Ann or “Annie’ Lee’s Childhood
Ann Lee was the seventh child of William Lee and Elizabeth ‘Martha’ Thomas. She was three years old in 1850, indicating she was born in Chesterfield County South Carolina in 1847.[1]
[1]Ancestry.Com. Year: 1850; Census Place: Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M432_851; Page: 109B; Image: 223.
When Ann Lee was born in 1847, the Lee family consisted of mother Elizabeth Martha Lee age around 33 and father William Lee age around 31. Brothers and sisters in the home already consisted of James Crawford Lee aged nine, John Thomas Lee aged eight, Samuel William Lee, aged six, Hannah Elizabeth Lee, aged four, Henry Alexander Lee, aged six and Mary Lee age one.
According to newspaper stories, 1847 was a very wet year with freshets on the Pee Dee reported in March and August.[1]
[1] Newspapers.com – The Evening Post – 20 Mar 1847 – Page 2.
In the 1860 census, Ann is listed as fourteen. Her father, William Lee is 51 and her mother, Elizabeth Martha, is 51. Her brother James Crawford Lee and her sisters Hannah Elizabeth and Mary have married and left the home. Henry Alexander Lee is also not listed in the census. Siblings in the home include John Thomas Lee (21), Samuel William Lee (19), Sarah Jane Lee (12), Eliza (11), and Charlotte Lee (9). Ann Lee’s mother died sometime after the 1860 census. She may have passed away before Ann married Richard Wilkerson in 1867.[1]
[1]Year: 1860; Census Place: Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M653_1217; Page: 101; Image: 205; Family History Library Film: 805217.
Ann or ‘Annie’ Lee’s Married Life
Ann Lee married Richard J Wilkerson sometime before 1867 when her oldest son was born. Richard J Wilkerson’s family is not documented. Census records document that he was born in South Carolina. No documentation was found that Richard participated in the Civil War. He was found in the 1869 list of registered voters in Red Hill Election District in Marlboro County, South Carolina.[1] Red Hill is on the right side of the Pee Dee River, close to Cash’s Depot, going toward Society Hill.[2]
[1] Secretary of State, Abstract of Voter Registrations Reported to the Military Government, 1868, Marlboro County – Abstract of Voter Registrations Reported to the Military Government, 1868 – UofSC Digital Collections.
[2] Tunison’s new Railroad, Distance and Township map of North Carolina and South Carolina :: North Carolina Maps (unc.edu) accessed February 5, 2023.
In 1879, Richard Wilkerson served on the grand jury that bound Sam Lee, his nephew over the homicide of James Frank Pressley.[1] Sam Lee was Ann Lee’s oldest brother’s James Crawford Lee’s son.
[1] Jurors of The State vs The Dead Body of Frank Presley July 13, 1879 obtained from State Archives.
In 1880, Richard Wilkerson and Ann Lee Wilkerson were living in the Red Hill township of Marlboro County. They were both thirty years old. He was a farm laborer. They had six children: Charlie (10), John (9), George (8), Benjamin (6), and James (5), Ella Jane (2).[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1880; Census Place: Red Hill, Marlboro, South Carolina; Roll: 1235; Family History Film: 1255235; Page: 526C; Enumeration District: 110.
Death of Ann “Annie” Lee Ann Lee died sometime after the birth of her youngest son Jack who was born in 1889. In 1900, her husband Richard was living in Harleesville, Marion, South Carolina. Children in the home were; Thomas Lester (19), John Edgar (17), Rosa (16) and Jack (11).[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Harleesville, Marion, South Carolina; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0072.
In 1900 Harleesville was in the upper part of Marion County.[1] In 1910, the upper part of Marion County formed Dillon County.[2]
[1] https://sciway3.net/proctor/marion/census/marion_dillon_townshipsmap.jpg accessed March 11, 2023.
[2] https://sciway3.net/proctor/dillon/maps/dillontownshipmap.gif accessed March 11, 2023.
In 1900, Ann Lee’s oldest son, Charles, is living in Darlington with his wife Johanna Parker Wilkerson.[1] Johanna and Charles married in 1892. She was the daughter of Ann Lee’s sister Hannah Lee Parker and Samuel Parker. This makes her Charles’ first cousin. The second oldest son John may have been living with Charles per the census.
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Darlington, Darlington, South Carolina; Roll: 1525; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0018; FHL microfilm: 1241525.
According to a newspaper article, John was living in Cheraw South Carolina in 1914.[1] When he died in 1925, John was living in Harleesville Township, Dillon County.[2]
[1] Newspapers.com – Cheraw Chronicle – 12 Mar 1914 – Page 5.
[2] Ancestry.Com. South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1955.
In 1900, son George may have been a laborer on a farm in Bennettsville.[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; Roll: 1535; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 0087; FHL microfilm: 1241535.
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James Crawford Wilkerson is not found in the 1900 census, but in the 1910 census, he was living in Harleesville Township, Dillon County.[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1910; Census Place: Harleesville, Dillon, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1458; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 0062; FHL microfilm: 1375471.
In 1900, Benjamin Franklin Wilkerson is living in Red Bluff Township with his wife Hattie.[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Red Bluff, Marlboro, South Carolina; Roll: 1536; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0094; FHL microfilm: 1241536.
