James Foster Wilkin (February 26, 1853 – December 4, 1914) was a lawyer in the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who was an

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

Judge from 1912 to his death.

Biography

J. Foster Wilkin was born in 1853 at Hollidays Cove, Virginia (now West Virginia). His parents moved to

Newcomerstown, Ohio Newcomerstown is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, east-northeast of Columbus. In the late 1770s, this was the largest Delaware Indian village on the Tuscarawas River, with 700 residents. Chief Newcomer (''Netawatwes'') was t ...

, where he attended the local schools. He studied at

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

and the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

. At Washington & Jefferson he was a member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

. He studied law at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, and had a thirty five year practice at

New Philadelphia, Ohio New Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The county's largest city, New Philadelphia lies along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 17,677 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city in the ...

. He married Virginia Smith of

, who died in 1919. Wilkin was associated with two of his sons in private practice, David R. and

Robert Nugen Wilkin Robert Nugen Wilkin (May 4, 1886 – February 23, 1973) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Early life and education Born in New Philadelphia, Ohio, Wilkin received a Bache ...

, under the name ''Wilkin and Wilkin''. He was elected

Tuscarawas County Tuscarawas County ( ) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,263. Its county seat is New Philadelphia. Its name is a Delaware Indian word variously translated as "ol ...

Prosecuting Attorney in 1882, 1884 and 1886. An election was held autumn 1912 to fill the unexpired term of James Latimer Price to the

, and Wilkin assumed his seat upon election December 20, 1912. He ran for re-election in 1914, but lost. He died before he could complete his term. He died December 4, 1914 at New Philadelphia, where he had gone to "recuperate from a slight indisposition" His funeral was at the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church in New Philadelphia and burial was at the Canal Dover Cemetery. He had eight or ten children. His son, Robert Nugen Wilkin, would later be chosen for the Supreme Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkin, J. Foster Ohio lawyers Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court People from New Philadelphia, Ohio 1853 births 1914 deaths People from Weirton, West Virginia Beta Theta Pi Washington & Jefferson College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni College of Wooster alumni Ohio Democrats County district attorneys in Ohio 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

See also

References