The Early Walker Settlers of Central Pennsylvania

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Walker YDNA Group 6 3 Unplaced: Walkers of Lurgan Township 4 Walker YDNA Group 33 (Letterkenney Walkers) 5 Walker YDNA Group 14 (William Walker of East Pennsboro) 6 Derry Walkers (Possibly YDNA Group 5) 7 Other Early Walkers 8 Distribution 9 Notes		Walker Tapestry Register Data Notebooks Analysis Bibliography Graphics Index YDNA. Walker Chalkley's
	……………………..The Tapestry Families Old Chester OldAugusta Germanna New River SWVP Cumberland Carolina Cradle The Smokies Old Kentucky

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Introduction

In the mid-eighteenth century, central Pennsylvania was the destination for many Scotch-Irish and German Palatinate immigrants. During this time, many families with the surname of Walker settled in what is now Cumberland, Dauphin, and Franklin Counties. William Henry Egle, a historian of the area, collected information on these families (See Source:Egles Notes and Queries). Many researchers have subsequently based their information based on his work. In his compilation, Egle claimed that most Walkers in the area were related in a single tree. It is unknown, however, where Egle got the source of his information.

In recent years, large scale computer indexing has given researchers the ability to search and synthesize millions of primary records with a click of a single button. In addition, the advent of YDNA testing has given genealogists a new resource to verify genealogical research. New research shows that the early Walkers of central Pennsylvania were not part of a single tree at all; there were at least 5 completely unrelated Walker families in the area. Furthermore, Egle often confused unrelated Walker individuals with the same name. For instance, there were at least 3 unrelated William Walkers of similar age living in the area. Egle and many other researchers commonly confuse these three distinct men. This page focuses specifically on the earliest Walker setters, attempting to categorize each distinct Walker family using geography, primary records, and the latest YDNA evidence. The list of Walkers below is not exhaustive; primary records show that many other Walkers lived in the area at the time.

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania ][1]

Key YDNA Group 6 1. Alexander Walker of Malin Lurgan Walkers 2. William Walker of Lurgan YDNA Group 33 (Letterkenny Walkers) 3. William Walker of Hogan's Creek 4. James Walker of Newville 5. Robert Walker of Yellow Breeches YDNA Group 14 6. William Walker of East Pennsboro Derry Walkers (Likely YDNA Group 5) 7. James Walker of Derry 8. Henry Walker of Derry

Walker YDNA Group 6

In 1761, Alexander Walker of Malin, Ireland moved his family to the area near the present town of Fannettsburg. According to FTDNA, this man was a member of YDNA Group 6. While family history notes his move here in 1761, there exist records of an Alexander Walker present in nearby Antrim Township as early as 1753^[2]. It is unknown if this is the same Alexander Walker of Metal Township. Interestingly enough, this line of Walkers were also present in the North Carolina Cradle along with Group 33 Walkers.

See Also:

YDNA Walker Group 6

Notebook:Alexander Walker of Malin

FTDNA Walker DNA Project

Unplaced: Walkers of Lurgan Township

In the 1740's, a man by the name of William Walker settled in the Lurgan Township area. This William is almost certainly the man who was killed in 1757 at McCormicks Fort. Little is known about him beyond the names of his children. After his death, his children migrated to other states. He is not the father of the William Walker who married Elizabeth Hodge. In fact, William Walker of Lurgan did have a son named William, but land records state that he moved to Warrington Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania . He may be related to the William Walker (d. 1738) family of Warrington Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, given his children's migrations to this area.

Warrant October 17, 1749. Surveyed 1760. Book A-23 Page 194

See Also:

Analysis. Is the William Walker who died at McCormicks Fort William 186?

Land Warrant

Land Survey

Walker YDNA Group 33 (Letterkenney Walkers)

This family of Walkers, who are claimed to originate from Letterkenny, Ireland from an unverified source, settled near the current town of Newville, Pennsylvania. Almost all YDNA Group 33 matches can be plausibly traced to these three men claimed to be brothers by Egle. Given the very close genetic distance between the descendants of these men, this claim is likely correct. Shortly after the French and Indian War, many members of this family migrated to the Hogan's Creek area of Caswell and Rockingham Counties in North Carolina, where they became entangled with another Walker line, the Wigton Walkers. A fourth brother may have stayed in Ireland with descendants later immigrating to the Pittsburgh area (see John Walker)

William Walker of Hogan's Creek	James Walker of Newville	Robert Walker of Yellow Breeches
William Walker had a very brief presence in Pennsylvania before migrating to Orange (now Rockingham) County, North Carolina after the French and Indian War. William settled in the Newville area across the creek from his presumed brother James. He is often confused with other unrelated William Walkers in the area. He died in 1769 in North Carolina leaving five sons.	James Walker settled in the Newville, Pennsylvania area in the 1740's. His name appears in the land warrant for the land of Big Spring Presbyterian Church, suggesting he may have been a church elder. He wrote his will in 1750 but may have lived until 1779. His older chidren migrated to the Hogan's Creek area of Caswell, North Carolina in the late 1760's. His younger children stayed in Pennsylvania for the rest of the 1700's, but most second generation descendants later dispersed to Georgia and western Ohio.	Robert Walker settled on the Yellow Breeches Creek just southeast of Newville. He later moved his family to the Fort Loudon area in Franklin, Pennsylania in the 1770's. His descendants migrated to West Virginia, Kentucky, and western Ohio.
Surveyed 1760. Book A-41 Page 48	Surveyed for the Big Spring Presbyterian Church. Warrant March 2, 1744 for William Lamond, Alexander McClintock, David Killough, and James Walker. Book C-115 Page 131	Surveyed for Robert Walker. Warrant May 5, 1753 Book C-234 Page 245

See Also:

YDNA Walker Group 33

FTDNA Walker DNA Project

Land Survey for John Sculler. William Walker is a neighbor.

