Thomas was the son of John Wilkes of Newport, Shropshire. He matriculated from Trinity College in 1695-6, became an M.A. in 1699, a Fellow in 1703 and D.D. in 1713. He became Rector of Pitchford in 1712, of Hempstead in Gloucestershire in 1716 and of Rotherfield Gray in Oxfordshire in 1740, keeping the living until his death on 6 August 1945