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The portrait (c. 1760) of John Wiltbank is an oil on canvas and is by an unknown artist. John Wiltbank was the son of Cornelius and Comfort Rhodes, the daughter of John Rhodes, grandson of Issac and Elizabeth Gray, daughter of Samuel and Susannah Gray, great grandson of Helmanus Wiltbank and Jonakin Cremarsie. John was born in 1731 and died on July 10, 1792 at the age of 61 years. In 1751, when he was 20 years old, he married Mary Stockley, the daughter of Woodman Stockley, who, having been born in 1736/7 was 14 years old at the time of the marriage. Their eldest child was born exactly nine months after their marriage. The couple lived on “Tower Hill” a 344 acre entailed plantation near Lewes on what would later be named New Road until their eldest son, Cornelius, married and brought his bride to the farm. John and Mary apparently moved to their land on the north side of Lewes on a 134 acre plantation that had been purchased by John’s great grandfather, Helmanus, in 1675. It is probable that John and Mary enlarged the house at this time by adding a new structure to one side of the front. John became a prominent attorney in Sussex County and held many offices, although we do not know where or how he got his legal training. He probably was supervised by someone in town who practiced law. Originally, John was commissioned as a justice on March 20, 1767 and recommissioned on April 10, 1773 and October 24, 1774. He was one of the representatives to the Provincial Assembly of the Lower Three Counties at New Castle on August 1, 1774, Earlier, he had been elected as a member of the Sussex County “Boston Relief Committee.” He was commissioned as a Major on September 1775 by the Delaware Council of Safety. In 1776, he was appointed Major for Sussex County by the Honorable House of Assembly. In September 1776, he was Military Treasurer of Sussex County, which drafted the first constitution for the State of Delaware and ordered a battalion to be raised to reinforce the Army of the United States. Wiltbank was elected to the State Council (State Senate) at the first election held under the new Delaware constitution. In 1777, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Sussex County where he served until his death. In private life, he was no less active. It could be that he moved closer to Lewes, then the county seat, so as to be more available to engage in politics. He donated land in 1761 for a school, which was kept there for 100 years. He was a senior member of the Board of Trustees of St. Peter’s Church and a member of the Board of Trustees of Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church where he also served until his death. His third son, James, inherited the property, which was called Chear House. He lived there with his wife, Mary White, while he was rector at St. Peter’s Church. Later, the family moved to Philadelphia. While in Lewes, the young couple took in boarders at their home at 110 Shipcarpenter Street. The children of Judge John B. Wiltbank and Mary Stockley were;
Comfort who married Phillips Kollack, the son of Col. Jacob and Margaret Ellis. Cornelius who married Ann Burton, Esther Metcalf and Sarah Stockley. Elizabeth who married Adam Hall. John who married Elizabeth von Stavoren Maxwell James who married Mary White Mary who married ? Emory and Rhodes Shankland In his will, John left several slaves to members of his family who were to be freed when they reached the age of 34 and ˝. At that age, they were freed because no bond needed to be set for them for their care in their old age. The Society thanks Judy Roberts for the above research. For more information, please see "Wiltbank Genealogy," Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, December 1950, Vol. XVIII, No. 1. The Lewes Historical Society 110 Shipcarpenter Street Lewes, Delaware 19958 Tel: 302-645-7670 Fax: 302-645-2375 E-Mail: info@historiclewes.org ©2002-2005 The Lewes Historical Society |
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