Unknown County GaArchives Biographies.....Wilkes, Thomas U. 1816 - 1865
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 4, 2005, 2:23 pm

Author: J. H. Campbell

THOMAS U. WILKES.

  During the author's pastorate in Macon, Georgia, in the spring of 1831, T. U.
Wilkes, his mother and sister presented themselves before the Conference with
letters of dismission from a church in South Carolina, of which State he was a
native. He was then about twenty years of age. His father, en route from South
Carolina to Alabama, finding the roads in an almost impassable condition,
concluded to stop near Macon until such time as he could prosecute his journey
to better advantage, which he did the ensuing winter. Being a mill-wright by
trade, he and the subject of this sketch undertook the erection of a mill on
Walnut creek, three miles above Macon, for the brothers Austin and Thomas Ellis.
Those excellent men ever after held T. U. Wilkes in the highest esteem. Indeed,
a cordial friendship then sprang up between them which lasted throughout their
lives.

  He had been "licensed" by his mother church in South Carolina, and, though his
education was quite limited, and his appearance, on the whole, ungainly, yet
such was his thirst for knowledge, his fervid zeal, and his unostentatious
piety, as to give strong hope of future usefulness. With this hope, the writer
encouraged him to attend school at least two years, and pledged his own lean
purse for his support, should such a resort be necessary. The project for
starting Mercer Institute was then on foot, but Wilkes had no time to lose. So,
at the instance of the writer, Rev. A. Sherwood, then residing near Eatonton,
Putnam county, agreed to receive him into his family and give him his board and
tuition, on condition that he would work half his time. With this condition he
faithfully complied, working at his trade, (that of a carpenter,) in the field,
or wherever his services were required. This arrangement lasted only one year,
and the following winter, (the second Monday in January, 1833,) Wilkes was one
of the "faithful few" who were at the opening of Mercer Institute. Here he
continued two years or more, having acquired a very respectable knowledge of
English and Latin; and when he retired from the institute, he carried with him
the respect and confidence of Rev. B. M. Sanders, the principal, than whom there
have been few better judges of human nature. This was also true of Rev. Dr.
Sherwood, it being well known to the writer that Wilkes was ever afterwards held
in high esteem by those great and good men.

  Upon leaving Penfield, he was invited by the executive committee of the
Central Association to become their missionary. Lot Hearn, of Putnam county,
furnished him with a horse, and also a home at his house. Solomon Graves, of
Newton county, also offered him a home, so the missionary neither lacked friends
nor homes. In the course of that year he married a Miss Graves, of North
Carolina, a relative of the Graves family, of Newton county, one of the most
respectable and influential families in the State. With his wife, a most
excellent woman, he received a handsome property, so that, in his circumstances,
henceforth, though not affluent, he was quite independent. Yet this improvement
in his worldly condition did not divert his attention from the great work of the
ministry. To this work he devoted his best energies, with unwavering fidelity,
while he remained in this State, and, as far as is known, to the end of his
earthly career. He resided in Eatonton, and preached there and to contiguous
churches for several years. He was an earnest preacher, zealous and persevering,
and was eminently successful in building up his churches. Indeed, he was
considered by many worthy of being ranked in the first class of preachers in the
regions where he labored.

  Having been invited by the First Baptist Church in Atlanta to become their
pastor, he removed to that city about the year 1852. Having lost his first wife
while at Eatonton, he married an interesting lady of South Carolina. In Atlanta
he was the same zealous and indefatigable minister that he had ever been, and
many were "added unto the Lord." His case strikingly illustrates the fact, that
want of early education, even though coupled with personal disadvantages, (for
Wilkes had a harsh, grating voice, especially in its higher keys,) need be no
obstacle to great usefulness in the ministry. About the period of the breaking
out of the late war he removed with his family to the State of Arkansas, where
he died at about the age of fifty-four. The writer calls to remembrance the last
brief interview we ever had: It was so brief and so sad. After the storm of war
had burst upon the country, he was passing down the Central Railroad one night
for the purpose of preaching to the soldiers around Savannah. In passing Gordon,
he stepped out on the platform, when Wilkes, who was passing up from his old
home in Putnam, hearing his voice in the dark, recognized it and came to him. A
few hurried words—a cordial grasp of the hand—a mutual "God bless you!" and the
friends of many years parted, to meet no more on earth.

  Since the foregoing was written, the following additional facts have been
furnished by Rev. W. H. Robert, of Arkansas, viz: That Wilkes moved from Georgia
to Phillips county, Arkansas, in 1861, and settled on a farm near the town of
Trenton. During the war, like most of his neighbors, he suffered the loss of all
his earthly goods. He remained at home attending to his business, promoting the
general good of the community, encouraging the hearts of the desponding, and
preaching to his churches as usual. By much patience and perseverance he was
enabled to keep up his appointments regularly, and some of his largest
congregations were had during the war. For feeding his brother-in-law, a
Confederate soldier, he was arrested and treated with great indignity, and his
farming implements, stock and household furniture either destroyed or taken
away. He preached at Trenton, Blackfoot and Spring Creek churches in Phillips
county, and occasionally to Concord and salem churches in Monroe. His last days
were spent in preaching the gospel, the work he loved so well. In a meeting of
several days at Salem church he became much exhausted, and having rested at home
only one night, he began a similar meeting at Concord church. He had labored
here about a week when he was stricken down by disease, which in two weeks
terminated his earthly career. Brother Robert says, "He was conscious to the
last. Not two hours before his death, being informed of his condition by his
wife, he exclaimed, 'I know it— Thy will, oh God, be done!'" This was his last
utterance— “Thy will, not mine, be done!" This event occurred in the
neighborhood of Concord church, August 12th, 1865. He left a wife and five
children, one of whom, Luther, is a theological student at William Jewell
College, Missouri. He was a native of Marlboro' District, South Carolina, was
born in 1816, and died as above stated.


Additional Comments:
From:

GEORGIA BAPTISTS: HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL
BY
J. H. CAMPBELL,
PERRY, GEORGIA.


MACON, GA.: J. W. BURKE & COMPANY. 1874.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by
J. H. CAMPBELL,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.


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