Walker Family History
William Walker (1700's), a native of England, served
in the British army during the Revolutionary War under the Duke
of Wellington, as was traditional. Walker was present at the surrender
of Cornwallis at Yorktown at the close of the war.
Joseph
Walker (1791-92/1868)
Joseph Walker (1791-92/1868) was the son of William.
He emigrated to America when a young man and married Catherine
(Sheridan) Walker, a native of Ireland who was brought to America
as a child. After his marriage, Joseph Walker settled in Huron
County, remaining less than one year; he then moved to Niles,
Michigan in Berrien County, and settled on a farm, there passing
the remainder of his days. He died in 1868; his wife who survived
him, occupied the old homestead in Michigan. She was the mother
of ten children; five sons and five daughters. Descendants are
still living in this area near the small country churchyard where
Joseph and Catherine (1808-1904) are buried.
William
Walker (1834-1899)
William Walker (1834-1899) settled in Audubon County
around 1855. He was born in Huron County, Ohio, March 2, 1834,
the son of Joseph and Catherine. William spent his youth on his
father's farm, where his services were usually in demand, as he
was the oldest son. He received the advantage of a district-school
education, and at the age of twenty-one years he forsook his ancestral
roof and went to make his fortune in the far west, as Iowa was
then considered. He pre-empted 160 acres of land in Audubon County
and entered 200 acres at $1.25 per acre; this secured to him a
home which he began to improve as his means would allow.
In February, 1857, William was married to Miss Nancy J. Bowen, the oldest daughter of W. H. and Elizabeth Bowen, who came to Audubon County in 1853. Mrs. Walker was among the pioneer school teachers of the county. After his marriage, Mr. Walker settled on his farm on the west side of Troublesome Creek [the present site of the Michael and Sue Smith farm].
During these first years, the lure of the gold fields was strong. William and some of his Bowen in-laws went to Colorado to try their luck; the year was about 1861. The family had an old cap and ball revolver which was carried on the trip. Meanwhile, Nancy was left behind with three small children to care for. Two little boys died of diphtheria, leaving only the oldest, John E. to meet his father when he returned home from the gold fields.
Mr. Walker prospered as a farmer, and as his means increased, he invested in another farm on the east side of Troublesome Creek [presently the home of Spike and Margery Walker]; this land was skirted on the north by a heavy belt of timber which afforded the best protection to the livestock on this farm. Here Mr. Walker erected a fine two-story frame residence, a large barn for horses, and numerous buildings for the protection of live-stock. Houses for the hired help were located nearby, one to the west of the main house and another north across the road.
A schoolhouse was on the north side of the road to the west, which the Kilworth family also attended. They would often stay overnight with the Walker family when Troublesome Creek was on the rampage. William continued to accumulate more land and eventually owned around 2500 acres. Large numbers of cattle were fattened annually on Mr. Walker's farm, and special attention was given to the breeding of the higher grades of livestock.
William and Nancy were the parents of nine children - John E., Charles W. and Francis A. (both of whom died of diphtheria at an early age), Laura A. (Barhan), Ulysses S., Lula May (Rendleman), Olive M. (Hawks), Eva (Jenkins), and Jay Grant. William was a politically active member of his county as a member of the Legislature, serving in the twenty-second session; he was elected on the Republican ticket in 1887. He also served his township as clerk, trustee, and treasurer of the school district. He was a member of the Exodus Lodge, No. 344, A. F. & A. M. Wife Nancy operated a post office in their home for a time. It was called "Grove Post Office."
Nancy passed away in 1894,
and, as Laura and her husband Jim were doing the farming, William
moved to Exira. He went into the mercantile store business in
Exira and died November 6, 1899.
Click
here for photo of William and Nancy
John E.
Walker (1859-1928)
John E. Walker (1859-1928), the oldest son of William
and Nancy, spent the years of 1880-81 working in Las Vegas, New
Mexico, as a night watchman at a mercantile business. Life in
that part of the country did not appeal to John, however, so he
returned to Audubon County and married Ida Van Slyke from the
Highland Church area northwest of Anita in 1885. John and Ida
settled on a farm in Cass County. The house they built is still
standing on the west side of County Road N28.
Five children were raised
there: Beatrice (Hardman), Harry, Reed, Marion, and Ted. Ida died
in 1902, leaving small children who remembered her as having a
gift for music; she sang and played musical instruments.
Click
here for photo of John E. and Ida
Marion
L. Walker (1890-1985)
Marion L. Walker (1890-1985) was one of the sons of
John E. Walker. Like his father, he was an avid reader and enjoyed
writing articles for local papers. An interesting story relates
Marion's distinctive middle name, Lancelot. Blanche Noon, early-day
school teacher boarded at the John E. Walker home, teaching school
at the time Marion was born. As no name had been chosen for the
baby, Miss Noon, perhaps a romanticist, suggested Marion Lancelot;
Marion for Frances Marion, the "Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary
War, and Lancelot after one of King Arthur's knights. Miss Noon
later taught Marion's children in Exira Township #6 Pleasant Hill
school in the 1920's.
Marion married Olive Baumgardner in Atlantic on December 15, 1917. Shortly after this, Marion was called into the army. He came down with the mumps and missed being sent overseas to serve in W.W.I.
After his discharge from the army, he farmed in Cass County on his Uncle Schyler Walker's farm. In 1923 he and Olive moved to Exira Township, Audubon County, to his father's 320 acre "timber farm", and in 1936, they moved again to the old William Walker farm where their last farming years were spent. Olive Walker died in 1970. Her family members remember her for her fine examples of integrity and morality she set in her everyday life. Marion died in 1985.
Children were Dorothy (Yoder), Betty (Johnston), Marion Junior, Virginia (Beckman), Phyllis (Hensley), Lillian (Wedemeyer), William Howard, Forrest and Kelly. (Lillian died in 1995.)
Olive died in 1970. Marion
spent his remaining years traveling, reading and writing for local
publications. He spent time living with his various children until
his death in 1984.
Click
here for photo of Marion L. and Olive
Marion
Jr. Walker (1921-present)
Marion Junior Walker (1921- present) was the oldest son
of Marion Lancelot. After attending area schools, he joined the
Navy, serving in the Pacific during W. W. II. He returned to the
Audubon County area and married Margery Jayne in 1952. The couple
farmed until Marion's retirement in the 1990's. He still assists
his sons Bill and Joe who now farm in the area.
Marion and Margery's children
are John, William James (Bill), Sarah (Gross) and Joe. John teaches
high school in Exira, and the rest of the children farm for a
living.
Click
here for photo of Marion Jr. and Margery
John P.
Walker (1953-present)
John P. Walker was born in 1953 and lives near his
parents' home. He graduated from Exira Community School in 1971
and Iowa State University in 1975 with a degree in speech and
English. He has taught high school language arts at Exira Community
School for 22 years.
Information gathered from 1889 History of Audubon County, History of Brayton, Iowa: 1878-1978, and John P. Walker.