Benjamin R. Walker is the earliest of our Walker kin that we know of. He was born about 1826. One census report states he was born in Alabama and other Tennessee. Since the earliest place we find him is in Lawrence Co. Tennessee, then it is debatable about his birth since Lawrence Co. borders Alabama. His place of birth could have been right close to the border of the two states.
The earliest record of Benjamin is when he was about five years old. I have misplaced my documentation on this, but I remember the court record well. The court stated that Benjamin and Wesley Walker were brothers, orphans and states (if I am not wrong) that Benjamin was five years and Wesley four years old. Can you believe that the record makes no mention of a parent or any other single relative. Oh my gosh how awful for us! But that is the way the Family history game is played. It truly is like a treasure hunt and every bit as hard as finding buried treasure, but every bit as rewarding when you find it!
Well anyway the court apprenticed the boys out to families, Benjamin was given to Willie Parker, and I don’t remember the family that Wesley went to live with. But in March of 1842, when Benjamin would have been 16 years old he was back in court and apprenticed to a William A. Edmundson instead of Willie Parker. I was to find out later that Mr. Edmundson was a judge in Lawrence Co. The first mention of Wesley is the last we heard of him.
The next time we hear of Benjamin is on 12 Jul 1843 in Lawrence Co. when he marries Anne White. Later we found out that Anne is the daughter of Judge James White and Mary (possibly Russell). This information was taken from the obituary of one of Anne’s younger sisters. The next we hear of Benjamin and Anne is in the 1850 census of Lawrence Co. The children listed in the census with their parents are: John T. born 28 of Jul 1844 in Lawrence, George W. born 1846, & William James born mar 1849. At some point in his stay in Lawrence Co. Benjamin sells land to William Edmundson. Probably right before he and Anne moved to Obion Co. Tennessee. By the 1860 census of Lawrence Co. these children were added to the family: Benjamin F., Mary A.B., Franklin B., and Jefferson Davis.
Some of the children married in Lawrence Co., namely John T. and William James. At least these are the only ones with marriage records there. Well, by the 1870 census the family was settled down in Obion Co. Tn. The grown children eventually followed the family there. Obion Co. Tn. is where there is a lake called Realfoot Lake. His father William James told my grandfather James David Walker, that an earthquake caused this Huge Lake in 1811-12. I will later scan a description of the quake on to my Walker page.
By the 1880 census the family resided in Dyer Co. Tn. In this census most of the children were away in their own homes, but listed with Anne and Benjamin was “Anne” one year old “granddaughter”. At this same time George W. Walker and his young son Steve were living next door to Benjamin and Anne in the home of John T. Walker. I feel that George lost his wife, probably in childbirth and the grandparents were caring for the baby. My grandfather tells of his father talking about Bells, and Dyersburg Tn. They must have lived close to these towns.
Well at some point after the 1880 census was taken, William James, Jefferson, John, Franklin, and George moved away from Tn. William moved to Arkansas and stayed there until his death. Jefferson lived in Arkansas for a while but also lived in Indian Territory in Oklahoma. John T. moved to Arkansas and lives nearby William and family. The word is that George and Frank went to California to live and visited the family in Arkansas from time to time. After their last visit they returned to their homes in Los Angeles, there was a devastating flood in that area and Frank and George were never heard from again.
My mother Audrey said that Uncle Frank always talked about Ireland and Leprechauns. She thought for sure that the family came straight over from Ireland. But in all my research it looks like Benjamin’s parents were from Kentucky. So it would have to have been Benjamin’s parents or grandparents that came from Ireland. I guess someone handed down those old stories to Uncle Frank, but I can’t imagine whom. Benjamin being orphaned would probably not remember the old stories. But I have another guess at why Uncle Frank told those stories. Benjamin and Wesley were said to be orphaned. Sometimes the children that lose a father are apprenticed to another family to learn a trade and be schooled, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no blood relatives living around. There may have been uncles on either of his parent’s sides of the family who might have repeated these stories to him. I will be adding to this story from time to time. If you want family groups or pedigrees go back to my home page and click on "my gedcom file at rootsweb".
