Edward Wilcox (politician)

{{Short description|American politician}}

Edward Wilcox (1751-1838) was an American politician who was Lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1817 to 1821.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzQwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA97 | page=97 |title=Manual – the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |date=1878 |publisher=Secretary of State, Rhode Island |language=en}} He briefly served as governor of Rhode Island following the resignation of Nehemiah R. Knight on January 9, 1821, until his successor took office on May 2, 1821.{{Cite book |last=Kallenbach |first=Joseph Ernest |url=http://archive.org/details/americanstategov0000kall |title=American State Governors, 1776–1976 |date=1977 |publisher=Oceana Publications |isbn=978-0-379-00665-0 | access-date=June 15, 2023 | page=507}}

Wilcox was born in Charlestown, Rhode Island, son of Joseph Wilcox (1730-1804) and Mary (Burdick) Wilcox (1728-1794). He served as a major in the Washington County militia from 1795 to 1800. In 1811 he purchased the Joseph Stanton House in Charlestown from Joseph Stanton, Jr. and by 1817 it was operating as a tavern.https://preservation.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur406/files/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/charlestown/char_post-road_stanton-house-and-monument.pdf National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Stanton House/Wilcox Tavernhttps://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.05101000/ "Defence of Governour Willcox", April 5, 1817. This hostile broadside accuses Wilcox of (among other things) visiting others so that he can invite them back to his house - a tavern. Wilcox served as lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1817 to 1821, under governor Nehemiah R. Knight.

Wilcox later served as president of the Phenix Bank.https://www.ricurrency.com/2012/12/30/phenix-bank-1-2/ Phenix Bank banknote with Wilcox's signature

Wilcox married Hannah Babcock; they had at least two children - Ann (1790-1849) and Joseph.https://westerlylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Sunnyacres-Preserve.pdf "A History of Sunnyacres Preserve", Westerly Land Trust, 2018, p. 3-4

Wilcox is buried in the Wilcox Lot in Charlestown.