Descendants of Francis Wilkinson of
County Antrim, Ireland

Wilkinson

Generation #4

Brannoc (3Francis, 2Samuel, 1Francis) Wilkinson of North Carolina

If Thomas Wilkinson was an example of the quintessential American pioneer, Brannoc was the penultimate pioneer. Following in his older brother's footsteps, Brannoc spent his life pushing ever west as new lands were opened for settlement. But unlike his brother, Brannoc eventually settled down, becoming a prominent mill owner in what would become Livingston Co MO.

Brannoc Wilkinson was born in 1771, probably in North Carolina. We know of Brannoc's birth place primarily from his children. In the 1880 censuses, first son Henry states that his father was born in Delaware and his mother was born in North Carolina. But sons John and Joseph Brannoc state that their father was born in Virginia and their mother was born in Kentucky. The best explanation is that Henry was the son of Brannoc and an unknown first wife.

In 1781 after the death of Grandfather Samuel, Brannoc migrated with his family to what was then Washington Co VA. And, Brannoc's father is recorded purchasing land between Thompson and Lewis Creeks which are headwaters of the Clinch River near Honaker, Russell Co VA.

After the death of Francis in 1798, Brannoc probably lived with his mother, Rachael; as Rachael is found recorded in the Russell Co VA Property Tax List from the Lower Dist. in 1798. Are these lands in the Lower District the lands originally willed to Francis in 1781?

In about 1800 probably in Russell Co VA, Brannoc married an unknown spouse from North Carolina. With his first wife, he had son Henry and perhaps other children. This first wife died prior to 1/1807. From 1800 to 1802, Brannoc is recorded instead of Rachael from the Lower Dist. of Russell Co VA. Had Rachael left with brother Thomas for Kentucky by 1799? By 1803, the family disappears from records in Virginia.

In 1803 the family migrated through the Cumberland Gap to Knox (now Whitley) Co KY where Brannoc patented land on Meadow Creek north of the Cumberland River. The specific reasons for Brannoc continuing this westward migration are not known. However, this Wilkinson Family became a part of the greater migration pattern which populated the interior of America after the Revolutionary War.

In 1804 brother Thomas patented land on Flat Creek 1/2 mile east of Brannoc. Brannoc disappears from the Knox Co KY records after his 1809 marriage to Polly, but Thomas was enumerated in the 1810 Knox Co KY Census, age 25-44. Interestingly, there is a female in the household, aged over 45. Reasonable conjecture leads to the belief that this is Rachael Brannock Wilkinson, Brannocs' mother.

On 1/15/1807 in Knox Co KY, Brannoc married Polly Slaughter b. c. 1787 in Virginia. Brannoc is found in multiple tax lists and land transactions in Knox Co KY from 1803 until 1808. In 1809 Polly's father, John Slaughter, moved his family from Knox Co KY to Madison Co, Mississippi Territory, and Brannoc disappears from the tax records of Knox Co KY. Did Brannoc migrated in the company of the Slaughter Family? 

By 1811 Brannoc and family were living in Tennessee where son Martin was born. Evidently, their migration route took them directly down the Cumberland River from Permon KY to Gainesboro TN. Proof of Brannoc's residence is found in an 1815 Jackson Co TN land record which lists improvements made by Brannoc on lands purchased by Robert Bailey.

In 1817 Brannoc and family are found in Warrick Co IN where he settled down to farm. Reportedly, Brannoc and son Henry were involved in an altercation which resulted in civil proceedings. Afterward, Brannoc and most of the children migrated to Ray Co MO.

Arriving in Ray Co MO by 1822, Brannoc settled down to farm again. Note, this territory was opened by Daniel Boone when the lands were still part of Spanish Louisiana.

That part of Camden township, east of range twenty-nine, was originally in Bluffton township, and subsequently in Richmond township; that west of range twenty-eight was formerly a part of Fishing River township, hence, as already stated, the territory embraced in this township was settled at a very early date as early as 1818.

Among the first settlers we mention the following, nearly all of whom were from Tennessee: Jeremiah, Samuel and John Crowley, Thomas English, Richard and Aaron Linville, Branick Wilkinson, William and Henry Morgan, John C. Cates, Sen., Joseph E. Brockman, John Elliott, Frank Jackson, Ballard Hudgins and others.

