DECEMBER 16, 1788, at the first session of the court of quarter sessions, for Allegheny county. Justice George Wallace presiding, the county was divided into seven townships, the most important of which received the name of Pitt, and was bounded as follows:
"Beginning at the mouth of the Pokety’s creek, thence up the Allegheny river and by the line of the county to the mouth of Flaherty’s run, thence up the Ohio river to the mouth of the Monongahela river, thence up said river to the mouth of Turtle creek, thence up Turtle creek to the mouth of Brush creek, thence by the line of Plum township to the place of beginning." September 6, 1792: "According to a petition made a number of the inhabitants of Pittsburgh, read at June sessions, 1792, and laid over till September:
"Ordered, That so much of Pitt township as lies within the following boundaries, that is to say, beginning at the point or confluence of the rivers Monongahela and Allegheny, and turning up the margin of Monongahela to the Two-Mile run, thence up said run to the head thereof, thence by a due north course to strike the Two-Mile run that empties into Allegheny river, thence down the said Allegheny to the place of beginning, be and the same is erected into a new township called Pittsburgh township."

This is the earliest mention of a reduction in the original area of Pitt township. In 1796, by the erection of Pine and Deer, its territory was restricted to the triangle between the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. Pittsburgh became a city in 1816, when a still farther encroachment was made upon the western border of Pitt; and five years later Wilkins was formed from its eastern portion. Other subdivisions of its territory were made from time to time, until Pitt township, which once embraced half a score of counties, was obliterated from the map of Allegheny county. That part of its territory in 1796 not included in the city limits at the present time was erected into Wilkins township November 10, 1821, by decree of court confirming a line of division viewed by Robert Beatty, Joseph Reed and Dunning McNair. Of its present boundaries, that on the east was established in June, 1789, when Thompson’s run instead of Brush creek became the line of division between Pitt and Plum; that on the north in 1850, when Penn was erected; that on the west in 1879, by the erection of Sterrett; and that on the south in 1885, by the erection of Braddock.

Among the early families of this township the following are remembered:
Charles T. Johnson, Nathaniel Montgomery and his son Nathaniel, Elliott Davis, Henry Chalfant, Christian Linheart, William Clark (three generations of the same name). Rev. James Graham, James McKelvy, John McKelvy, Robert Milligan, James Gilmore, James Swisshelm, John Henning and his son Samuel, Thomas Dickson, Peter Perchment, John Kelly and his sons James, John, Archibald, Thomas, William and Benjamin, Ephraim Smith, Adam Dougherty, James B. Linheart.

James Kelly, long a citizen of Wilkins, was born in the eastern part of Allegheny county, on the 31st of October, 1794. His father, John Kelly, was a native of Ireland, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Johnson, was born in Pennsylvania. His childhood and youth were passed on his father’ s farm in what is now Penn township, in this county. Like most of the youths of this region, he received only a common-school education, but his acuteness of observation, his industry and his large fund of common-sense rendered this education available beyond that of many of the men of his time. When he was seventeen years of age his father died, and, being the eldest son, the care of the farm devolved on him. He continued in charge of this farm till 1825, when, he was married. He soon afterward engaged in the manufacture of lime, which he continued during many years.

Early in his business career he commenced the purchase of real estate. From time to time he added tract after tract to his purchases, till he came to be the owner of many hundreds of acres in what are now the townships of Wilkins, Penn and Sterrett, and the borough of Wilkinsburg. His revenues were derived from his lime business, from the mines that were opened on his lands and from the rents of his farms. He took a lively interest in the development of the Pennsylvania railroad, and was the contractor for a division of this road, which he sublet in sections. He also furnished many ties for this road. His distinguishing characteristics were benevolence and kindness, and so strong were these feelings that he was often imposed on by designing and unscrupulous persons. He donated freely of his real estate to churches and benevolent institutions in this vicinity, and many victims of adverse fortune are now enjoying the results of his benefactions. He thus erected to his memory monuments more enduring than marble.

During his entire life he was a consistent Christian, and was strictly conscientious in all his transactions. He was firm in the maintenance of what he believed to be his rights, and thus became involved in expensive litigations. As age crept on him, advantage was taken of his failing judgment, and the result was that he died a comparatively poor man, but his memory is not tarnished by a single dishonorable action. His death occurred in 1832, at the age of eighty-eight. He had six children, of whom three are now living.

Of Hon. William Wilkins, from whom the township was named, mention is made in the chapter on Bench and Bar, at page 253, Part I, this work.

The township is crossed from east to west by the Northern turnpike and by the Pittsburgh & Greensburg turnpike. December 7, 1817, Patrick Campbell, a contractor, was murdered by John Tiernan, a workman in his employ, at a cabin near Turtle creek, in this township. After robbing his victim. Tiernan fled with his horse, and several days later appeared upon the streets of Pittsburgh. He was at once arrested. At the trial, Judges Samuel Roberts and Francis McClure presiding, the commonwealth was represented by William Wilkins and Richard Biddle, the prisoner by Walter Forward and Charles Shaler. The execution occurred at Boyd’s hill. This event was among the most important in the early criminal annals of the county.

The coal interests of the township are important. The Hampton Coal company and the New York & Cleveland Gas Coal company are the principal miners and shippers. Lateral railroads connect the mines with the main line, Pennsylvania railroad. The population of Wilkins in 1860 was 2,260; in 1870, 3,435; in 1880, 4,426.

Beulah Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest of that denomination in the county, received supplies as early as 1795, when it is referred to in the minutes of Redstone presbytery as "Pitt Township." The first pastor, Rev. James Graham, was installed in 1804. There are also Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches, the latter being known as Mount Carmel. Churchdale cemetery is in the eastern part of the township.