Cabarrus County, NC - W.A. Wilkinson

Wilkinson, W. A. of Concord, Cabarrus County, N.C. Mayor of Concord, 
N.C., 1937. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown.  Updated info 
from Randy Ridgely

W. A. Wilkinson   
Mayor of Concord from 1913 to his death in 1947 and is buried in 
Oakwood Cemetery, Concord. From the front page obituary of the 
September 21, 1947 

Concord Tribune (typos are solely my own):

Mayor Wilkinson Taken By Death Saturday 
Mayor of Concord Since 1931 Has Been Patient at Cabarrus Hospital Since 
September 16; Fails To Rally From Operation 

William Andrew Wilkinson, mayor of Concord since 1931, died at 9:45 
o'clock yesterday morning at Cabarrus General hospital where he had 
been a patient since September 12.

Mayor Wilkinson had been in ill health for a long time and had been 
confined to his home during most of the past six months, after he 
suffered an attack at the city hall. A heart condition of several years 
standing complicated other impairments of his health.

Recently a blood clot developed in his right leg, necessitating an 
amputation which was performed at the hospital yesterday morning. Mr. 
Wilkinson failed to rally from the surgery, and died within an hour 
after being removed from the operating room.

Funeral services will be held this afternoon at 4:30 o'clock from 
Forest Hill Methodist church, conducted by the pastor, Rev. A. J. Cox. 
The body will lie in state at the church from 2:30 o'clock until the 
hour of the funeral. Interment will be made in Oakwood cemetery.

Pall bearers will be A. R. Howard, J. G. McCachern, Stone J. Sherrill, 
Charles V. Krider, and H. G. Blackwelder, members of the board of 
alderman, and Walter Furr, city engineer. The honorary escort will be 
composed of members of the board of stewards of Forest Hill church.

Mayor Wilkinson had given long service to the city as an alderman and 
as a mayor. He was first elected to the board of alderman, from Ward 2 
in 1903, serving jointly with Dr. W. D. Pemberton until 1905 as a 
result of the vote. He served the 1905-1907 term jointly with J. A. 
Kennett, and then retired from city office until 1921, when he was 
again elected to the board of alderman and re-elected each term until 
that which expired in 1931.

He was elected mayor in 1931 and has served continuously in that office 
until the time of his death. During the 16 years he was opposed only 
one time, that being in 1945 when he was retained in office by an 
overwhelming majority.

Mr. Wilkinson was born December 14, 1872, in Cabarrus county, the son 
of the late James S. and Patsy Freeze Wilkinson, and was 74 years old 
on his last birthday.

He left the farm in 1889 to operate the commissary for the Odell Mill, 
at the same stand where he later operated the Wilkinson-Widenhouse 
store.

He operated a piano store in Concord for some time, and then became a 
traveling salesman for the Snyder, Harris, and Bassett company of 
Philadelphia. Forty-four years ago he established the first laundry in 
Concord, at the intersection of Union and Corban streets where the 
Concord Gas Company office is now located. He later sold this laundry 
to Dayvault Brothers.

In 1906, Mr. Wilkinson returned to business in Concord, forming a 
partnership with C. W. Widenhouse, now deceased, to operate a general 
merchandise store. This firm later bought out the Odell Mill 
commissary, and in 1918 Mr. Wilkinson bought the interest of his 
partner.

Mayor Wilkinson was a member of Forest Hill Methodist church, had been 
one of its stewards for nearly thirty years, and was a member of its 
Men's Bible class. He was a member of the Concord Rotary club.

Mr. Wilkinson was twice married, first to Miss Alice Kime, who preceded 
him in death, and in 1923 to Miss Ella May Rumple, who survives.
Two children of the first marriage survive their father. They are Mrs. 
Helen Cosby of Greenville, S. C., and Mrs. J. T. Yates of Concord. One 
son, W. A. Wilkinson, Jr., was born of the second marriage.

Also surviving are two grandchildren, Rodney Yates of Concord and Mrs. 
Frank Arnold, Jr. of Columbia, S. C., and one great-grandchild, David 
Arnold of Columbia.

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by
Randy S. Ridgely
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