Ernest Walter Wilder was born in South America, Kentucky in 1911 to Levi Wilder and Mary Pittman. He was the eldest of seven children. He finished ninth grade before he started working to help with the family.
In 1933, he married Dorcas Lee Wilder. They had five children, four of whom survived. The family moved to Lynch, Kentucky where Ernest worked for the Black Star Mine where he eventually became the assistant foreman.
Due to being diagnosed with black lung, the family moved to Florence, Kentucky sometime in late 1959. There, Ernest worked until his retirement as a Pinkerton Guard.
Ernest was a lifelong Mason. He was a member of Burlington Lodge 264 and the F&AM Duffield Commandery 42 Royal Arch Masons, Loyall, Ky. He was an amateur gunsmith and avid gun collector.
He died in St. Elizabeth Hospital hospice of cancer of the kidneys in Covington, Kenton, Kentucky, USA.
DNA
Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Rene King and her third cousin. Their most recent common ancestors are their 2nd great grandparents Hiram Wilder and Hester Cheek. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: third to fourth cousin, based on sharing 140 centimorgans shared across 8 DNA segments; Confidence: Extremely High.
Maternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Rene King and her second cousin once removed. Their most recent common ancestor is their great-grandmother Mary Jane Pittman. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: second cousin, once removed, based on sharing 63 centimorgans shared across 3 DNA segments; Confidence: Extremely High.
Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confident based on a triangulated group on GEDmatch who share a 222 cM segment on chromosome 15, consisting of Rene (King) Thompson, GEDmatch kit # A494083, and Carl Franklin, her 5th cousin 2x removed, GEDmatch kit # H227368, and Craig Webb, her 6th cousin 1x removed, GEDmatch kit # A329606. (Carl and Craig are 3rd cousins 1x removed.) Their most recent common ancestors are Lewis Green and Esther Kilgore, the 6x great grandparents of Rene (King) Thompson and 4x great grandparents of Carl Franklin and 5x great grandparents of Craig Webb.
Maternal relationship is confirmed by an autosomal AncestryDNA test match between Rene (King) Thompson and TLM, her 2nd cousin 1x removed. Their most recent common ancestors are Esais F. Pittman and Nancy Miracle, the great-great-grandparents of Rene (King) Thompson and great-grandparents of TLM. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: Second cousin once removed, based on sharing 50 cM across 4 segments.
Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confirmed by an autosomal AncestryDNA test match between Rene (King) Thompson and JF, her 2nd cousin 1x removed. Their most recent common ancestors are Levi Wilder and Mary Pittman, the great-grandparents of Rene (King) Thompson and great-great-grandparents of JF. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: Second cousin once removed, based on sharing 63 cM across 3 segments.
Paternal relationship is confirmed by a triangulated group on GEDmatch who share a 16.1 cM segment on chromosome 11, consisting of Rene (King) Thompson, GEDmatch kit # A494083, and KR, her 6th cousin 2x removed, GEDmatch kit # A004372, and DJ, her 6th cousin 1x removed, GEDmatch kit # A375042. (KR and DJ are 6th cousins 1x removed.) Their most recent common ancestors are Robert Kilgore and Winnifred Clayton, the 7x great grandparents of Rene (King) Thompson and 5x great grandparents of KR and 6x great grandparents of DJ. DNA test taker Rene (King) Thompson is the granddaughter of Ernest Wilder, the son of Levi Wilder, the 4x great-grandson of the common ancestors Robert Kilgore & Winnifred Clayton.
Sources
Birth Certificate - Earnest Wilder, State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Kentucky, File No. 5249, Registered No. 5130, Frankfort, KY
Bell County Board of Education Ledger for School Year 1927-28, Bell Co., KY Board of Education.
1920; Census Place: Williams Branch, Bell, Kentucky; Roll: T625_559; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 30; Image: 653
1930; Census Place: District 7, Bell, Kentucky; Roll: 733; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0021; Image: 528.0; FHL microfilm: 2340468
United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940
Kentucky Death Index, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Health Data Branch, Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Death Index, 1911-present, Frankfort, KY, USA: Kentucky Department of Information Systems.
The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Kentucky, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 693
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Ernest by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Ernest: