William Wilkins was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Background
William Wilkins was born on December 20, 1779 in Carlisle, Pa. , the tenth child of John and Catherine (Rowan) Wilkins. He was descended from Robert Wilkins, who emigrated from Wales to Lancaster County, Pa. , in 1694. William's father removed from Donegal Township, Lancaster County, to Carlisle in 1763; he was a tavern and storekeeper and during the Revolution served as captain in the Continental Army. In 1783 he removed to Pittsburgh to establish a store, subsequently achieving some prominence and holding various city and county offices.
Education
William probably received his early education in Pittsburgh. He attended Dickinson College, Carlisle, in the class of 1802.
Career
After studying law with David Watts of Carlisle, he returned to Pittsburgh and was admitted to the Allegheny County bar in 1801. In 1806, under censure for serving as a second in a duel, he spent a year in Kentucky with his brother. After his return he became active in city affairs; he was one of the organizers of the Pittsburgh Manufacturing Company, which, largely through his efforts, was chartered in 1814 as the Bank of Pittsburgh, of which he served as president until 1819; he was also president of the Monongahela Bridge Company, of the Greensburg and Pittsburgh Turnpike Company, and from 1816 to 1819 of the Pittsburgh common council. In 1819 Wilkins was elected as a Federalist to the state legislature, but in December 1820 resigned to accept appointment as president judge of the fifth judicial district of Pennsylvania. In May 1824 he was appointed judge of the United States district court for western Pennsylvania. In 1826 he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress. Elected in 1828 as a Democrat, he resigned before qualifying, principally for financial reasons. He had become an admirer of Andrew Jackson and in 1831 was elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat and Anti-Mason. He gained some prominence during the debates on the nullification question, when he heatedly supported Jackson against Calhoun. In 1833 he angered many of his constituents by his support of the measure removing the deposits from the state banks. On June 30, 1834, he resigned his seat in the Senate to accept appointment as minister to Russia. His negotiations for a treaty of neutral rights and for the renewal of certain trading rights in North America were alike unsuccessful, and he returned in April 1836. In 1840 he again ran for Congress but was defeated. He was elected in 1842, however, but his career in the House was cut short by his appointment in February 1844 as secretary of war in Tyler's cabinet. His main interest seems to have been in territorial expansion, and he suggested means of organizing new territories and spoke in favor of the annexation of Texas. He went out of office in 1845. Ten years later he was elected to the state Senate on the Democratic ticket, where he served one term, during which he sponsored a bill known as the "Wilkins Bill" proposing legislation favorable to the liquor interests. After the increase in real-estate values in 1855 he found himself in comfortable circumstances, and on an estate of 650 acres in the east end of Pittsburgh he built an elaborate mansion, "Homewood, " which became a fashionable social center. At the beginning of the Civil War he took an active part in rallying troops and fostering patriotism. He was fond of military display and in 1862 was appointed major-general of the Pennsylvania Home Guard.
Achievements
Personality
William Wilkins was known as a man of great amiability and public spirit; he was moderate in his habits, tall and rugged in appearance, and courteous in manner.
Connections
He was twice married: first, in 1815, to Catherine Holmes of Baltimore, who died in 1816; and second, October 1, 1818, to Mathilda Dallas, daughter of Alexander J. Dallas of Philadelphia; by his second wife he had three sons and four daughters.