From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

*This entry was written by Mr. Shea Brown, Co-Director of the Digital Access Project of Kentucky

In August 2020, Jerry Wilkinson, the son of the late Glen and Lovesta Wilkinson, became the first African American mayor of Stanford, KY. Wilkinson was appointed to serve as interim mayor by the Stanford city council following the death of Mayor Scottie Ernst. Wilkinson served on the Stanford Housing Authority Board prior to his appointment as interim mayor and served as mayor until the November 2020 election. Jerry was later elected as a city council member. As an elected city council member, Wilkinson has served as the Presiding Councilman when the mayor is unable to attend a meeting.

Jerry Wilkinson has resided in Stanford since 1967. He graduated from Stanford High School in 1974. He attended college and played basketball at Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina. Wilkinson later attended Cumberland College [now University of the Cumberlands] in Williamsburg, KY. He retired as a railroad engineer from the Norfolk Southern Railway in 2000. As of March 2024, Wilkinson has been the pastor of the historic First Missionary Baptist Church in Stanford. He previously served as pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in Hodgenville, KY, for 24 years. For several years, he was Pastor of Pine Lick Baptist Church in Lincoln County. 

Wilkinson has held numerous positions as a minister in the South District Missionary Baptist Association, which includes serving as the District’s Moderator and later as President of the Sunday School and Baptist Training Unit Convention. Wilkinson also served as Executive Board Member for the General Association for Baptist in Kentucky.

Jerry G. Wilkinson was born in Boyle County, KY. He is the husband of Rosalyn Wilkinson (formerly Johnson). Jerry is a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte “Boney” Hays for whom the free African American town call Boneyville in Lincoln County, KY, is named.

Stanford, KY, is considered the second oldest town in Kentucky dating back to 1775, which is located in Lincoln County, one of the three original counties that made up Kentucky County, Virginia in 1780. 

Sources:
Ancestry.com

Phil Pendleton. “Kentucky’s second-oldest city marking milestone birthday,” a WKYT News article, September 26, 2025 (online).

Roberts, Abigail. “Wilkinson selected as interim mayor; First African American to hold the office”, Interior Journal, August 19, 2020 (online). 

Smith, John. “First Missionary Baptist Hodgenville bids farewell to Pastor & First Lady”, The Casey County News, February 29, 2024, Updated May 21, 2025 (online).

Talbott, Tim. "Boneyville," a Kentucky Historical Society wepage (online) & "Boneyvllle Marker" (online).

Talbott, Tim. “Lincoln County”, a Kentucky Historical Society webpage (online).

See Also :
Digital Access Project of Kentucky (University of Kentucky)
Digital Access Project of Kentucky (Fayette County Clerk's Office)