Surname Saturday: WILBOURN

WILBOURN is my children's father's Great-grandmother MIDKIFF's maiden name. Alternative spellings include WILBORN and WILBURN. There is not a lot of known history (at this point) on this surname, although I've been able to find quite a bit of genealogy on female lines that marry into this family. It also has what is a unique-- at least to me--migration pattern from the Eastern U.S. to the Midwest to the Southwest and then West.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #68 - William WILBOURN, Sr. (b. 1770) - born in Orange Co., North Carolina, he married Mary WILKES (1770 - bef 1840) by 1799. They had at least ten known children. The oldest child's information is unknown; the second child was born in Virginia, and the third child was born in Campbell Co., Virginia. The youngest seven children were all born in Orange Co., North Carolina, like their father. It's not known exactly when or where William died; his youngest child was born in 1821 in Orange County, and Mary died before 1840 in Marion Co., Illinois. Many, if not all of their surviving children migrated to Marion County (three were married in that county in 1831), and some of them in turn, migrated to Cooke Co., Texas.

Ahnentafel #34 - Dr. John Wilks WILBOURN (1809 - 1878) - born in Orange Co., North Carolina, he married Martha Susan DEADMOND (1813 - 1906) on 6 Oct 1831 in Marion Co., Illinois. They had nine children; the oldest six were born in Illinois, the youngest three in Texas (probably Grayson County). By 1850, Dr. WILBOURN had set up practice in Grayson Co., and in 1860 he is found specifically in Sherman Township. In 1870, he is found in neighboring Gainsville, Cooke Co., Texas. He died 12 Mar 1878 in Cooke Co., and his body was sent to Fulton Co., Illinois for burial. After his death, many of his children and grandchildren migrated west to Butte Co., California.

Ahnentafel #17 - Mary Emeline WILBOURN (1839 - 1923) - I've written about her on this blog here.


More about the WILBOURN family:

1. Online database: WILBOURN ancestors and relatives (I update this at least once a month; no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about WILBOURN ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned WILBOURN photos


The WILBOURN Immigration Trail:

Orange Co., NC > Campbell Co., VA > Orange Co., NC > Marion Co., IL > Grayson Co., TX > Cooke Co., TX > Cleveland Co., OK Territory > Pottawatomie Co., OK > Delta Co., CO > Butte Co., CA > Custer Co., ID > Yakima Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA