Sema Americus Morris

1907 - 2002  (95 years)

• Name	Sema Americus Morris  [1, 2]
  Birth	23 Jun 1907	Aimwell, Toombs, Georgia, USA   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Female
  Residence	1910	Militia District 51, Toombs, Georgia, USA   [1]
  Residence	1920	Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA   [2]
  Residence	1930	Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA   [4]
  SSN issued	Bef 1951	Florida, USA   [3]
  Social Security Number	266-16-2401  [3]
  Death	31 Oct 2002	Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA   [3]
  	Birth: Jun. 23, 1907 Georgia, USA Death: Oct. 31, 2002 Georgia, USA Mrs. Wilkes "Good Lord, bless this food to us, and us to thy service." For 59 years, Mrs. Wilkes began each meal in her restaurant with this simple prayer. Sema Americus Wilkes, 95, died Thursday, October 31, at Hospice Savannah. Born in 1907 in Aimwell, GA, Sema was the first child of William Lawton and Emily Taylor Morris. When Sema was seven years old, her mother died. At that young age, Sema began cooking for her family and for the field hands who came to dinner. At sixteen, she married Lois Herman Wilkes, and they moved to Savannah in 1942. They settled at Mrs. Dixons boardinghouse and in 1943 bought the place from her, renaming it Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse. Gaining a reputation for its good home-cooked meals, it attracted both locals and travellers. Throughout the years, Mrs. Wilkes maintained the excellence and abundance of her simple country fare. As tourism in Savannah grew, people came from all over the world to taste her famous biscuits and fried chicken. Food critic Craig Claiborn said that her biscuits were "one of the greatest things ever to happen in my life." Her long list of culinary awards includes: The Southern Living Readers choice Award in 2000, the James Beard Americas Regional Classics Restaurant Award in 2000, The Traub Award for Excellence in Service to Savannahs Hospitality Industry in 1993, the Georgia Governors Conference on Tourism salute to Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse in 1993, Georgia Guardians Celebrate Savannah Award in 1991, and the Conde Nast Traveler Distinguished Restaurant Award in 1990. Mrs. Wilkes Southern style of cooking attracted worldwide recognition. She was invited to cook at the Kasteel Belvedere, a castle outside of Brussels, Belgium, in 1986. And in 1989 she taught Japanese grand chef Yoshinao Nagumo how to make Southern food during the Georgia Department of Industry and Trades Georgia on My Mind: American Homestyle Cooking promotion. Two books containing Mrs. Wilkes fabled recipes have been published: Famous Recipes from Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse , published in 1976, and Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse Cookbook: Recollections from Her Savannah Table , published in 2001. She was a member of Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church. She was pre-deceased by her husband, L. H. Wilkes and her son, James Carlton Wilkes. Survivors: her daughter, Margie Martin and son-in-law, F. W. Martin; a granddaughter, Marcia Thompson and grandson- in-law, Ronnie W. Thompson; and two great-grandchildren, Emily and Ryon Thompson, all of Savannah; and Mary Wilkes Lynn; niece, Sarah Morris Masters of Fayetteville, NC; nephew, Lawton Floyd Morris, Jr. of Jacksonville, FL. Visitation: 5:00-7:00 p. m. Sunday, November 3, at Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors Hodgson Chapel. Funeral: 11:00 a. m. Monday, November 4, at Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church. Burial: Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, following the funeral. Pallbearers are James Kenneth Lynn, Wilbur W. Masters III, Lawton Floyd Morris, Jr., Captain David Robert Randolph, Candler Martin Wilson, and James Corde Wilson III. Honorary pallbearers are the Wesley Monumental Fellowship Class. Remembrances: Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church or Hospice Savannah. Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors Hodgson Chapel Savannah Morning News, November 2, 2002
  Burial	4 Nov 2002	Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA   [5]
  Person ID	I30837	tng Genealogy

  
  

  Father	William Lawton Morris,   b. 23 Jun 1874, Emanuel, Georgia, USA d. 31 Jan 1923, Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA (Age 48 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Sara Emily Taylor,   b. 20 May 1881, Georgia, USA d. 8 Nov 1914, Georgia, USA (Age 33 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F10649	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lois Herman Wilkes,   b. 20 Apr 1905, Georgia, USA d. 19 Jan 1990, Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA (Age 84 years)
  Children	+ 1. Margie Wilkes,   b. 4 Sep 1925, Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA d. 8 Feb 2007, Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA (Age 81 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. James Carlton Wilkes,   b. 23 Jan 1931, Georgia, USA d. 20 Nov 1975, Chatham, Georgia, USA (Age 44 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F7964	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

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  Birth - 23 Jun 1907 - Aimwell, Toombs, Georgia, USA Residence - 1920 - Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA Residence - 1930 - Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia, USA SSN issued - Bef 1951 - Florida, USA Death - 31 Oct 2002 - Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Sema Morris Wilkes photo

  
  

  Headstones

  Lois and Sema Morris Wilkes gravestone

  
  

