Wilkinson

Descendants of William Jackson WILKINSON
From the Internet Study files of Steven Kamm of Oklahoma City

Generation 1

WILLIAM JACKSON1 WILKINSON was born on 18 Jul 1863 in Michigan. He died on 04 Feb 1926 in Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. He married Alice M. McALPINE,
daughter of George McALPINE and Minerva J. PALMER, in 1888 in Michigan. She was born in May 1866 in Michigan. She died on 04 Feb 1926 in Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
Bur.: in Keeler Cem., Keeler, Van Buren Co., MI

Notes for William Jackson WILKINSON:
William Jackson Wilkinson was born in 1863 in Michigan, the son of Willard and Mary (Farnham) Wilkinson. In about 1888, he married Alice McAlpine.
The couple had seven known children, all born in Cass County, MI. William died in 1926 in what appears to have been a mass murder.
At the time, it was suspected William killed his wife and two children before taking his own life.
However, this is not a likely scenario. See his wife's biography. Bur.: in Keeler Cem., Keeler, Van Buren Co., MI

Notes for Alice M. McALPINE:
Alice McAlpine was born in Michigan in 1866. She appears with her family in the 1870 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. After the death of her father in 1879,
Alice went to live with the family of her married sister, Minerva Capen, where she was listed as a 14-year-old in the 1880 US Census of Clyde Twp., Allegan Co., MI.
In about 1888, she married William Wilkerson.
Her growing family was enumerated in the 1900 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI:
Wm [36, MI]; Alice 34, MI]; John H. [13, MI]; Orlow [9, MI]; Mary [8, MI]; Floyd [8, MI]; and Guynes (Ginith) [5, MI].

The 1910 Federal Enumeration of Silver Creek shows two more children had been born, son Harold had moved away, and daughter Mary had married:
William, Alice, Harold, Orlo, Floyd, Gyneth, Avery and Helen. Son Avery died during WW I of pneumonia.

By the time of the 1920 US Census of Silver Lake, the only children remaining with their parents were Floyd, Gyneth and Helen. Alice, her husband and two children died tragically in 1926.

From a newspaper account of the events: "Five Die In Fire Tragedy At Farm. William Wilkinson Home At Magician Lake Is Scene Of Death Pyre. Three Thought Murdered.
Bodies of Wilkinson, His Wife, Son and Daughter and Latter's Infant Child Found In Ruins.

Mystery still surrounds the deaths of the five persons in the family of William Wilkinson, residing on the James Curran farm on the bank of the Magician Lake in Silver Creek township,
whose charred bodies were dragged from the ruins of the Wilkinson farm home last Thursday.
The dead are William Wilkinson, 65, veteran Silver Creek farmer, his wife, 60 years old and blind, Floyd Wilkinson, 27, a son, Gineth Wilkinson, 25, daughter,
and the latter's infant child.

The last act in one of the most ghastly tragedies in the history of Cass county occurred at Keeler last Saturday when funeral services for the five victims were held
at the Keeler M. E. church, Rev. Harry Watkins, pastor of the church officiating, and the five charred bodies were lowered into two graves in the Keeler cemetery.
Into one casket went the body of Wm. Wilkinson, his daughter and her child, and into the other the body of the mother and her son.
Only three members of the Wilkinson family escaped. Two sons were away from home, working at the farm of Leonard Jerue, and a married daughter was at her home not far from the
Wilkinson place. Act of Crazed Father. The generally accepted theory among the neighbors who knew Wilkinson and his family is that he killed his blind wife,
the son and daughter and set fire to the home.

The theory is supported by the fact that the skulls of all three victims were crushed. The father's skull was missing from his charred body, and was later found
in a crock among the ruins. It was so badly burned that it could be definitely determined whether his head had been crushed. Among the ruins Monday was found an axe,
known to have been purchased by Wilkinson. It is believed to have been the instrument used to crush the skulls of the wife, son and daughter. Greatest light is thrown upon the tragedy by
Dr. C. S. Robinson of Dowagiac, who was called to the Wilkinson home on the previous Tuesday to visit the daughter, Gineth.
He declares that Wilkinson was greatly unnerved when he learned that his unmarried daughter was to become a mother. His humiliation was intensified when the daughter
confessed to the physician and her father that Albert Alexis, 30, a Pottawattamie (sic) Indian residing near the Wilkinson farm, was responsible for her condition.
"He took advantage of me last summer after I had tried to fight him off," she told the physician in the presence of her father.