    "History of Ray County, Mo.," Internet Archive "American Libraries," No Date, <http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofraycoun00miss/historyofraycoun00miss_djvu.txt> 14 March 2009.

In 1833 the new lands of Carroll/Livingston County were opened for settlement. Brannoc settled north of Chillicothe where he is cited as erecting the first/second horse-powered mill in the region.

The first mill in the county was run by horsepower and was built by Brannock Wilkerson, four miles north of the present site of Chillicothe.

    "Livingston County Agri-facts," Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service, No date <http://agebb.missouri.edu/mass/agrifact/livingst/narative.htm> 15 July 2004.

Joseph Cox was the first settler in what is now Chillicothe township, on section 12-58-24, in 1833. As noted elsewhere, it was at his house where the first courts were held in the county. Wm. Linville came in 1834 to section 11. Brannock Wilkerson and Caleb A. Gibbons were very early settlers in this quarter. Elisha Hereford settled on Grand river, South of Chillicothe, near the site of Hereford's ferry in 1834; the previous year he had located on Medicine creek, eight miles east of Chillicothe. Brannock Wilkerson put up a horse mill, which Mr. Boyd's Atlas sketch says was the first in the county, but this is a mistake; Saml. E. Todd's was the first horse mill, antedating Wilkerson's by a year or two.

    "History of Livingston County [MO]," Livingston County Library, No date <http://www.lcl.lib.mo.us/~lcl/History/County/1886/1886chapt20.htm> 15 July 2004.

Brannoc and Polly lived the remainder of their lives in Livingston Co MO. No documentation is found for Polly after the 1830 Ray Co MO Census. In 1843 Brannoc is last documented patenting additional land in Livingston Co MO. 

Brannoc was in his "78th year" when he died on 2/4/1848. His obituary was reported in the Chariton Co MO newspaper where son Thomas lived. Brannoc died intestate. Son Martin was appointed by the court to inventory and dispose of the estate. In a court affidavit dated 2/7/1848, Brannoc's sons John N., Martin, and Thomas are cited as living in Missouri while son Joseph B. is cited as living in Mississippi.

Kentucky Land Grants:
1803 - Thomas Potter is owning land on Meadow Creek [vic Permon KY]. Grants also are to Benjamin Mackey, Brannick Wilkinson, and William Potter all on Meadow Creek.
KNOX COUNTY KENTUCKY MARRIAGES 1804-1825
Polly Slaughter & Brannock Wilkerson January 15, 1807
Abstractions from Record Group 50, Early Land Records, Tennessee State Library and Archives, by Betty Huff Bryant, p. 148, (Original Deed Bk. 30, p. 57):
#14842, "Robert Bailey, 15 acres, waters of Brimstone Creek, to include Bromnoch Wilkinson's improvement, 8 April 1815, Noah Bennett Loc."
Males Born
After		 # Wilkinson Females Born
After		 # Wilkinson
45+   1 Brannoc 45+      
25-44 1775 0   25-44 1775 1 Polly
18-25 1795 0   18-25 1795 0  
16-18 1802 0   10-18 1805 1 Unknown
10-15 1805 1 John
to 10 1810 2 Martin
Thomas		 to 10 1810 0  
[T]he circuit court convened in Richmond, for the first time, Thursday, March 19, A. D., 1829. David Todd was still judge; George Woodward, clerk; Larkin Stanley, sheriff. The following persons were on the grand jury: — William Black, foreman; Thomas Edwards, Noble Goe, Alex. Bogart, Fouche Garner, John Cleavenger, John Turner, John McCrosky, William Mann, Benjamin Nichols, Robert Gragg, James R. Walker, Jesse Tivault, Branick Wilkinson, John Scott, and James Ball.
    "History of Ray County, Mo.," Internet Archive "American Libraries," No Date, <http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofraycoun00miss/historyofraycoun00miss_djvu.txt> 14 March 2009.
Males Born After # Wilkinson Females Born After # Wilkinson
100+   0   100+      
to 100 1730 0   to 100 1730    
to 90 1740 0   to 90 1740    
to 80 1750 0   to 80 1750    
to 70 1760 0   to 70 1760    
to 60 1770 1 Brannoc to 60 1770    
to 50 1780 0   to 50 1780 1 Polly
to 40 1790 0   to 40 1790 0  
to 30 1800 0   to 30 1800 0  
to 20 1810 2 John
Martin		 to 20 1810 0  
to 15 1815 0   to 15 1815 0  
to 10 1820 1 Joseph B. to 10 1820 0  
to 5 1825 0   to 5 1825 1 Nancy
Past and Present of Livingston County, v. 1:
The first settler in Chillicothe township was Joseph Cox, who erected a cabin on 12-58-24, in the year 1833. Section eleven was first occupied by William Linville in 1834. Caleb A. Gibbons and Brannock Wilkerson also located in the Cox neighborhood, while south of the present city of Chillicothe, Elisha Hereford and Daniel E. Todd located in 1834.
    "History of Livingston County [MO]," Livingston County Library, No date .<http://www.lcl.lib.mo.us/~lcl/History/County/1886/1886chapt20.htm> 21 May 2005.

