Jacob W. Wilkin

Jacob Wilson Wilkin (June 7, 1837 – April 4, 1907) was an American lawyer, soldier and judge, including nineteen years as a Justice (two as Chief Justice) of the Illinois Supreme Court. Early and family life Born in Licking County, Ohio near the National Road and Newark on June 7, 1837, Jacob was the fifth of nine children born to Isaac and Sarah Wilkin. Two of his brothers would become Methodist Episcopal ministers. His family moved west to Illinois in 1845. Jacob helped on the family farm, as well as attended the local public schools. He traveled west to Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois to attend McKendree College, and graduated in 1862. Soon afterward, Wilkin enlisted in the Illinois militia and Union Army, as discussed below. After the war, Wilkin married, as well as began studying law under the direction of John Scholfield in Marshall, Illinois. Military service