James Whitney WILKIN, Congress, NY (1762-1845)

WILKIN, James Whitney, (father of Samuel Jones Wilkin), a Representative from New York; born in Wallkill, Orange (now Ulster) County, N.Y., in 1762; served in the Revolutionary War; was graduated from Princeton College in 1785; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1788 and began practice in Goshen, N.Y.; member of the State assembly in 1800; entered the State militia and rose through successive grades to the rank of major general; served in the State senate 1801-1804 and 1811-1814; member of the State assembly in 1808 and 1809, and served as speaker in the latter year; member of the council of appointment in 1802, 1811, and 1813; elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jonathan Fisk; reelected to the Fifteenth Congress and served from June 7, 1815, to March 3, 1819; unsuccessful candidate for United States Senator in 1815; county clerk of Orange County 1819-1821; county treasurer for several years; died in Goshen, N.Y., February 23, 1845; interment in Slate Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present