Land Survey for Big Spring Presbyterian Church. James Walker may have been an elder.

Land Survey for Robert Walker.

Document:Will of William Walker, Orange County, NC, 1769

Document. Will of William Walker, Orange County, NC, 1769

Analysis:Walkers_in_Cumberland_County_and_the_Carolina_Cradle

MySource:Quolla6/Will of James Walker, Cumberland, PA, 1750

Analysis:Robert_Walker_1630-1690_Descendancy

Walker YDNA Group 14 (William Walker of East Pennsboro)

William Walker settled on the Conodoguinet in East Pennsboro Township. This man was the grandfather of Governor Robert James Walker. Traditionally, this man's father was an older William Walker who died 1757 at McCormick's fort. Primary records sugggest a different story; The William Walker who actually died at this fort was William Walker of Lurgan Township. William Walker of Lurgan lived more than 20 miles away from this William Walker. These two men were probably not related at all.

See Also:

Analysis. Is the William Walker who died at McCormicks Fort William 186?

Derry Walkers (Possibly YDNA Group 5)

In the 1730s, two men, James, and Henry Walker, settled on the Swatara Creek near the current town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. William Egle claimed that these men were brothers, and given their similar ages, proximity to each other, and the similar names of their children, this claim is probably correct. While the YDNA group of these individuals has not been completely verified, it is likely Walker YDNA group 5. Many connect Henry's son William as the same William Walker of Craig's Creek, Virginia who is a verified member of Group 5. One clue to this connection is the generational inheritance of child names. This particular Walker family favored a particulary rare name, Archibald, for some of their children. Both Walker families in Pennsylvania and in Virginia used this name, making the connection plausible. Furthermore, there is proof that Walker YDNA Group 5 was present in Cumberland County John Walker (died 1837 in Blount, Tennessee), a veteran of the revolutionary war and who matches YDNA Group 5, mentioned in court records that he enlisted in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. ^[4]. It is known that many of the Derry Walkers migrated to Sugaw Creek, Mecklenberg, North Carolina^[5]. Many genealogists in YDNA Group 5 argue that many Walkers originated from the Sugar Creek area^[6]

Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Records of the Land Office. Warrantee Township Maps. series #17.522

See Also:

William Walkerof Craig's Creek

John Walkerof Big Springs, Blount County, Tennessee

Other Early Walkers

Several other Walkers appear in the Warrants and Patents for this area and time:

Archibald. Property records (see survey XXXXX) for the area show an Archibald Walker owning land well south of Hershey PA about 1766. Presumably this Archibald is the son of James the immigrant, as described by Egle. Tax records for 1751 show two "Archibald Walkers" in the area. One is presumably the son of Henry who is known to have had a son by that name. The identify of the second Archibald is unknown. Egles descendancy does include a great grandson of Henry by this name, but he is not likely to have been an adult in 1766. More exploration on this question is needed.

David . A land warrant for David Walker shows him living in an area south of the "Furnace Tract". The term "Furnace Tract" refers to land held in association with Cornwall Iron Furnace which was established about 1742 near Cornwall in Lancaster County. This David is presumably the grandson of James the immigrant, as depicted in the Egle Descendancy. Alternatively, he may be unrelated to the Path Valley Walkers.

John. Survey records for the Swatera Creek area north of Hershey show the presence of a John Walker just south of the land owned by Henry Walker, and east of the land owned by James Walker. Both Henry and James had sons named John, per the Egle descendancy. While his property abuts that of Henry Walker, the property owned by James is close by, and it is not possible to tell which of these two John's was the owner of the property in question. The probate record for Henry Walker identifies a "John Walker junr as the Eldest Son of Henry Walker late of Derry Township in the County of Lancaster" as one of the executors of the estate. The fact that he is identified as a "junior" suggests that there is also a John Walker "senior" in the area who needed to be distinguished from the son of Henry. perhaps "John senior" is the son of James.'

Andrew. An Andrew Walker appears as a squatter who settled in the Manor of Maske in 1741, along with an Alexander Walker. An Andrew Walker later appears (1753) on Beaver Creek, immediately west of the Swartaro Creek where Henry and James settled. It is conceivable that this Andrew is the brother of Henry and James, and perhaps the same person who squatted on the Manor of Maske in 1741.

Distribution

The following figure shows the location of various early members of the Path Valley Walker line, whose location has been determined by on warrant, survey, and patent records.

Notes

1. ↑ Compiled from Land Warrants and Surveys. See also maps from "First Families of Cumberland County", Hayes R. Eschenmann and Paul Barner, Cumberland County Historical Society. They can be obtained from the society here:
2. ↑ See Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Warrant Applications, 1733-1952. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania State Archives. Land Warrants. Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, PA. Number 20, January 20, 1753 for Alexander Walker of Antrim Township
3. ↑ March 18, 1733/34. William Walker, 400 acres, on the south side of the Conodoguinet, three miles above Pexton Mannor,
4. ↑ See SAR Application Number 84247
5. ↑ John McEwee and Jean to William Walker of Derry Township Lancaster, Pennsylvania for land lying on both sides of Sugar Creek. Feb 11 1769. Deed Book 4 Page 890. Accessible here
6. ↑ John Walker b. 1747 d. Blount and James d. 1817 Alabama claimed to be brothers, sons of the William Walker of Sugar Creek here. Furthermore, William Walker m. Susannah, d. 1846 Washington TN may be son James Walker d. 1782 of Sugar Creek.