In 1900, Ella Jane Wilkerson Freeman is living with her husband, Wesley Freeman and their three children in Bennettsville, Marlboro, County.[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; Roll: 1535; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 0087; FHL microfilm: 1241535.
In 1910 Richard Wilkerson is still living in Harleesville Township. However, Harleesville Township changed counties from Marion County to Dillon County, South Carolina. He has not moved but as noted previously in 1910 Dillon County was formed from six townships in upper Marion County. He has remarried to Mary Martin Bethea and had two more children.[1]
[1] Ancestry.Com. Year: 1910; Census Place: Harleesville, Dillon, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1458; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0061; FHL microfilm: 1375471.
We know Ann “Annie” Lee lived until age 42 when her youngest son Jack was born. She passed away before the 1900 census when her husband appears as a widower.
She left behind at least five siblings:
- James Crawford Lee
- John Thomas Lee
- Samuel William Lee
- Sarah Jane Lee Brock
- Henry Alexander Lee
- Joseph Daniel Lee (1/2 brother)
She also left behind ten children and her husband Richard
- Charles Edward Wilkerson
- John Wilkerson
- George Wilkerson
- James Crawford Wilkerson
- Benjamin Franklin Wilkerson
- Ella Jane Wilkerson Freeman
- Thomas Lester Freeman
- Rosa Lee Wilkerson Martin
- John Edgar Wilkerson
- Jack Wilkerson
Conclusion
Ann “Annie” Lee Wilkerson was born in Chesterfield County. She lived with her husband Richard in Red Hill Township in Marlboro County where she most likely passed away at the age of 42. She bore ten children there. After her death Richard and children still in the home moved to Harleesville which was in Marion County, South Carolina. Harleesville became located in Dillon County in 1910 when that county was formed from the top portion of Marion County. Several of Ann’s children stayed in Dillon, South Carolina. Others lived in Darlington County, Chesterfield County, and Marlboro County, South Carolina. Other children moved to North Carolina living in Fayetteville, High Point and Laurinburg, North Carolina.
Ann Lee’s descendants remained primarily in South Carolina and North Carolina. In South Carolina, they continued to be located in Dillon and Marlboro along with Chesterfield, Williamsburg, Charleston, Latta, Manning, Lexington, and Columbia. In North Carolina, the locations were primarily urban with descendants living in the Wilmington area, Charlotte area, and Raleigh area. A fair amount of them lived in the High Point area including Statesville, Thomasville, Kernersville, and Lexington, North Carolina. Sanford, Lee County was also a place of residence for Wilkerson descendants.
The Wilkerson descendants further scattered to Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Texas.
Richard Wilkerson was a sharecropping farmer. Several of his children followed in his footsteps. Others did not. One was a railroad worker, another a carpenter, and one worked as a shipping clerk at Fort Bragg. Ella Jane Wilkerson’s family moved to High Point, North Carolina where they worked in furniture manufacturing. Other descendants followed suit and worked in manufacturing: cotton mills, other textiles. Delta Mills, Spartan Manufacturing, Corning Manufacturing, Fram Corporation, Skyline Manufacturing, etc. were places of employment for the Wilkerson clan. Carolina Power and Light and Southern Bell Telephone also provided jobs. A fair amount of descendants were involved in service work: local government work such as city clerk, operations management, risk management, law enforcement, teaching, and court reporter, fire fighter, etc. One descendant was a newspaper reporter and freelance writer.
The family seems to have a real strength in business. There were business executives in corporations and small business owners: railroad, furniture company owners, electrical contractors, container manufacturing, produce salesmen, a radiator specialty company, wholesale tire sales, tree service business, etc. In the medical field, there were medical assistants, a dentist and US Army hospital workers. Many of the Wilkerson’s served in the military or had military careers.
There is no evidence that Richard Wilkerson served in the military in the Civil War. There is no indication that any of his sons (or daughters) served in the military. Richard and Ann Lee had three grandsons who served in the military in World War I. At least twelve of their descendants served in World War II. Two of them lost their lives.
- Eugene Bright Crawford, great grandson, served in the Army and was killed in action in November 1944 in Holland
- Willie Boyd Freeman, great grandson, served in the Marines and was killed in action in the Pacific (Guam) in July 1944.
There is no information available about where Ann Lee and Richard Wilkerson are buried or what church they are affiliated with. Their descendants are equally divided between Baptist and Methodist. Many are buried in public cemeteries not associated with churches. Several of Ann Lee and Richard Wilkerson’s children are buried at Beulah Baptist Church in Little Rock, Dillon County, South Carolina.
There is no evidence as to what the cause of death was for Ann Wilkerson Lee. She died at a fairly young age but she had had ten children in about twenty years so she may have been worn out. Most of her descendants died of causes related to ageing: kidney disease, cancer, heart trouble, lung disease and Alzheimer’s. There was one death due to child birth and a few premature deaths. There were two homicides due to random violence.
Ann “Annie” Lee Wilkerson was the Matriarch of a large productive Wilkerson family. Her children and her children’s children rise up and call her blessed.
Martha's Family Connections 
