Wilkinsons Genealogy

This page is intended to be your first step in tracing Wilkinson genealogy. The resources available include a database of user-submitted family trees, Wilkinson-related documents, and pointers to Wilkinson-related on-line resources. Please contact the website if you have anything to share with the Wilkinson community.

Good luck on your search!

Wilkinson Genealogy Database Wilkinson Documents Wilkinson Family History Wilkinson Online Resources

The Wilkinson Genealogical Database

In the olden days before Ancestry.com. users submitted links to their pages or files of their Wilkinson-related genealogy.

The Wilkinson genealogical database is comprised of data collected and combined with the data sent to the site by other researchers. Note that some names may be duplicated if more than one researcher has submitted the same information. For information on a specific person, please send mail to the researcher listed (if there is one for the person in whom you are interested).

Click Here to Enter The Wilkinsons on the Web Genealogy Database.

(Latest Update: 12/13/2004)

Wilkinson Genealogical Documents

There is a section on this page for books and documents relating to Wilkinson genealogy. If you have a related book or document for sale, available for lookups, or ready for submission to the site, please feel free to contact the site and a reference will be added.

The Wilkinson Book The family history, descendants, and biography of General James Wilkinson of the American Revolutionary War. Click on the title for a picture and more complete description.
Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family Published in 1869 by Rev. Israel Wilkinson, this document has been scanned in and is available on-line (click the title). Thanks to David Blackwell for originally providing the book to the world and Bonnie Munce for transcribing and posting the text.
Hal Peterson Letter (and Response) A letter written by Hal Peterson to his young cousins detailing their Wilkinson heritage. Includes descriptions of the family origins, the area they inhabited in England, as well as anecdotes about specific family members.
Commemorative Biographical Record - Samuel Wilkinson A short biography of Samuel Wilkinson of Kerhonkson, copied from "Commemorative Biographical Record", submitted by J Schrade (username@upper-cumberland.net). Includes Samuel's family history, including his family from Yorkshire, England.
Bible Records Of The Garner & Wilkinson Families Of St. Mary's County, Maryland Submitted by John S. Wilkinson from a contribution by Mrs. Helen Hart Burns & Willis Clayton Tull, Jr. The entire text is available by clicking on the title.
Genealogy of Wilkinson and Kindred families Submitted by Thomas Thompson (tlt@fidnet.com), who added the note:
"M.M. Wilkinson, of Shelby, MS, published the 'Genealogy of Wilkinson and Kindred families', in 1949. This 546 p. report discusses in detail the Wilkinsons of Amite and Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi. My copy was given to me by an aunt (now deceased)in Starkville, Ms, around 1980. Feel free to send inquiries to me about your lineage possibly being listed in this book. My great grandmother was Sarah Wilkinson Thompson, of Gloster and Liberty MS."
Gus Wilkinson Diary The content of the diary of William Augustus Wilkinson of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, USA has been donated to this site. It has been converted to html, and you are invited to browse the converted text. Gus started every entry with the weather, even the days when people were born, married, or died. An interesting look into the life of an American farmer in the 1800s.
Biographical and Historical Reminiscences of John W. Wilkinson Submitted by Kelli Sayre (Zelda092@aol.com), who writes:
"My 4th great-grandfather, John W. Wilkinson (05-27-1793 to 10-15-1867) wrote Biographical and Historical Reminiscences. He talks about his ancestors as well as his life, including marriage(s) and children. I would be willing to do look-ups (if I didn't get overwhelmed). It is approximately 150 pgs. single typed."
The Wilkinsons of England and America (1650-1997) is being published as 50 pages of a hard cover volume including Allison Family History. It covers the descendants of Thomas WILKINSON and Agnes RAW who migrated in 1835 from Yorkshire to Pennsylvania and then Illinois. The indexed section (750+ names) documents their descent from Rowland Wilkinson and Agnes HANDLAY of Sedbergh, Cumbria, England, and includes photographs of Crosedale Beck and of Howgill, Wilkinson residences dating back to 1650.
Contact Pat Hemphill at jkhempsr@worldnet.att.net for details.
The Drum Family Record and Related Wilkinson Family in the United States of America By the Drum-Wilkinson Clan, Arthur W. Drum, Sherrill's Ford, North Carolina, May 1961. A copy of the Wilkinson-related information was made by Mr. Robert L. Richardson of Austin, TX, during his last visit to the Catawba County Library in Newton, NC. (This is the home of James Wilkinson of Dinwiddie County, VA - the Rev War private not the officer.) Mr. Richardson is willing to do lookups and can be contacted via email at Rob_Richardson@prodigy.com.
Our Wilkinson and Related Families By Clarine Smith Tucker. Out of print, but available in some libraries.
Our Wilkerson and Wilkinson Families By Thomas B. Wilkinson

Family History

In the family history section is information on the general history of the Wilkinson family, gathered from a variety of sources.

There are a variety of origins for the surname Wilkinson. The most obvious is "son of Wilkin", where Wilkin comes either from William or "son of Will". (In other words, Wilkinson means grandson of Will.) However, there are a variety of other sources for the name, including McQuilkin, a popular origin from Scotland.

