William Wilkins

William Wilkins (December 20, 1779 – June 23, 1865) was an American judge and politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Jacksonian member of the United States Senate from 1831 to 1834 and as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 21st congressional district from 1843 to 1844. He served as a member of both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, United States Minister to Russia and the 19th United States Secretary of War. Early life and education Wilkins was born on December 20, 1779, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Captain John Wilkins, a captain in the American Revolution, and Catherine Rowan. Wilkins attended the Pittsburgh Academy, the forerunner of the University of Pittsburgh. He read law in 1801, and graduated from Dickinson College in 1802. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1801 to 1806. He was "second" in a duel in 1806 which resulted in the death of a Mr. Bates. It was the last recorded duel in Pennsylvania before the Pennsylvania General Assembly outlawed the practice. Bates was very popular and Wilkins left Pennsylvania due to the duel to live with his brother Charles Wilkins in Lexington, Kentucky. He continued private practice in Lexington, Kentucky from 1806 to 1807. He resumed private practice in Pittsburgh from 1808 to 1815. He assisted in organizing the Pittsburgh Manufacturing Company in 1810. He was the first President of the Bank of Pittsburgh. He was President of the Pittsburgh City Council from 1816 to 1819. He was a Federalist member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1819 to 1820. He was President Judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for the Fifth Judicial District from 1820 to 1824. In the 1820s, Wilkins and George M. Dallas were leaders in the Family Party faction of the Democratic Party. The faction was named Family Party since Wilkins, Dallas and several other key leaders were all related by marriage. The Family Party had political strength and were able to place the defeated governor William Findlay as a U.S. Senator in 1821.