   [4] Lawrance.1 [1]
Lucy Batsford sic, 

Of Covington, Wyoming Co., N. Y.

198.I. Sally,5 b. Oct. 17, 1792, d.                
199.II. Preston,5 b. d.
200.III. Manning,5 b. d.
201.IV. Leonard,5 b. d.
202.V. Rufus,5 (394-402) b. Feb. 16, 1798, d.
203.VI. Lewis,5 (403-409) b. Aug. 8, 1800, d.
204.VII. Barton B.,5 (410-411) b. April 22, 1802, d.

II.  Preston never married—he had a fever which settled in his limbs, and made him a cripple. He resides in Yatesville, Yates County, N. Y.

V.  Rufus, married Mrs. Eliza A. Jacobs, about 1821. Her maiden name, Pateridge. They had nine children, four of them are dead.

VI.  Lewis, married Emily M. Smith. They have seven children, and live at Door Village, LaPorte Co., Ind. He is a farmer.  [See Edwin R. Wilkinson, one of his 7 children.  Names of their other children are on pages that were omitted from the scanned pages.]

VII.  Barton Brenton married Mary Louis Trowbridge, Dec. 25, 1844. She died Sept., 1856, leaving two children. He lives at Aroma, [prob. Kankakee Co.,] Ill.


Jeptha Wilkinson4    [82] Jeremiah,3 [19] John,2
      and   [4] Lawrance.1 [1]
Lucy Smith, 

Of Cumberland, R. I.

205.I. Alpha,5 b. Oct. 12, 1784, d. Feb. 12, 1857.
206.II. Nancy,5 b. Jan. 18, 1786, d.
207.III. Arnold,5 (412-19) b. May 25, 1787, d.
208.IV. Ransom,5 (420-21) b. Mar. 4, 1789, d.
209.V. Jeptha Avery,5 (422-35) b. Apr. 23, 1791, d.
210.VI. Lucy,5 b. Aug. 11, 1792, d.
211.VII. Mary Ann,5 b. Sept. 23, 1793, d.
212.VIII. Abigail Amy,5 b. June 4, 1798,d.

I.  Alpha was born in the town of Cumberland, R. I., and at the age of twenty came with her mother, who was then a widow, to Penn Yan, [Yates Co.,] N. Y. Here she married Melchoir Wagener, moved to Pulteney, Steuben Co., N. Y. Mr. Wagener was the son of David Wagener who brought the Friend Jemima Wilkinson, from Montgomery Co., Penn. to Ontario Co., N. Y. in 1789. He was one of her society and gave her a farm, with the proceeds of which she purchased a large tract of land, called the "Friend's Tract," now the town of Jerusalem, Yates Co. He settled at Penn Yan, which has since become the county seat; and built the first mills in this vicinity. Melchoir built the first saw-mill in the town of Pulteney in 1810, and the first grist-mill in 1814.*  They had eleven children, active, energetic men and women, and useful members of society, highly respected for their integrity, industry, and benevolence. Some of them have manifested the inventive genius common to this branch of the Wilkinson family. Their children were:

*See N. Y. Gazetteer, p. 626.

