John Wilkinson (American colonist)
| John Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 13, 1758 Rhode Island, United States |
| Died | 1802 (aged 43) Syracuse, New York, United States |
| Occupation | American colonist, Farmer |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth "Betsey" Tower (born 1764) |
| Children | John Wilkinson (born 1798) |
| Parent(s) | Roger Wilkinson (father) |
John Wilkinson (November 13, 1758 – 1802) was born in Rhode Island, United States. He was a direct descendant of Lawrence Wilkinson who fled the oppression of Oliver Cromwell in 1652 and settled in America and the son of Roger Wilkinson, an early colonist, who settled in Rhode Island where Roger Williams promoted the concept of freedom of religion.
John Wilkinson settled in Troy, New York and seventeen years later moved his family to Skaneateles, New York.
His son, John Wilkinson Jr. was the first Postmaster of Syracuse, New York and gave the city its name. Great-grandson, John Wilkinson invented the air-cooled engine and helped found the Franklin Automobile Company.
He was one of eight children. In 1776, at age 17, John Wilkinson enlisted in the Continental Army and fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was captured by British forces and subjected to "nine brutal months on a prison ship in New York Harbor". The experience nearly killed him. After he was freed in a prisoner exchange, he returned home to recuperate.
In 1782, he married Elizabeth "Betsey" Tower, age 18, born about 1764. Together, the couple settled in Troy, New York where they had four children:
By 1799, seventeen years after they married, Wilkinson left Troy, New York in the middle of winter leading a cow. His wife, children and household goods were aboard a sledge (wagon) drawn by a yoke of oxen. The entourage hiked west 180 miles along the corridor that today roughly corresponds to Route 20. Wife, Elizabeth, was nursing five-month-old, John Wilkinson Jr. The family settled about a mile from Skaneateles Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York and built a farm not long after.
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Wikipedia