Harvey Uriah Wilkins
b. 28 April 1822, Barre, Washington County, Vermont, to Uriah and Lucy (Wilkins) Wilkins
d. 14 June 1902, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana
m/1. 5 February 1843, Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana
Elizabeth Parkhurst
b. 1826, Smith County, Tennessee
m/2.
Elizabeth Stepleton
Children with Elizabeth Parkhurst:
- Charles Ezekiel
- Thomas Hiram
- Hester Ann
- Wilson Uriah
- David Josiah
- Mary Lucy (1853-1853)
After the death of his first wife in 1853, when baby Mary Lucy was born and died, Harvey returned to Indiana with his two older sons, leaving the three younger children with their Parkhurst grandparents from 1853 through 1861, when the grandmother died.
Because of diseased eyes and ulcerated varicose veins, Harvey had great difficult providing for his family. His two older sons helped with their support. Charles Ezekiel “Zeke” Wilkins, who enlisted in the Union Army on 27 August 1861 and served in Company A, 9th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, sent a portion of his military pay home to his father. After Zeke was killed in the Battle of Chickamauga, Harvey applied to the government for a dependent father’s pension. In spite of numerous affidavits testifying to his need, the pension was denied because the military had recorded Charles Ezekiel’s middle initial incorrectly.
Submitted by:
Beverly Wilkins Craig
Columbus IN