II.  Nancy was born in Cumberland, R. I., and came to Jerusalem, Ontario Co., N. Y. in 1807. The journey from Providence to Penn Yan occupied thirty-one days. She married for her first husband in 1808, John Potter, son of Thomas Hazard Potter, who married Patience Wilkinson, sister of Jemima, and consequently her own cousin. The wedding took place on Sunday, and Monday a frame house was erected for them on a farm of 336 acres in the town of Potter, now Yates Co., near where she now resides. There were 30 or 40 acres cleared, and they commenced life with fair prospects. At that time the country was a wilderness—with no roads—not even a wagon track. Blaized sic trees and Indian trails were the guides to the early settlers' home in the forests. An Indian camp was near by, wolves and panthers were very plenty, and awakened mid-night echoes all around them. One day she was on a visit to a neighbors sic a few miles away, and night coming ere they were aware, she mounted her horse, and, with her infant babe in her arms, made her way through the dense woods towards home. The wolves were soon howling upon her track, and she urged her horse to the top of his speed in order to pass a certain dismal place before they should overtake her. Fortunately she arrived home in safety. In a ravine near by was a place called the wolves howling place. Here they appeared to congregate and make the night hideous by their incessant and prolonged howling. The concert would commence with a solitary howl from the eastern hills, which would be replied to from a western acclivity, and then another from the north, and a fourth from the south until the whole forest resounded with their dismal howlings.
Mrs. Potter introduced straw braiding, and making hats which were in great demand at that time. In 1813 Mr. Potter erected the first saw-mill on his farm, and afterwards, while aiding in similar enterprises farther down the stream, he became involved in consequence of fire, and lost several thousand dollars. All this tract of country from the center of Seneca Lake to the middle of Canandagua sic Lake—44,000 acres, was originally purchased by the Potters. It is a fertile and beautiful section well wooded and watered, well adapted to grain and grazing. Mr. Potter died in 1854. Mrs. Potter is still living at the advanced age of 80—a woman of remarkable energy and perseverence. She says, she has seen that country "from a wilderness to a garden." In 1862 she married for a second husband James Johnson, and still resides in the town of Potter near her first residence there, in a house of her own building. By her first husband she had nine children, some of whom have lived and become distinguished in their callings. They are as follows:

IV.  Ransom married Thankful Cole, and resided at Greenbush, Monmouth County, Ill. He died leaving two children. His estate has never been admininstered, and is occupied by a man named Smith who pays a rental.

V.  Jeptha Avery married Sarah A. Gibson, whom he met at Paris in France. She was the daughter of John H. Gibson, a wealthy gentleman of London. He ranked high in birth and influence, being an English Barrister, and a Notary Public, and at one time refused the office of Mayor of London. Her mother was a near relation of the Douglasses of Douglass Castle, Scotland. They have had fourteen children, and the family resides at South Haven, Suffolk Co., L. I.  Mr. W. is an inventor, and is at present in London, England, superintending his great Printing Press, the most remarkable invention in the world. See Biography No. XX.

VI.  Lucy was born in Providence, R. I., married John D. Williams, reside at Summerfield, Monroe Co., Mich. They have no childen, but she is noted for her active benevolence in taking orphan children, and bringing them up until able to care for themselves.
"Nor does she wait till to her door the voice
Of Supplication comes; but goes abroad
With foot as silent as the starry dews
In search of misery that pines unseen,
And will not ask."

VII.  Mary Ann married Ebenezer Gardner, whose parents resided on the eastern part of Long Island at Hampton. They . . .

Pages 188-191 were not scanned, and are not included here.  The next section starts at the top of page 192 of the original book.

. . . to Greenwood, Steuben Co., and organized a church and received six the same day as candidates for baptism. At the following places, viz:  Bingham, Alleghany, West Union, Greenwood and Troupsburgh, he buried in baptism sixty converts, and married fifteen couple. sic During the last two years he has been pastor of the church in Jasper, Steuben Co., N. Y. and is now, July, 1866, at Moreland, Schuyler Co., N. Y. The denomination can not boast of a more industrious man, and his labors have been owned and blessed of God, as the following recapitulation plainly indicates. During his ministry he has organized four churches, baptized three hundred and thirty converts, married two hundred and eight couples, and for the last twenty-eight years of his ministry, has preached 3708 sermons, besides attending a large number of funerals.

In concluding the letter above alluded to, he says:  "In reviewing my labors I find abundant cause for self-abasement, and if I have been instrumental in doing any good in Zion—to God, ever blessed, belongs all the glory."
Rev. Mr. Capron has been twice married, and has had the privilege of baptizing seven of his own children, and his present wife. When we review the life of this poor Baptist minister, and witness his toils and struggles amid the buffetings and taunts of a gainsaying world—when we behold his labors for the good of others amid poverty and want, beset and crippled by the covetousness of worldly church members—still toiling on till the shadows of his declining sun are lengthening over the weary pathway of his earthly sojourn, can we doubt for a moment that there exists in his mind a firm conviction of the divine reality of the religion of Jesus Christ! Not the favor of man, but the grace of God is his reward here, and hereafter, "Life Everlasting in the realms of glory."

Sixth Generation.

Israel Wilkinson5    [100] Israel,4 [29] Samuel,3
      and   [8] Samuel2 [2] Lawrance. [1]
Silence Ballou, 

Of Smithfield, R. I.

214.I. Abigail,6 b. June 27, 1772,d. May 2, 1845.
215.II. A Son,6 b. March 13, 1775,d. at birth.
216.III. Mary,6 b. Jan. 12, 1776,d. Nov. 5, 1861.
217.IV. A Son,6 b. Nov. 18, 1777,d. at birth.
218.V. Martha,6 b. Oct. 24, 1780,d.
219.VI. A Daughter,6 b. Oct. 16, 1783,d. at birth.
220.VII. James,6 (436-450) b. March 2, 1786, d.
221.VIII. Israel,6 (451-454) b. March 23, 1789, d. Oct. 18, 1820.

IX. Silence,6 b. April 28, 1791, d. Sept. 27, 1817.

I.  Abigail, and all of this family were born in the town of Smithfield. Here she resided till she was 38 years old, then moved to Cumberland Hill, and subsequently to the town of New Berlin, Chenango Co., N. Y. She returned to Rhode Island in 1837, and died at Mark Aldrich's in her native town, aged 73. She was never married, and is buried in her father's "burying ground."

III.  Mary, resided at the homestead for 34 years, then moved to Cumberland Hill, where she built a house and married Amasa Cook, and for a second husband, Jesse Brown. Upon his death she moved to Lockport, [now Niagara Co.,] N. Y., where she died at the advanced age of 85, having lived from the commencement of the war of the Revolution to the commencement of the Great Rebellion. She left two sons:
Rensselaer married May 23, 1829, for his first wife Ann Streeter, a beautiful young lady just in the bloom of life, but she faded like the morning flower, and left many to lament her loss, but none more sad and desolate than her bereaved husband. He married Apr. 30, 1840, for a second wife, Maria Ann Ballou.
By his first wife he had Marion Wallace, b. April 2, 1830, at Cumberland, R. I., m. Oct. 16, 1849, Samuel Rollin Daniels of Lockport; they have
The ancestors of Mr. Daniels were residents of Vermont, and his grandfather was killed by the Indians in the early settlement of that state. He is an active business man, resides in Lockport; Ann Gray, d. Apr. 9, 1833; Rensselaer Gray, b. Apr. 8, 1833, d. March 2, 1840.
By his second wife, had, Ann Maria, b. Jan. 30, 1841 at Lockport, m. June 19, 1862, Franklin Sawyer, son of Jason Sawyer, of Royalton, [now Niagara Co.,] N. Y. He is a merchant, resides at Lockport, N. Y.
For a number of years, Rensselaer resided in Rhode Island and was engaged in the mercantile business. In 1835 he moved to Lockport, N. Y. He died suddenly while on a visit in the city of Providence, R. I. The following notice is take from the Lockport Daily Journal of Aug. 20, 1859:

Rensselaer S. Wilkinson sic [last name should probably be "Cook"] was born at Smithfield, R. I. in the year 1805, and was therefore 54 years of age. At the age of about three years, his parents moved to Cumberland, R. I., where he lived until fifteen years of age. He then went to Providence, he resided five years, and then returned to Cumberland, when he married his first wife. There he engaged in the mercantile business, in which he continued until about the time he came to Lockport in the year 1835. Soon after arriving in this place he entered into business partnership with Stephen B. Ballou, in the well known mercantile establishment of Ballou and Wilkinson. He continued in the mercantile business until 1851, under the various firms of Ballou and Wilkinson, Wilkinson and McMaster, Wilkinson and Chrysler, Wilkinson, Chrysler and Beyfogle. In the summer of 1851 he went into the Exchange Bank, holding the position of cashier, and discharging his duties with marked ability to the time of his death. As a business man and financial officer, Mr. Wilkinson has set an example of promptness, energy, courtesy, unswerving integrity, and a desire to promote the public welfare well worthy of imitation. There is scarcely a relation in life, where his loss will not be felt and deeply deplored.
He is buried at Lockport.

