He was in private practice in New Philadelphia from 1908 with his brother, David R., and his father, J. Foster Wilkin, under the name Wilkin and Wilkin. In 1912, his brother moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and his father was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, and he continued the firm as Wilkin and Fernsell[1] He was a member of the Judicial Council of Ohio from 1932 to 1933. He was a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1934. He was counsel to the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District in Ohio from 1935 to 1939.[2]
Federal judicial service
On May 19, 1939, Wilkin was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio vacated by Judge Samuel H. West. Wilkin was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 1, 1939, and received his commission on June 3, 1939. He assumed senior status due to a certified disability on August 31, 1949, serving in that capacity until his death on February 23, 1973.[2] He died in Cleveland, and was buried at the Wilkin family mausoleum at Maple Grove Cemetery in New Philadelphia.[3]
^ abFess, Simeon D., ed. (1937). Ohio, A four volume reference library on the History of a Great State. Vol. 5, Supplementary Biographical. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 30–31. OCLC418516.
