John Wikoff was born around 1814 in New Jersey or New York to Jacob F. Wikoff and Alice Green. His father died around 1827. He eventually moved to Illinois, and he married Cornelia Amy Crane there around 1841. They had at least five children: Gerturde, born around 1842; Frederick, born around 1846; Harriet, born around 1854; Caroline, born around 1857; and Mary, born around 1861. The family lived in Knox County, Illinois. Wikoff worked as a farmer, and by 1860, he owned $10,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property. A decade later, he owned $25,000 of real estate and $4,000 of personal property. He remained in Knox County for the rest of his life, dying there on April 27, 1895.

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