Col. Elliott Wilkinson Cook married Malvina Louisa Littlefield, and has three children.

(1) Charles Elliott, b. June 15, 1843, is a physician and surgeon, and graduated at Bellevue College, New York, settled at Tanawanda, N. Y. He was in the Union Army during the Great Rebellion.

(2) George Hamilton, b. Oct. 10, 1846, was Capt. and Brevet Lieut. Col. of Vols. in the Union Army, received his Brevet for honorable and meritorious service. He is now a Lieut. in the Regular Army, 28th Reg. U. S. Infantry stationed at Little Rock, [Pulaski Co.,] Ark. He served two years during the Rebellion, and was a the downfall of Richmond.

(3) Frederic William, b. Feb. 14, 1856.

Mr. Cook emigrated to Lockport in 1837, raised an army for the Mexican War, but did not go. In 1849 he went to California as treasurer of the "Niagara and California Mining Company," Col. E. Jewett Prest, stayed three months in Central America and one year in California. He returned to Lockport and opened a store on Main Street, where he continued until the breaking out of the Rebellion. He then gave up his business, and set about raising a Regiment and with the help of Dudley Donnelly, Esq., and C. S. Skeels of Albany soon organized the 28th Regt. N. Y. State Vols., Donnolly was elected Colonel, and Cook, Captain of Co. A., but was soon promoted to Major in which capacity he served until the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Being ordered to charge the enemy, he did so, broke their lines, but being unsupported, was surrounded and taken prisoner. While standing within a few feet of the rebels, after he had surrendered, he was fired upon, the ball grazing his head and the powder blackening his face. Jeff. Davis issued a proclamation declaring all commissioned officers serving under "John Pope," to be outlaws and felons, and ordering their immediate execution upon capture. Maj. Cook and 31 others were among the first lot taken after this proclamation (Aug. 9, 1862) and was being taken to the rear for this purpose, when a superior officer ordered the rebel squad back to the lines where they were needed, as the battle was still raging. He was taken to Richmond, and confined in Libby Prison. On his release he tore down a notice that was stuck on a post, which said "the Federal officers confined in this room are not Prisoners of War, but outlaws and felons, and will be treated according." He was promoted for his gallantry to Lieut. Col., and had command of his Reg. during the remaining term of their service. Col. Donnelly was killed in this battle, and Lieut. Col. Brown lost an arm, but was promoted to the colonelcy, also elected County Clerk of Orleans Co., N. Y. He held both places, and only joined the Regiment when on its way home. The 28th was considered a "fighting Reg't," and bore a gallant part during the war, and had inscribed upon its banners:  Winchester, Cedar Mountain, Rappahannoch, Antietam, and Chancellorsville.
Col. Cook was in the battle of Chancellorsville under Gen. Hooker, and was again surrounded, captured and taken to Libby Prison. He was soon exchanged, after suffering the tortures of this "black hole" of Virginia the second time. He received many flattering testimonials from Gen'ls Banks and Slocum, as well as from Gen'ls Williams and Crawford with whom he served. He has a natural talent for military tactics, and is considered a superior officer. Col. Cook is an accomplished gentlemanly, sic highly respected by his fellow-citizens, resides at Lockport, N. Y.

V.  Martha, at the age of 28, left her father's residence and went with him on a visit to Easton, [now Washington Co.,] N. Y. She remained at her cousin's, Cynthia Caprons, where she formed the acquaintaince of Heman Sherman, to whom she was married in 1809. They moved to Chester, Warren Co., N. Y., and engaged in farming. Martha is still living in Chester, but her husband died in 1864. She is remarkable for her retentive powers, and is able to read manuscript without glasses at the age of 86. Her husband was the son of Jabez Sherman of Rochester, [Plymouth Co.,] Mass., who was a near relative of the distinguished Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration. Mrs. Tabor, daughter of Martha, writes:  "I have often heard my grandfather boast of his relationship to the "Connecticut shoe-maker"—he being also, a shoe-maker. Some peculiar traits of that eminent man, I always flattered myself, I could see in my father."
Their children are:

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