Colonel Walker was born on Bohemia Creek, New Castle County, Delaware, in 1728. When grown, he settled on the South Branch of Potomac. Hampshire County. Virginia. where he married Elizabeth Watson, He served as a volunteer under Colonel Washington, and shared in Braddock's disastrous defeat in 1755. He shortly after removed to North Carolina, settling first on Lecper'.s Creek, in now Lincoln County, and served on Colonel Grant's campaign against the Cherokees in 1761. He subsequently located on Crowder's Creek; and, in 1768, at the mouth of Cane Creek, where he purchased a fine tract of four hundred acres for a doubloon. He was a man of marked character and prominence, holding several commissions under the Colonial Government—Colonel Commandant of Tryon County, and Judge of the Court for many years. On the breaking out of the Revolution, sharing in the sympathies of the people, he resigned his Loyal offices, and was among the foremost in signing the Articles of Association, pledging resistance to British encroachments. in August. 1775; and. the same month, served as a member of the Convention at Hillsboro. His sons took an active part in the war, one of whom, Felix Walker, represented Rutherford County seven years in the House of Commons, and six in Congress. Colonel Walker, in 1787. removed to the mouth of Green river, in Rutherford County, where he died January 25th. 1796, in his sixty-eighth year. He was one of the pioneer fathers of Western Carolina. For most of the facts in this note, we acknowledge our indebtedness to the Memoirs of Hon. Felix Walker, edited by his grandson, Samuel R Walker.
The fact that he is said to have come from Derry, Ireland, might suggest that he is related to Letterkenny Walker Line, but that conflicts with YDNA from descendants of that lineage. On the otherhand, the place of origin of the Letterkenny Walkers remains unproven, and might be in error.
YDNA
See: Walker YDNA Project. A descendants YDNA test results place this family in Group 1 of the Walker YDNA project. Examination of YDNA results for Walker Group 1 suggests that there were probably multiple independant importations. Most members of the group, however, closely match results for descendants of a John Walker who settled at Appoquinimaic, DE.
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