The first county roads were opened in September 1837. Brannock Wilkinson, James Leeper and S. B. Campbell were the commissioners of a road from Chillicothe to Millport, near Gallatin, in Daviess county. This was the first road.
    "History of Livingston County [MO]," Livingston County Library, No date .<http://www.lcl.lib.mo.us/~lcl/History/County/1886/1886chapt03.htm> 16 July 2004.
Livingston County Mills (1937):
In the first "Armstrong Mill" the stones that the burrs were made of was found on Honey Creek bluffs about six miles north of Chillicothe, and were made by Brannock Wilkerson about 1839. The base was a white oak stump hollowed out to fit the burrs. This was a free mill for all. Everyone had to do his own grinding. It was used for a number of years by the pioneers of the county.
But power mills soon came in vogue and between Joseph Cox, who built a water mill in 1840 on the same location on Medicine Creek that was later known as Slagle's Mill, and Samuel Todd's mill on west Grand River near Utica, lies the claim of being the first water mill. Between Todd and Brannock Wilkerson lies the distinction of building the first horse-mill. . . .
    "Livingston County Agri-facts," Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service, No date <http://agebb.missouri.edu/mass/agrifact/livingst/narative.htm> 15 July 2004.		 
IN TOWNSHIP 58, RANGE 24.
Name.                Description.                      Date.
Brannock Wilkerson.  s. 1/2 nw. and w. 1/2 sw. sec. 1  Sept. 10, 1839
Brunswick, Chariton Co MO Obituary:
February 24, 1848. Brannick Wilkinson of Livingston County, died February 4, 1848 in his 78th year.

Note: Heirs listed are John N., Martin, & Thomas Wilkinson of Missouri
and Joseph B. Wilkinson of Mississippi.

    Children with first wife

    1. Henry Wilkinson

WILKISON,  HENRY  IN  10/01/1840  24721  IN2320__.235
WILKISON,  HENRY  IN  10/01/1840  24722  IN2320__.236
WILKENSON, HENRY  IN  08/01/1844  31483  IN2450__.488
WILKERSON, HENRY  IN  10/01/1852  36249  IN2550__.132
 
1850 Federal Census, Warrick County, Boone Twp, Indiana
FN  DN  Last      First     Age  Sex Occup   POB
========================================================
116 116 Wilkinson Henry     49   M   Farmer  Va
                  Mary      49   F           Ky
                  Brannick  21   M   Farmer  Ill
                  Isham     13   M           Ia
 Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
 Henry WILKERSON   Self   M   Male   W   79   VA   Farmer   DE   NC 
 Mary WILKERSON   Wife   M   Female   W   70   TN   Keeping House   SC   SC 

