Born c1871 in Bristol, the son of James Wilkins II, the grandson of James Wilkins I and the brother of Eliza Wilkins (91C, 01C).
| 1871 | 5 Jan. He was baptised, the son of James and Sarah Wilkins (TPR). |
| 1871 | He was living with his parents at 13 Pipe Lane, Temple parish (71C). |
| 1881 | He was living with his parents and siblings at 15 Beam Street, St Luke’s parish (81C). |
| 1891 | General labourer, 59 Victoria Street, St Philip’s parish (20), living with his parents and siblings (91C). |
| 1891 | Probably the James Wilkins who married Jane Webb in Barton Regis (Ancestry website). |
| 1894 | 4 Feb. Potter, Marsh, St Philip’s parish on the baptism of his son James (born 19 Dec 1893). Wife: Jane (PPR). |
| 1894 | Probably his wife, Jane, born c1870, whose death is recorded (Ancestry website). |
| 1901 | Stoneware potter, widower, 28 Stanhope Street, St Silas parish (3), living with his son, William W. (8), born in Bristol (01C). |
| James Wilkins moved to America during the first decade of the 20th century and continued to work as a potter at the Muncie Pottery in Indiana and at Boystown, Nebraska. He was well known for creating dips and glazes throughout his career in the States. A photograph taken in October 1940 shows him and his wife Mary Ann (Smalldridge) outside the Wisconsin Ceramic Corporation in Pittsville. Their gravestone shows that he died in 1950 and his wife in 1953. It also records that his wife was born in 1875. It is possible that she was the Mary Ann Smalldridge baptised in St Philip’s parish, Bristol, on 7 Feb 1875, the daughter of the potter John Smalldridge (information from Lesli Long). |