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[edit] Sources[edit] Related
[edit] BackgroundAn account in the Pennsylvania Gazette of 13 May, 1757 notes that a William Walker was killed by Indians at McCormicks Fort on the Conodoguinet. We'd like to know the identity of this William Walker. Some information we have on this KBI event is a one sentence statement in Source:Rupp, 1846 May 13, 1757, William Walker and another man were killed near McCormick's fort, at Conodoguinet There is an additional entry in a Boston newspaper: This gives us additional information, noting it was "near Shippensburgh", which is very close to Lurgan Township. Newspaper record here (Ancestry Account Required) [1] From this we can observe that
[edit] LocationThe above suggests that the person we are looking for was an adult in 1757 and probably lived near "McCormicks Fort", on the Conodoguinet. A "McCormicks Fort" is known to have been constructed in 1778 in the Juanita River Basin [2] but its location in the Juanita River watershed, as well as the fact that it was constructed 20 years after the event discussed here seems to preclude it from being the "McCormicks Fort of Interest. Direct evidence for where McCormicks Fort was located "on the Conodoguinet is needed, but has not been found. We can, however, make some guesses as to its location. First, it was presumably located on the land of someone named "McCormick". There are several McCormicks in Cumberland County as it was defined in 1757, as revealed by land warrants See: Analysis:Location of McCormicks Fort on the Conodoguinet. Some of these warrants, such as that for William and Thomas McCormick, lay in what is now Juanita County, and can be excluded from consideration. Others' such as a warrant issued to Alexander McCormick, are too late (1762) to have been the site of McCormicks Fort.[3] The best candidates for the settler on whose land McCormicks Fort was built are James McCormick on the Upper Conodoguinet (Franklin County), and John and Samuel McCormick on the Lower Conodoguinet. Given that the death was near Shippensburgh, the former possibility is more likely. The William Walker who was killed at McCormick's fort was almost certainly William Walker of Lurgan Township based on a number of primary sources. Previous research assumed incorrectly it was another William Walker who also lived on the Conodoguinet in East Pennsboro Township. [edit] Land Location
William Walker obtained a land grant near Shippensburgh. [edit] Probate RecordsWilliam Walker's estate appears in court records in 1765, but the earliest reference to his death is in the Cumberland Administrator book A page 20. The index to this record survives, but the actual estate record has been lost. This location in the records would place his death around 1757 which is further supported by tax records. 
His wife was named Mary, and he had at least four sons: John, Thomas, William, and Samuel according to court records
His son William cannot be the same William who lived in East Pennsboro, as land records indicate the children left the county after his death. John Walker lived in Charleston, Chester, Pennsylvania, his son Thomas Walker lived in Bedminster, New Jersey, and his son William Walker Jr. lived in Warrington, Bucks, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Tax RecordsWilliam Walker can be found on early tax records in Cumberland, PA until 1758. Starting in 1758, the name "William Walker" is replaced with the name "Widow Walker", supporting the idea that he died around 1757 (and at McCormick's fort). Note this year that the list still includes William Walkers in Hopewell Township and East Pennsboro for 1758. Cumberland County Archives
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