Many years ago, the administrator of this website travelled to England, where the Wilkinson name is much more common. While there, he stopped into one of the genealogy shops that have sprung up around the country and had a marvelous conversation with the proprietor, who managed to convince him to purchase several products related to Wilkinsons genealogy. One was a coat of arms (currently on the Coat of Arms page at this site), and the other was a "scroll" containing research on the family name. The proprietor went to great lengths to assert that the information that it contained was accurate. However, much of the information seems contradictory to other sources. Some of the sources that the company claims to use include: the Domesday Book, the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, the Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Roll, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, and local parish and church records.

Some of the information obtained is included below in green. I encourage you to contact the company if you want to know more.

NEVER ASSUME THAT ANYTHING THAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET IS CORRECT UNLESS YOU HAVE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED IT OR IT IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW TO BE TRUE.

You have been warned. This website makes no claims to the veracity of the following information.

Apparently, the Wilkinson surname is Norman in origin. The first record of the surname was found in Durham, where the clan was seated from ancient times. They were descended from Robert de Wintona, of Glamorgan, one of the 12 knights who came into Glamorgan with Robert Fitzhamon, a Norman noble, in 1066. Fitzhamon was Sheriff of Kent and founder of Tewkesbury.

The name Wilkinson was first assumed in about 1250. Wilkinsons held estates in Durham in Hulam, Coxhoe, Eddercres, Sheriton, The Granges, Hurworth Bryan, White Hurworth, Langdale, Stanley, Holmeside, Tursdale, Whitton, Brafferton, Woodham Burn, Rushyford, Stoballee, and in locations in Northumberland. They also held estates in Scarborough, York, Pontefract, Kirkbrigg, and Winterburn Hall in Yorkshire. Of note among the family at this time was Lancelot Wilkinson of Kyo in Durham.

Of those going to North America, included were: William Wilkinson settled in Virginia in 1606 (14 years before the Mayflower); Cornelius Wilkinson was married in St. John's, Newfoudland in 1815; Anthony and Anne Wilkinson settled in Virginia in 1651; John Wilkinson settled in Salem, Mass. in 1630; Thomas Wilkinson with his wife and child settled in Virginia in Nova Scotia in 1774.

Notables on the social scene during this time: Rev. Canon Alan Wilkinson, Theologian; Professor Alexander Wilkinson, Law; Professor Andrew Wilkinson, Surgeon; Sir Denys Wilkinson, Physics; Sir David Wilkinson; Rt. Rev. Charles Wilkinson, Bishop of Niagra; Sir Harold Wilkinson, Shell Oil; Lancelot Wilkinson, Classics; Sir Peter Wilkinson, Diplomat; Sir Martin Wilkinson, Chairman of the London Stock Exchange.

Wilkinsons have prospered all over the United States and around the world. In 1990, the surname Wilkinson was the 631st most popular surname in the United States according to the US Census name frequency server. According to Hamrick Software, there are about 1 Wilkinson per 1000 people in most US states, as shown in the picture below (from 1997).

According to the World Names profiler, which uses publicly available telephone directories or national electoral registers, sourced for the period 2000-2005, the Wilkinson name is most popular in the UK with nearly 13,000 Wilkinsons per million (Wpm). Australia is second with just over 850 Wpm. New Zealand comes in third at 816 Wpm. The U.S. is fourth at 232 Wpm. Wilkinsons are most prevalent in the northern region of the UK, where there are a whopping 3402 Wpm.

World names profiler map of Wilkinson surname distribution

The World Names profiler also reports that the most popular first names for Wilkinsons worldwide are (in order) Timothy, Wayne, Eric, Caroline, Amanda, Dennis, Harold, Darren, Claire, and Anne.

On-line Wilkinson Genealogy Resources

There are also links to genealogy pages on the web that contain references to Wilkinsons. I try to keep these links up to date, but it is easy to overlook a few new or obsolete links. Please let me know of any omissions or errors.

Genealogy Projects

Information On-Line

Ellis Island passenger arrival lists have quite a few Wilkinsons
The Kentucky Vital Records Index lists several Wilkinsons in the Death, Marriage, and Divorce indices
The Illinois Land Tract Sale Archive lists hundreds of purchases by Wilkinsons in the 1800's
George and Albert Wilkinson are listed on the Chalmette National Cemetery - Union Database of the U.S. Civil War Center

Databases containing Wilkinsons: Researcher name (number of Wilkinsons)

Robert Wilkinson (750+)
Kurt Wilkinson's Genealogy Wilkinsons from Lincolnshire, England to NY, WV, MN and CA
Whipple Genwb (100+)
Nancy J. Wilkinson (57) Descended from George and Jane Wilkinson, married July 9, 1822 at Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire, England. Wilkinson birth, death and marriage records from the Great Gonerby parish register are listed. My branch of the family ended up in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; much of the information on the website has to do with that area.
Hartman Family (31)
KjunKutie (31)
Gordon Wilkinson (25) The Wilkinsons of Hyde Park, South Australia. Only 25 names on-line, but lots of other resources for Australian Wilkinsons.

Miscellaneous Genealogical Links

The descendants of Joyce Wilkinson, of Black Creek and her husband, William Clopton, of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia invite you to visit http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clopton/. The site features a collection of lengthy, well researched and extensively documented essays and genealogies.