Robert Nugen Wilkin Explained

Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Term Start:August 31, 1949
Term End:February 23, 1973
Office1:Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Term Start1:June 3, 1939
Term End1:August 31, 1949
Appointer1:Franklin D. Roosevelt
Predecessor1:Samuel H. West
Successor1:Charles Joseph McNamee
Office2:Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
Term Start2:April 10, 1934
Term End2:November 1934
Appointer2:George White
Predecessor2:Florence E. Allen
Successor2:William L. Hart
Birth Name:Robert Nugen Wilkin
Birth Date:4 May 1886
Birth Place:New Philadelphia, Ohio, U.S.
Death Place:Cleveland, Ohio
Resting Place:Maple Grove Cemetery
New Philadelphia, Ohio
Education:University of Virginia (LLB)

Robert Nugen Wilkin (May 4, 1886 – February 23, 1973) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Early life and education

Born in New Philadelphia, Ohio, Wilkin received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1908.

Career

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.

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. He died in Cleveland, and was buried at the Wilkin family mausoleum at Maple Grove Cemetery in New Philadelphia.[2]

Personal life

Wilkin was a Mason, an Elks Lodge member, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Delta Phi, and a Presbyterian Church member. In 1911, he married Norma Fertig of Dover, Ohio, and their only child, a daughter born in 1912, died in 1918.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ohio, A four volume reference library on the History of a Great State . Simeon D. . Fess . Simeon D. Fess. 5, Supplementary Biographical . 1937 . Lewis Publishing Company . Chicago . 30–31 . 418516.
  2. Web site: Robert Nugen Wilkin. www.supremecourt.ohio.gov.