Historic Hood River
Meet William Wilkinson
6-8-2023
Notes
I suspect there is more of a story here. The image is captioned “William Wilkinson/ Born Jan 2, 1837. Living in Hood River Oregon. 210 E. Sherman Ave.” Someone has corrected the year 1836 to 1826. What can we figure out about Mr. Wilkinson?
210 E. Sherman is pictured below as it is today. The photograph shows East State Street in the background.
Dale Nicol
The saw blade looks to be a very aggressive blade!
Basaltgrouse
Is that the top of the railroad bridge in the back ground above his head.
Alan
Wm Wilkinson – born 1837 N. Ireland. died 1935 in Hood River . . married 1869 to Margaret Anna Blaketer – born 1858 in Woodland Wash. died 1937 in The Dalles. William immigrated in 1865. Sometimes the old records can have mistakes which explains Anna being 11 when married.
ArthurB
Good catch, that is the railroad bridge over the Hood River.
Jeff Bryant
Please check the Hood River newspaper files for his obituary. He died 29 Sep 1935. I’ve also seen his birth year as 1846.
L.E.
Well, I learned one thing….there have been a lot of William Wilkinsons living in Oregon. Most of them from Scotland. This one appears to be from Ireland.
His birth year seems to vary from 1836 to 1847.
His marriage certificate to Annie Blaketer Woodburn is 1913. Second marriage for both.
1920 census has them living at 210 Sherman. He immigrated in 1865 and he is 73 years old. In 1930, ten years later, they are still living on Sherman. and he is now 94 years old.
His residence when he married was The Dalles, and in 1910 census there is a William Wilkinson, widowed, a boarder and works in a sewing mill. He is from Ireland so I think it might be the same guy, but he is 70 years old. He was in the Union Army.
What seems to be a fact is that he died September of 1935 and was living at 210 Sherman.
His death certificate says he was born in Iowa, he was a retired farmer and he was 99 years old, born January 2, 1936.
starboard
We’ve dated the house back to 1911, it may be older, but have not found any info. Foundation was added much later. The old garage shows up in some of the HHR pix of the old highway. Indoor plumbing wasn’t added until some years later.
L.E.
The December 16, 1916 HR Glacier reports that William Wilkinson who resides on State Street at the east end of town, picked large ripe raspberries from his bushes.
In the September 28, 1916 P.1 HR Glacier at the Pioneer Meeting, members reported when they arrived in Oregon. William Wilkinson 1867.
His brother Robert was considered a pioneer of Oregon City. He passed January 25, 1910 of tuberculosis. Brother John, passed away a few years earlier in Oregon City. They worked in the grist mill.
Brother James Wilkinson was a deacon in the Oregon City Congregational Church.
The September 2, 1910 Oregon City Enterprise has the Story of James and Jane Wilkinson which was read at their Golden Anniversary. If you read it, you will read about William’s early life in Ireland.
James worked at the woolen mill in Oregon City.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn00063700/1910-09-02/ed-1/seq-3.pdf
There was a woolen mill in The Dalles. I wonder if that is where William was working in 1910 when he is working in a sewing mill.
L.E.
And I forgot to add….In the 1851 Ireland Census, William is 12 years old.
His father is a linen weaver and he is learning to weave.
nels
Never seen a saw that mean, but those are sure not sawing wood shoes.
Garett
Wow thank you guys for looking into this for me! Absolutely incredible. Can’t say thank you enough. It just makes me want to find more info about this painting and see if there are others like it. I thought I saw your museum had one of his paintings, don’t know if that’s true. Thank you and I’ll keep digging. If you know more please keep the comments coming.
Garett
Garett Kopp
Haha oops. Wrong guy. And an old post. I just got excited