The other daughter who escaped the death pyre is the wife of a brother of Alexis. Had Many Worries. "Wilkinson was shaking like aleaf,"
says Dr. Robinson, after the daughter's confession. Wilkinson had experienced a long series of worries and troubles, say the neighbors.
That he became mentally deranged and caused the deaths of the members of his family, set fire to the home and either drank poison or
deliberately faced death in the flames, is the accepted theory. The crisis may have been precipitated by the birth of the illegitimate child Wednesday night, it is pointed out.
It was 2:30 Thursday morning that John James, a neighbor, discovered the Wilkinson home in flames. When neighbors arrived the house was a roaring furnace.
Nothing could be done except to wait for the flames to burn themselves out. When the debris cooled the suspicions of the neighbors were confirmed when the charred bodies
of the five victims were taken from the ruins.

Alexis, the Indian accused by the daughter, has been taken into custody for questioning. He is said to deny the charges.
A coroner's jury, consisting of William and Leon Phillips, John James, Vincent Donahoe, Edward Sweeney and Kenneth Suita, all neighbors of the family,
probed the tragedy and adjourned to February 18. It is probable that the true story of what happened at the Wilkinson home on the banks of Magician lake on that fateful night
may never be fully established. Besides the three surviving children, Wilkinson is survived by two brothers, Rose, living in Dowagiac and Dan, living north of the Red Mill.
Mrs. Wilkinson was formerly Miss Alice McAlpine, who had spent nearly her entire life in the neighborhood of the burned home.
She is survived by a brother, Schuyler McAlpine of Buffalo, a sister, Mrs. Mary Gould Cappon of Lansing, and another sister, Mrs. Cora Heagy of South Bend,
whose husband died three weeks ago.

The Wilkinsons were the parents of Avery Wilkinson, the first Dowagiac boy to die during the World War. His death occurred in Texas (sic), from pneumonia, and he is buried at Keeler."
In spite of the initial suspicions, it seems unlikely that William could have committed the murders, set a fire and then cut off his own head. Note that Ginith's accused attacker,
Albert Alexis died in May of the same year.

William Jackson WILKINSON and Alice M. McALPINE had the following children:

i JOHN HAROLD2 WILKINSON was born on 28 Jul 1888 in Cass Co., MI
Notes for John Harold WILKINSON:
John Harold, first child of William and Alice (McAlpine) Wilkinson, was born in 1888 in Cass Co., MI. Thirteen-year-old John H. is included with his family in the 1900 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. He is shown as 22-year-old Harold, still at home, in the 1910 Federal Enumeration of Cass Creek. In 1917, Harold, a resident of Decatur, MI, registered for the WW I Draft. The 1920 US Census shows him as a 33-year-old man, residing with the Downey family in Silver Creek, Cass County.

ii ORLOW ARNOLD WILKINSON was born on 30 Sep 1890 in Cass Co., MI1. He died after 1952 in [prob.] Michigan. He married June R. WILKINSON before 1940.
Notes for Orlow Arnold WILKINSON:
Orlow was born in Cass Co., MI, in 1890. He appears with his parents and siblings in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 Federal Enumerations of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
He and his wife, June, are listed in the 1940, 1942, 1946, and 1952 City Directories of Jackson, Jackson Co., MI.

iii. MARY LEONA WILKINSON was born on 18 Aug 1891 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 01 Nov 1918 in Mason, Cass Co., MI
2. She married Hiram Garret STEWART on 16 Oct 1909 in Cassopolis, Cass Co., MI. He was born on 23 Aug 1885 in Big Springs, Douglas Co., KS.
He died on 15 Jul 1941 in Van Wert, Van Wert Co., OH.

iv FLOYD F. WILKINSON was born in Apr 1894 in Cass Co., MI. He died on 04 Feb 1926 in Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
Notes for Floyd F. WILKINSON:
Floyd was born in 1894 in Cass Co., MI. He is listed with his family in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 Federal Enumerations of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
He died in the tragedy of 1926. See his mother's biography.

v. GINITH WILKINSON was born in Sep 1896 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 04 Feb 1926 in Cass Co., MI.
She met (1) ALBERT ALEXIS. He was born about 1898 in Michigan. He died on 09 May 1926 in Cass Co., MI.

vi AVERY B. WILKINSON was born on 30 Apr 1899 in Cass Co., MI. He died on 26 May 1917 in Campbell Co., KY
Bur.: in Keeler Cem., Keeler, Van Buren Co., MI
Notes for Avery B. WILKINSON:
Avery was born in Cass Co., MI, in 1899. He appears with his family in the 1910 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
Avery enlisted in the Army during WW I. Sadly, he died of pneumonia in 1917 in Kentucky.

