Descendants of Rudolph Wilkin
of the Duchy of Baden

Generation #1

Rudolph (Wilcke) Wilkin of the Duchy of Baden

Rudolph Wilcke was born in about 1690 in the Kraichgau Region in the Duchy of Baden which at the time was a part of the Holy Roman Empire [HRE] and is part of modern Germany. In 1715, Rudolph married a woman named Elizabeth. Rudolph and Elizabeth are first found in the town of Weiler in the Neckar Valley where son Johann Gottfried was born. In Weiler, Rudolph worked as a baker and innkeeper. And, Rudolph and his family attended the Reformed Lutheran Church in the nearby village of Hilsbach.

The Palatinate Migration Stream is the name given to the flood of ethnic Germans who fled the ethnic German lands from Switzerland and the many principalities along the Rhine River, arriving in America in the early 1700s. After suffering depredations and having decided to leave their homeland, the Wilkin's last punishment prior to their departure for America was a migration fine/ tax of 57 florins and 27 kreuzer. [Palatinate Immigration]

Rudolph and family immigrated to America aboard the William and Sarah, arriving 9/18/1727 at Philadelphia. Their party of 400 individuals was headed by Rev. George Michael Weiss, Pastor of the Reformed Church. And, the family settled in the ethnic German Northern Liberties, north of Philadelphia Town and along the Delaware River.

The German Reformed Church began as a branch of Calvinist Protestant Christianity doctrinally based on the Heidelberg Catechism, which was published in Germany in 1563. During the eighteenth century, many German Reformed adherents emigrated to Pennsylvania and neighboring colonies from Germany and Switzerland, often to escape wars in Europe. In the early years, they relied on lay leaders and met in private homes.

On September 21, 1727, the Rev. George Michael Weiss and 400 members of the German Reformed Church arrived in Philadelphia from the Palatinate region of western Germany. They settled in a neighborhood east of Broad Street and north of Market Street. Weiss, the first ordained German Reformed minister in North America, began holding services soon after his arrival. The congregation he organized in 1727 became Philadelphia's Old First Reformed Church.

For two decades after its founding, the Philadelphia German Reformed congregation did not have a church building. They worshipped in the home of a member, then in a small frame house on Arch Street that they shared with Philadelphia's Lutheran congregation. In 1741, the German Reformed congregation purchased a lot on the southeast corner of Fourth and Sassafras (now Race) streets. The first church building, a hexagonal structure, was completed in December 1747. The Pennsylvania Coetus of the German Reformed Church held its first meeting at the Philadelphia church that same year.

    "Old First Reformed Church Records," The Historical Society of Pennsylvania <http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/o/ofrc3010.htm> 12 January 2015.

After their arrival in Philadelphia, the next records for the Wilkin family are found at the Reformed churches of Philadelphia in the 1740s and 50s. In 1756 sons Gottfried and George received a Lord Fairfax grant of 400 acres in what would become Shenandoah County, Virginia. Son Gottfried and family migrated down the Great Wagon Road to Virginia where his descendants were prominent residents through the 20th century. But, son George never went to Virginia, leaving Gottfried as the sole owner of the property.

The last record for Rudolph was in January of 1760 and provides four important facts. From the records for the 1st Reformed Church of Philadelphia, we learn that 1) Elizabeth had died, and 2) Rudolph subsequently married a woman named Anna Maria. And with Anna Maria's burial record, we learn 3) her date of death and infer that 4) Rudolph preceded her in death; as Anna Maria is cited as "widow of Rudolph" by January of 1760.

In January of 1762, both son Gottfried and son George were married on the same day at the Reformed Church of Philadelphia. This was the second marriage for both sons. Son George had remained in Philadelphia. Son George had remained in Philadelphia. Perhaps, son Gottfried needed to return to Philadelphia to settle his father's estate.

• Born c. 1690 Duchy of Baden (Germany)

• Married 1715 in the Duchy of Baden to Elizabeth Wilkin b. c. 1695 Duchy of Baden (Germany)

• Immigrated 9/18/1727 aboard the ship William and Sarah to Philadelphia PA

• Married after 1740 in Philadelphia Co PA to Anna Maria Wilkin b. 1705

• Died before 1760 Philadelphia PA

    Children

    1. Johann Gottfried Wilkin b. 1721 Weiler, Duchy of Baden (Germany)

    2. Johann George Wilkin

• Born c. 1728 Philadelphia PA

• 1/1750 Philadelphia Co PA Church Record

• Married before 8/1753 in Philadelphia Co PA to Anna Maria Duer b. c. 1733

• 5/1756 Philadelphia Co PA Church Record

• 9/11/1756 Frederick Co (now Shenandoah) Co VA Land Transaction

• Married 1/14/1762 in Philadelphia Co PA to Anna Maria Schmid b. c. 1740

• 6/1764 Philadelphia Co PA Church Record

• 3/1769 Philadelphia Co PA Church Record

• Died 7/1770 Philadelphia Co PA

    3. Maria Catherine Wilkin

• Born c. 1730 Philadelphia PA

• 2/1748 Philadelphia Co PA Church Record

• Married 9/26/1754 in Philadelphia Co PA to Johann Friedrich Dellinger b. 1722 Duchy of Baden

• Date and place of death unknown

Generation #2