J. B. WILKINSON, of the prominent general insurance firm of Mendenhall & Wilkinson, at Piqua, has been a resident of this city for over a quarter of a century and is numbered with its representative men. He was born in 1873, at Dayton, Ohio.

Mr. Wilkinson was brought to Piqua when a lad of eight years and received his education in the common and high schools. His first business position was with the insurance firm of Grafflin & Co., and one year later, Mr. Grafflin became postmaster, but this did not interfere with the insurance business, and by the time Mr. Wilkinson was twenty-one years of age he had a pretty thorough knowledge of this line of work. About this time the firm became Mendenhall & Co., which was later succeeded by Mendenhall & Wilkinson, the senior member being Joseph E. Mendenhall. This firm does the largest general insurance business in Piqua and represents twenty-two of the leading fire insurance companies of the country. Independently, Mr. Wilkinson represents the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

In 1897 Mr. Wilkinson was married to Miss Katherine Hughes, the eldest daughter of the late Rev. Dr. T. L. Hughes, of the Presbyterian Church, and they have two children, Jane Hortense and Ruth Clare. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson are members of the First Presbyterian Church. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and an Elk and belongs to the Piqua Club, of which he is secretary and treasurer.