vii HELEN MARY WILKINSON was born on 02 Feb 1904 in Cass Co., MI4. She died on 30 Apr 1969 in Cass Co., MI.
She married Arthur Ralph ALEXIS, son of David ALEXIS and Julia Ann PIASAWAY, on 03 Mar 1924 in Cass Co., MI.
He was born on 27 Mar 1883 in Indiana5. He died on 29 Sep 1976 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., MI6. Bur.: in Sacred Heart Cem., Dowagiac, Cass Co., MI
Notes for Helen Mary WILKINSON:
Helen, the last child of William and Alice (McAlpine) Wilkinson, was born in 1904 in Cass Co., MI. She is included in the 1910 and 1920 Federal Enumerations of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. In 1924, she became the second wife of Native American Arthur Alexis, 22 years her senior. In 1926, her parents and two siblings died in what was believed to be a mass murder. See her mother's biography. According to her sister Ginith's testimony, she had been impregnated by Arther's brother. Helen and Arthur are shown together in the 1930 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. They were still there when the 1940 Federal Census was conducted. Helen died in 1969. Arthur died in 1976.
Arthur was a Potawatomi Native American, born in 1883 in Indiana. In 1924, he married his second wife, Helen Wilkinson. The couple apparently had no children. He died in 1976.

Generation 2

2 MARY LEONA WILKINSON (William Jackson1) was born on 18 Aug 1891 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 01 Nov 1918 in Mason, Cass Co., MI2. She married Hiram Garret STEWART on 16 Oct 1909 in Cassopolis, Cass Co., MI. He was born on 23 Aug 1885 in Big Springs, Douglas Co., KS. He died on 15 Jul 1941 in Van Wert, Van Wert Co., OH.
Bur.: in Chain Lake Cem., Calvin Center, Cass Co., MI
Notes for Mary Leona WILKINSON:
Mary was born in Cass Co., MI, in 1891. She is listed with her family in the 1900 US Census of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI. In 1909, she married Kansas native Hiram Steward in Cass County.
The new couple are included in the 1910 US Census of Pokagon, Cass Co., MI, residing with Hiram's parents. Three children were born to Mary and Hiram: Ruth in 1910, Otis in 1912,
and Ellen in 1915. Ruth died as an infant. Sadly, Mary died in 1918. The 1920 Federal Census of Calvin, Cass Co., MI, includes Hiram and his two surviving children living with his parents.
Later in 1920, he married Maela Ann Brown.

Notes for Hiram Garret STEWART:
Hiram was born in 1885 in Kansas. He and his parents are listed in census records as Mulattoes. The 1900 US Census of Mound Valley, Labette Co., KS, includes 15-year-old
Hiram G. living with his family. In 1909, Hiram married Mary Wilkinson in Cass Co., MI. She died in 1918 after giving birth to three children.
After her death, Hiram married Maela Ann Brown. He died in 1941 in Ohio.

Hiram Garret STEWART and Mary Leona WILKINSON had the following children:
RUTH ELIZABETH3 STEWART was born on 02 Dec 1910 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 06 Dec 1910 in Cass Co., MI.
OTIS HENRY STEWART was born on 04 May 1912 in Cass Co., MI. He died on 14 Oct 1972 in Pontiac, Oakland Co., MI.
ELLEN ELIZABETH STEWART was born on 09 Aug 1915 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 31 Jan 1960 in Dowagiac, Cass Co., MI.

GINITH2 WILKINSON (William Jackson1) was born in Sep 1896 in Cass Co., MI. She died on 04 Feb 1926 in Cass Co., MI. She met (1) ALBERT ALEXIS.
He was born about 1898 in Michigan. He died on 09 May 1926 in Cass Co., MI.
Bur.: in Keeler Cem., Keeler, Van Buren Co., MI

Notes for Ginith WILKINSON:
Ginith (Gyneth, Gineth, Gynith, Guynes), daughter of William and Alice (McAlpine) Wilkinson, was born in Cass Co., MI, in 1896.
She is listed with her family in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 Federal Enumerations of Silver Creek, Cass Co., MI.
According to her testimony, in 1925, a Potawatomi Native American named Albert Alexis forced himself on her. A baby was born on February 3rd, 1926.
The following day, Ginith, her infant, her parents and her brother all died in what is believed to be a mass murder. See her mother's biography.
Note that the alleged assailant, Albert Alexis, died in May of 1926.

Notes for Albert ALEXIS:
Albert was a Potawatomi Native American, born about 1898 in Michigan. He died in 1926 in Cass Co., MI.
Supposedly - Albert ALEXIS and Ginith WILKINSON had the following child:

INFANT3 WILKINSON was born on 03 Feb 1926 in Cass Co., MI. Infant died on 04 Feb 1926 in Cass Co., MI.
Bur.: in Keeler Cem., Keeler, Van Buren Co., MI

Sources:
Michigan, Births and Christenings Index, 1867-1911.
Michigan, Deaths and Burials Index, 1867-1995.
Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953.
Cemetery Record.
WW I Draft Registration.
Michigan Deaths, 1971-1996.

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