• Notes

  'Everyone just loved that lady' Sema Wilkes, nationally renowned for her preparation and family style-service of hearty, Southern home cooking, died after a short illness Thursday morning. She was 95. Family members opened the doors to Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room at 107 W. Jones St. on Thursday. The staff of 20 served breakfast and supper to more than 200 visitors, just as their boss had for more than 55 years. But without the grandmotherly figure presiding over her guests, business was anything but usual. "It was hard work that got her where she was and where she got to," said Ronnie Thompson, who manages the restaurant and is married to Wilkes' granddaughter, Marcia. "If everybody had done as much in their lifetime as much as she did with hers, it certainly would've been a better place to live." Born in Aimwell in Toombs County, Wilkes started her career in 1943, when she agreed to help out in the kitchen of the boarding house where her late husband, Lois H. Wilkes, was staying. The part-time job led to a thriving business after the couple bought and restored the home in 1965 as part of a Savannah Historic Foundation project. Her restaurant's reputation, built mostly on word-of-mouth from her customers, made Mrs. Wilkes' a fixture in historic downtown and an ambassador for the city and state, family and acquaintances said. "She is part of the heritage of Savannah," said Esther Shaver, who owns E. Shaver Booksellers on Bull Street. "People would come into the bookstore and say, 'I met Mrs. Wilkes,' " Shaver said. "When you know that someone has just been a part of downtown and a fixture downtown, it's the end of an era. Everyone just loved that lady." Wilkes traveled to other countries to promote tourism in the South and Savannah through her cooking. Among the streams of visitors who waited for her savory helpings of fried chicken, barbecued pork, corn bread and turnip greens, were famous men and women like Robert Duval, Kate Smith and Gregory Peck. Thousands of lesser-known customers trekked to Mrs. Wilkes', where she gave blessings before they spooned heaping portions from huge bowls on the tables. At one point, the eatery's practice of re-serving uneaten portions led to health department investigations. But with one of the oldest restaurant licenses in the county, some argued that Wilkes' establishment was exempt from later regulations against family-style service. In any case, the business continued after a compromise that required food to be reheated before being served again. By far, most attention lavished on the restaurant was positive. Wilkes and her restaurant often have been profiled in newspaper and magazine stories. She also published several cookbooks, autographing thousands of them herself. Paula Deen of The Lady & Sons, whose downtown eatery rivals Mrs. Wilkes' with its similar Southern food dishes, said the elder woman's business sense was heroic and set her apart. "She and my grandmother were about the same age, both in the restaurant business when it wasn't real popular for women to be out in the business world," Deen said. "They were pioneers for women in the restaurant business." Wade Layton, who lived next door to Wilkes, watched her business blossom after he began working with her through his Coastal Paper-Sail Chemical Co. business in 1946. "It is amazing. She never even thought about quitting," said Layton, who supplied Mrs. Wilkes' with paper towels and napkins. "Most everybody else looks forward to the day when they can retire. That was the last thing in her mind was retiring." The tradition she began continued Thursday. Visitors lined up as usual for breakfast and lunch at the home. Thompson didn't tell anyone other than staff about the matriarch's passing at the restaurant. But word did filter out. City Council members, who have eaten pre-meeting lunches catered by Mrs. Wilkes' for the past five years, spoke of her legacy over their fried chicken and beef stew helpings. "Hopefully, her legend continues through her restaurant and family," said Mayor Floyd Adams Jr. "She has brought international attention to the community and we thank her for that." The restaurant will be closed today and Monday. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church on Calhoun Square. Her dining room, which will continue to be operated by her family, will reopen next week. Their routine is well-established. "We don't need any recipes anymore," Wilkes once said in a 1984 interview. "We just know what it takes to make food taste good." Still, Mrs. Wilkes' won't be the same without her, Thompson said. "Anybody who is real successful like that, they have to be a unique person," he said. "She just cared a lot about other people than herself. She just always did whatever it took to make people happy."

  
  

• Sources

  [S356] Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census, (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;). Year: 1910; Census Place: Militia District 51, Toombs, Georgia; Roll: T624_216; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0150; Image: ; FHL microfilm: 1374229. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910USCenIndex&h=169913315&indiv=try [ View Federal Census Document] http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910USCenIndex&h=169913315&indiv=try [S347] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2005;). Year: 1920; Census Place: Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia; Roll: T625_280; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 118; Image: 789. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1920usfedcen&h=8403879&indiv=try [ View Federal Census Document] http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1920usfedcen&h=8403879&indiv=try [S344] Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Database online. Number: 266-16-2401; Issue State: Florida; Issue Date: Before 1951. Record for Sema M. Wilkes http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ssdi&h=67336860&indiv=try http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ssdi&h=67336860&indiv=try [S337] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2002;). Year: 1930; Census Place: Vidalia, Toombs, Georgia; Roll: 388; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 5; Image: 258.0. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1930usfedcen&h=18136285&indiv=try [ View Federal Census Document] http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1930usfedcen&h=18136285&indiv=try [S142] Gravestone. [ View gravestone photograph]