The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-19
THE HARRINGTON PUBLISHING co
CAPTAIN WILKINS DEAD.
Brenthed His Last in Grace Hospital
 Last Night,

James H. Wilkins of 55 Dixwell ave-
 nue died last night about 10 o'clock at
 Grace hospital, where he had been for the past six weeks. MT. Wilkins died
 Thanksgiving had been able to eat but
 very little. He grew rapidly worse dur ing his stay at the hospital, and his
 death had been momentarily expected lsince last Thursday. MT. Wilkins leaves
 a wife, also one daughter, who Is a pu-
 pil of the Boardman Training school. By his death Connecticut loses one of it's most prominent colored citizens,
 man widely known by both white and
 colored men and a man whose record in
 military service is one of which any
 man might feel proud.
 Captain Wilkins, as he was familiarly known, was born in the south about six
 ty years ago and came to Connecticut
 when young man. When the war
 broke out he went to Boston and en- listed with the Fifty-fourth Massachu- setts regiment. He figured in several important engagements, and in each one
 was called upon to perform some act
 that necessitated not only bravery, but
 that required cool-headedness. He won for himself a name for bravery all through the war, and while he was of- fered several commissions at different time he declined them all.
 l Although residing in Connecticut, ] Captain Wilkins was unable to enlist l in any Connecticut regiment, as no col ored men were enlisted from this state at that time. So the next best thing for him to do was to go to Boston and enlist in a Massachusetts regim ant, which he did, being the first colored man from Connecticut to offer his service in the civil war
 Captain Wilkins became prominent in state military affairs about twenty years ago, when he organized a colored company known as the wilkins Tig- CTS" company made up of all the prominent and influential colored men of New Haven. This company was re- publican in it's politics, and as there was strong feeling against the formation of a colored company in Connecticut it was not made a member of the Connecticut National Guard until Governor Waller was put in office in 1883, when the Will kins Tigers were taken to camp with the other companies of the regiment. It was understood that if Governor Waller was put in office the democrats who were working for him would be reward ed by having the ompany made member of the c. N. G. They were successful and have since then been known as the First Separate company, Second regiment, c. N. G., with a slight intermission which occurred not long since. It was in 1883 that the division in politics came Captain Wilkins was captain of the company up to 1888, when he retired from active service, having seen the organization grow to be one of the strongest in the c. N. G., as was shown by the reports of the United States army inspector and the state in- spector.
 Captain Wilkins had great difficulty in forming the company and was oblig- ed to hold meetings in the cellar of ar old building on Crown street. as they were not allowed to meet in any public hall in New Haven The deceased was influential in the reorganization of the company, which was disbanded by the governor last summer, and his death will be keenly felt by colored men all over the state. One of his last official positions was the holding of a minor office at the New Haven county jail. He was at one time quite wealthy man, but lost most of his property af- terward.