    Children with Polly Slaughter

    2. John N. Wilkinson

Probate for Branick Wilkinson of Livingston Co MO:
Heirs listed are "John N. Wilkinson, Martin Wilkinson, & Thomas Wilkinson whom reside in the State of Missouri and Joseph B. Wilkinson residing in the State of Mississippi."		 
1850 Federal Census, Ray County, Missouri
FN  DN  Last      First       Age  Sex Occup   POB
===================================================
38  38  Wilkinson John S.     41   M   Farmer  Ky 
                  Lucinda     24   F           "
                  William D.   6   M           Mo 
                  Susannah E.  5   F           "
                  John T.     6/12 M           "
Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
 Lucinda WILKINSON   Self   M   Female   W   55   KY   Keeping House   SCOTLAND   VA 
 Emma WILKINSON   Dau   S   Female   W   20   MO      IN   KY 

    3. Martin Wilkinson

Ray Co MO Marriage Records:
1830 Aug 29 Wil[k]inson, Martin; Lovell, Polly
History of Livingston County [MO] (1886):
The second sale of lots came off May 4 and 5, 1838, when the aggregate sales
amounted to $1,807. The expenses of the town up to this time. . .Martin Wilkinson, to 3 days' labor, at $1.25.
Probate for Branick Wilkinson of Livingston Co MO:
Heirs listed are " John N. Wilkinson, Martin Wilkinson, & Thomas Wilkinson whom reside in the State of Missouri and Joseph B. Wilkinson residing in the State of Mississippi."		 
1850 Federal Census, Livingston County, Missouri
FN  DN  Last      First   Age  S  Occup   POB  
====================================================
76  76  Wilkinson Martin  37   M  Farmer  Tennessee
                  Polly   37   F          "
                  Children                Missouri
Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
 Martin WILKINSON   Self   W  Male  W   69  ALA  Farming  DEL  NC
 Elizabeth WALKER  Dau   W  Female   W   35  MO    Keeping House   AL  DEL
 William H WALKER  GSon  S  Male  W  16  AR    NJ  MO
 Laura WALKER  GDau  S  Female  W  12  AR  NJ  MO

    4. Thomas H. Wilkinson

    Note: There were two Thomas Wilkinsons in Chariton Co MO. This Thomas wed Mary Moore. The other wed Mary Frances Williams.

History of Livingston County [MO] (1886):
July 10 [1837], Thos. Wilkerson and Mary Moore, by Nathan H. Gregory, J. P.
Probate for Branick Wilkinson of Livingston Co MO:
Heirs listed are " John N. Wilkinson, Martin Wilkinson, & Thomas Wilkinson whom reside in the State of Missouri and Joseph B. Wilkinson residing in the State of Mississippi."		 
1850 Federal Census, Chariton County, Missouri
FN  DN   Last       First       Age S  Occup     POB  
===========================================================
575 575  Wilkinson  Thomas      33  M  Carpenter Indiana 
                    Mary        31  F            Tennessee 
                    Novanzruble 10  M            MO
                    William      9  M            MO
                    Howeston     5  M            MO
                    John         1  M            MO
 
1860 Federal Census: Linn County, Missouri
HN   FN   LAST      FIRST       AGE SEX OCCUP.    REAL   PERS  BIRTH 
=====================================================================
          Wilkerson T H         45  M                           Tenn
                    Mary        42  F                           Tenn
                    Novazembla  19  M                           MO
                    William     17  M                           MO
                    James H     13  M                           MO
                    John W      11  M                           MO
                    Mary F       8  F                           MO
                    George W     5  M                           MO
 
1870 Federal Census, Franklin County, Mississippi

HN  FN  LAST      FIRST    AGE R  SEX OCCUP.         BIRTH 
===========================================================
        Wilkenson Thomas   56  W  M                  KY
                  Mary     53  W  F                  TN
                  John     21  W  M                  MO
                  George   15  W  M                  MO
                  Caroline 17  W  F                  MO
Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
George Wilkerson Self M M W 25 MO Laborer ILL IN
Emmer Wilkerson Wife M F W 18 ILL
Mary F Wilkerson Dau   F W Sep MO      
Mary Wilkerson M/Law W F W 63 TN

    5. Joseph Brannoc Wilkinson b. 11/16/1822 Ray Co MO

    6. Nancy Wilkinson

Generation #5

Caveat
This site is provided for reference only. Except where specifically cited, information contained is conjecture and should not be considered as fact.
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