William Sidney Wilkinson (1914)

HARRIS, MATTHEWS, SCHOENENBERGER, WILKINSON

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart
Date: 12/28/2010 at 20:58:27

The Winterset News
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, June 10, 1914
Page 1

WILLIAM SIDNEY WILKINSON

W. S. Wilkinson (more commonly known and referred to as Uncle Sidney Wilkinson,) was born June 26, 1837, in Pike county, Illinois, and departed this life at his home in Scott township, Madison county, Iowa, June 4, 1914, aged 76 years, 11 months and 8 days.

On February 20, 1873, he was married to Mary Harris who died January 11, 1882. To this union two children were born, Frank Waldo, who died at the age of three, and Fred Harris, with whom the father had for many years made his home.

In 1885 he married Lena Schoenenberger who died on May 4, 1900. He is survived by four brothers, Daniel, of Pittsburg, Kansas; David, of Kansas City, Kansas; Samuel, of Irving, Kansas; and Judge A. W. Wilkinson, of Winterset, Iowa; one son, Fred Harris; two granddaughters and a devoted daughter-in-law, Mrs. Fred Wilkinson, whose willing hands never tired in doing that which might contribute to the comfort and happiness of
“Dear old grandpa.”

In the death of Mr. Wilkinson, there has departed from our midst a man who can perhaps be said to have been as intimately associated with the growth and development of Madison county, and particularly of the community in which he lived, as any man now living in the county.

He came to Madison county in 1848, but two years after the first settlement was made, and enjoyed the distinction of being one who had witnessed and personally experienced all the changes that have taken place in the history of this county; from the hardships and privations of the frontier days, when there were but few settlers and many obstacles to be overcome, to the building up of a thickly settled and prosperous community with the comforts that can be best afforded in a beautiful and commodious country home. Much of the historical data for a future history of this county has come from his pen, and one of the last acts of his life in a public way, was a splendid paper on the “Old Buffalo Mill,” read before the last annual meeting of the Madison county historical society.

Not only did he serve his community well, both as a teacher in the public school and an upright and honored citizen, but when the nation called for volunteers to defend the union and the flag, he was found in the ranks, and from '62 to '65, as a member of the famous 39th Iowa Regiment, he served his country with honor and distinction.

In private life, he was a faithful and considerate husband, a kind and loving father, and an accommodating and friendly neighbor. Long will that place remain unfilled which he occupied in the estimation of his neighbors and his presence will be missed at the neighborhood gatherings which he enjoyed so much during the last few years of his life.

Funeral services were conducted by Rev. L. F. Davis, of Winterset, and Rev. Williams, of the M. E. church, of St. Charles. Interment was made in the Winterset cemetery June 6.

Gravesite
 

Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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