Walker

Samuel Walker b. 1655

/ Kirstin Miller

Samuel Walker 8th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

Samuel was born in February, 1655 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. His mom and dad came from England as children in the 1630s, met and married in Massachusetts in 1654. Samuel had 9 brothers and sisters. Samuel was a freeman on May 27, 1674. He fought in King Philips War in 1675. Samuel is referred to as a Captain, Cornet, Gentleman and Lieutenant. 

Samuel  married Martha Ide on November 11, 1681. Samuel and Martha had 8 children. Martha died in 1700, Samuel’s 2nd wife was Elizabeth.

Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991

In 1702 Samuel was the administrator of his mom’s will. In 1693  he was administrator of his sister Sarah Walker Perrin’s will. Sarah, her husband Abraham Perrin and 2 of their 5 children died in an influenza outbreak in Rehoboth. Samuel died  without a will on August 12, 1712. Son Timothy Walker was administrator of his dad’s estate. Samuel’s lands and possessions were divided among Elizabeth the widow and Samuel’s children. Books, a trooping horse, a looking glass, earthenware, leather, wool, flax, a spinning wheel, a grindstone, oats, Indian corn and tobacco were part of the inventory along with about 700 acres of land. The lands included land inherited from his dad, Philip Walker. This land passed on to Timothy who built a house, today known as The Philip Walker House at 432 Massasoit Ave East Providence, RI 02914. The Walker House is an urban farm now, had its 1st growing season this summer.

Samuel is buried at Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA. His 3rd great granddaughter Delia Angell married William Flood in Butler County Iowa on July 30, 1856 . Their great granddaughter Elizabeth Speedy Roose was born there in 1917.

Sources

Timothy Walker b. 1687

/ Kirstin Miller

Timothy Walker 7th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

Timothy Walker was born on September 14, 1687 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts to Samuel and Martha Ide Walker. Timothy’s 4 grandparents came to America from England in the 1630-40s. Timothy was the 3rd generation to live on his family’s farm. He had an older brother and 4 younger sisters.

On May 6, 1713 Timothy published his intention of marriage to Grace Child and they married on May 14th. Grace and Timothy lived on the Walker family farm. In Rehoboth, Timothy farmed and worked at the family sawmill and inherited both when his dad and his brother both died in 1812. The farm and sawmill are long gone but at 432 Massasoit Ave., East Providence, RI the house Timothy built is still there: The Walker House. Timothy was a widow in 1729 and married 2nd wife Rachel Beverly on January 15, 1730. Timothy wrote his will in November 1744 and died in 1745. The will is 32 pages, it includes his children’s names, an inventory and his signature. Timothy is buried at Newman Cemetery about 1 mile from the Walker House, his house.

The Walker House is on land Timothy’s dad Samuel Walker inherited from his dad Philip Walker. The Walker House stayed in the family until 1812 and was donated to Preserve Rhode Island in 1984. “At the time of its erection it was considered a marvel of architecture. North of the house were apple orchards and outbuildings, including a barn, shed, carriage house, and chicken house.”

Philip Walker House building began in 1724

Major updates were completed in 2008 by Preserve Rhode Island, ‘The Statewide Advocate for Rhode Island’s Historic Places’. Today Timothy Walker’s house is a study house, “for architectural history and historic preservation students, who can benefit from first-hand observations of architectural features”. The website has photos, a field study PDF and an orientation packet PDF, 10 pages of detail about the house, its history and the Walker family. Virtual visit: https://www.preserveri.org/walker-house

Sources

Widow Walker b. 1600

/ Kirstin Miller

Widow Walker 10th great grandmother on RootsMagic tree.

Widow Walker’s first name is unknown, her last name was probably Brown. She was born in England around 1600, married, then was widowed by 1635 when her two older children Sarah and James came to America with their uncle the widow’s brother, his name may have been John Brown. The widow and younger son Philip came to America about 1640. Widow Walker is on land records in 1643, 1644 and 1646 then she disappears with no more records. By 1658, son Philip is on land records. So her estimated death is in 1658 at about age 58. There are theories on her Brown family ancestors and her husband’s Walker family ancestors, but not much is proven, except her land.

Land Widow Walker and Zachariah Rhodes 1644 screenshot

The history of Rehoboth, page 25

In Vital Records of Rehoboth on page 911: “At a Town Meeting, the 31st day of the 4th month 1644, lots were drawn for a division of the woodland, between the plain and the town. Shares were drawn to the number of 58 as follows”: Widow Walker is the only female on the list of 58 which included The Schoolmaster, The Governor and The Pastor. Thomas Bliss 8th great grandpa of Elizabeth Speedy is also on the list.

Sources at HathiTrust
The history of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, page 25 Widow Walker and Zachariah Rhodes of Seakonk alias Rehoboth.

Vital record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896, page 911, Widow Walker No. 52

The story of my ancestors In America, page 8 Widow Walker settles in Seekonk, Rehoboth, land grants

 

Eunice Walker b. 1728

/ Kirstin Miller

Eunice Walker 6th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Eunice Walker was born September 4, 1728 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts and probably grew up in the Walker House (still standing in Rhode Island) built by her father Timothy, on the land her great grandfather Philip Walker originally owned. Eunice married James Hill(s) on May 11, 1749. She and her husband lived in Massachusetts, had a family and farmed. James was a Captain in the early years of the American Revolution so Eunice kept their home and farm going while he was away. She was named in her dad Timothy’s 1745 will: give unto my Daughter Unis one hundred pounds in Bill of Credit. Eunice died at age 44 on December 31, 1772, her husband survived her and most likely did not remarry. Whether by coincidence or as a namesake Eunice’s great granddaughter Delia Angel Flood would name her daughter Eunice in 1872 Shell Rock, Iowa.

Sources

Eunice Walker (1728 – 1772) Cynthia Hill (1763 – 1830) Dexter Angell (1794 – 1854) Delia Viola Angell (1839 – 1916) Matilda Elizabeth Flood (1858 – 1940) Philippa Flood Mockford (1891 – 1979) Elizabeth Matilda Speedy (1917 – 2005) m. Stanley Joseph Roose (1915 – 2004)

Philip Walker b. 1628

/ Kirstin Miller

Philip Walker was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England in 1625. He was about fifteen when he came to Plymouth Colony with his mom around 1640. His mom is known as Widow Walker. She owned land in 1644. Bliss, Leonard, jr.The History of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Boston: Otis, Broaders, and company, 1836.

Philip was an early deacon of the Congregational Church and a weaver and/or farmer. He was also a soldier in King Philip’s War, and helped to finance the war. Philip wrote one of the first American epic poems: Captan Perse & his coragios Company.  The poem was probably written in 1676, and Walker is writing about his personal experience. This 37 page PDF includes the poem, an introduction and context notes.

Captain Pierce’s battle  details at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Men%27s_Misery.

The Plymouth Colony Archive Project has a bio on Philip. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/Walker.html

7th great grandfather of Elizabeth Matilda Speedy who married Stanley Roose Sr.

  • Philip Walker (1628 – 1679)
  • Samuel Walker (1655 – 1712)
  • Timothy Walker (1687 – 1745)
  • Eunice Walker (1728 – 1772)
  • Cynthia Hill (1763 – 1830)
  • Dexter Angell (1794 – 1854)
  • Delia Viola Angell (1839 – 1916)
  • Matilda  Flood (1858 – 1940)
  • Philippa Flood Mockford (1891 – 1979)
  • Elizabeth Speedy (1917 – 2005) m. Stanley Roose (1915 – 2004)