WILKINS, William Duncan, lawyer, soldier, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 1, 1826, son of Ross and Marie (Duncan) Wilkins. When he was five years old, his father removed to Detroit, Mich. After leaving the public schools he studied law at the University of Michigan and later practiced in Detroit. He was interested in the military, and having been one of the founders of the Detroit light guards, when war was declared with Mexico, he volunteered his services and became a member of the regiment commanded by Gen. Alphcus S. Williams, under whom he won the reputation of a brave and gallant soldier. He was clerk of the U. S. district court during 1850-70. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was made brigadier inspector of state troops at Fort Wayne, and in August, 1861, was appointed assistant adjutant general on the staff of Gen. Alpheus S. Williams. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Cedar Mountain, and again at the battle of Chancellorsville, being twice confined in Libby Prison. On August 29, 1863, he was compelled to resign on account of disability. Subsequently he was breveted lieutenant-colonel and colonel of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services during the war. Col. Wilkins was a genial, courteous gentleman whose friends were numerous. His tastes were literary, and he took a deep interest in educational matters. He was long a member of the Detroit School Board, serving for a number of terms as its president. One of the public schools bears his name. He made five trips to Europe, and a series of letters, descriptive of his travels, appeared in the Detroit Free Press, and are preserved in scrap-book form in the Detroit Public Library. Col. Wilkins was married July 18, 1854, to Elizabeth Cass, daughter of Charles C. Trowbridge, and had five children, Kate Trowbridge. who married Otto Hilgard Tittman of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; Ross; Charles Trowbridge; Mary Trowbridge, who married Count Conrad Von Zeppelin of Germany; and Frederick Sibley, who died in infancy. He died in Detroit, Mich., Mar. 21, 1882.
