(1765 - 1831)
William "Rich Billy" Walker, son of George Walker (1737-1779) and Mary Duhart was born in Burke County, GA. He married Mary Vivion on November 20, 1791. The couple eventually moved to Putnam County where he was
noted as a large landowner. In the 1820
Census, he is living in Putnam County, and the tally of family members by age
indicates that all of his children, except for the eldest (Virgil) are living
with him. By the
mid-1820s, he had migrated to an area near Mulberry Creek in Harris County, GA, and is noted as
one of the original pioneers of the county. He had large plantation holdings in Harris,
Putnam, Troup, Jasper, and Meriwether counties, as many as 20,000 acres
according to some reports. In a notice in the April 14, 1814 Georgia Journal newspaper, he is selling
"a valuable plantation in Washington County on Williamson's swamp"
that includes a two-story house, a cotton gin, apple and peach orchards. He was
still living in Putnam County at this time. William Walker began buying
large amounts of property in Harris County around 1828. Many sales were from land
lottery winners in 1827. (See post about the Georgia Land Lotteries) Most
of the land purchased by
Rich Billy was along Mulberry Creek between Hamilton and Columbus, GA. The area
later became known as Mulberry Grove. (My Ely/Eley ancestors lived near the
Walkers. While they were well off, their
wealth couldn’t compare to the Walker Family.) David Walker, a direct descendant
of “Rich Billy” Walker has an interesting image on his website showing the
holdings of the Walker family.
“Rich
Billy” built a large home for his family in the vicinity of Hoody Hudson and Lower Blue Springs Roads in
Harris County, GA. It stood until the 1990’s when it burned down. There is an
interesting story in the book Pine Log and Greek Revival about
the Walker homes in Mulberry Grove. There is also a family cemetery on the
Walker grounds, but it has been vandalized and overgrown through the years.
Historians and genealogists owe a great debt to Louise Calhoun Barfield. Her
book, The History of Harris County, contains many accounts of
cemeteries that have been lost to time. Recently, a small cemetery related to
the Walker family was found again. I had
the privilege to go and walk around the perimeter. It, too, had been
vandalized. But, that’s another story.
The
Walker estate included a cotton gin, grist mill, distillery, tannery, honey bee
hives, and a brick kiln. He also built homes on the property for several of his
eight children. “Rich Billy “died in 1831. His estate inventory of property in
Harris County stated it was worth $95,148.87. In 2020 that translates into
almost 3 million dollars! There is also a deed in the Harris County
Superior Court that states that Mary Vivion Walker deeded six acres of
land south of the Walker home (located in
the vicinity of Mountain Hill Road) to Mt. Olive Baptist Church as long as it
was used as a Baptist Church. The church burned down in the 1940’s though the
cemetery still exists.
William
and Mary Vivion Walker’s children:
1)Virgil
Homer Walker (1792-1848) m. Ann Champion Bell
2)
Mary V. Polly Walker (1795-1850) m. Elijah Cook
3) William George Walker (1803-1849) m. 1) Francis G. _____
2) Missouri Candler
4) Lucina Sara Walker (1804-1826) m. Iverson L. Brooks
5) Thacker Vivion Walker (1806-1873) John and Thacker were twins
6)
John Thacker Walker (1806-1866) m. Melvina Tilly
7)
David Enoch Walker (1810-1838)
8) Austin M. Walker (1812-1878) m. 1) Ellen Emeline Mitchell 2) Martha Angeline Marshall 3) Mary Fears Fannin
I want to thank David Walker for allowing me to use his research on the Walker family for this post and future posts.
References
Putnam
County Georgia Records, Frances Wynd, Albany, GA 1999
1820
U S Census; Census Place: Capt John H Butts District, Putnam, Georgia; Ancestry.com.
1830 U S Census: Census Place: Harris, Georgia, Ancestry.com.
History
of Harris County Georgia, 1827 -1961,
Louise Calhoun Barfield,
Columbus, GA, 1961, p.558
http://www.neonclock.org/Pages/Walker-Geneology/LL_Walker_Ancestry.html
https://www.measuringworth.com/dollarvaluetoday/index.php#
Pine Log and Greek Revival, Houses and People of Three Counties in
Georgia and Alabama, William H. Davidson,
Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society, 1965, pp 192-199.
