arian research, that he made himself a name.

He presently took deacon's orders, and once preached in the parish church
of Wolverhampton. He also preached several times at Stow, near Chartley.
However, disappointment in the expectation of preferment in the Church
soon disgusted him with the ministry, and in 1720 he began to practise
physic, for which he seemed to have a natural talent, at Wolverhampton.
In 1725 he married Rachel Manlove, of Abbots Bromley, with whom he had a
handsome fortune, and from that time he dwelt with his father (who died
in 1730) at Willenhall.

About this time he wrote an excellent treatise on Dropsy; and later, when
a dreadful disease raged among the horned cattle of the Midlands, he
published a very useful and practical "Letter to Breeders and Graziers in
the County of Stafford," and made every effort to assist in stamping out
the plague. Possibly while at Chartley he had made a study of the herd
of wild cattle preserved there.

His skill as a physician was very considerable, and seems to have been
applied chiefly to the gratuitous relief of his poorer neighbours. He
led an exemplary life, being an early riser, and an indefatigable reader,
constantly adding to the rich stores of his well-stocked mind.

As previously mentioned, he spent several years of industry in collecting
historical manuscripts, and making antiquarian notes relating to his
native county, of which the Rev. Stebbing Shaw afterwards made such good
use.

For instance, Dr. Wilkes' account of Roman roads, camps, and other
remains of antiquity is a fairly exhaustive one for a county history, and
shows a considerable depth of research. It is embodied in the
"Introduction" and the "General History" at the commencement of Shaw's
compendious work.

Like Pepys, he kept a Diary, which was never intended for publication--he
was a diligent recorder of historical facts. Here is an interesting note
from it:--

"The first steam engine that ever raised any quantity of water was
erected near Wolverhampton, on the right-hand side of the road
leading to Walsall, over against the half-mile stone." (This was on
the site of the Chillington ironworks.)

The Diarist was too modest to add that the Waterworks which long supplied
Wolverhampton with water were the property of Dr. Wilkes.

Among other projected literary works was a new edition of Hudibras, with
notes, &c. In the beginning of the year 1747, having a severe