Early Life
Wilkinson was born in Washington, then in County Durham. He was the fifth child of John Wilkinson and his wife, Margaret Thompson. His mother died soon after his birth and his father in 1704, leaving him to be brought up by his elder brother John, a wool merchant. He seems to have received some basic education before being apprenticed a foundryman, probably at the nearby Swalwell works. There, he established himself as a highly skilled iron-worker, able to demand high wages.
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