WALKER, William

  General Notes:

Birth:
Lyn Musselwhite - Lincolnshire List member provided the transcript of the Parish Record below:
"William Walker bapt Bourne, 16 Feb 1822,
s/o William (wheelwright) & Catherine of Bourne,
by John Nicholson, Curate".
I presume that if William Walker was baptised in Bourne that he was also born in Bourn. CW - May 07

Emigration
William Walker and his wife Isabella emigrated from Lincolnshire Via Plymouth on the ship Catherine in 9th February 1851 arriving at Port Adelaide 27 May 1851.
William Walker is listed as a Farmer/Contractor in one transcription of the ships log and as a Labourer in another.
Listed as a family - John Thomas is registered on the Ships log as 2 years and Elizabeth 2 months.

Listed on the same voyage also of Lincoln are:
Thomas Walker (Age 26 - b1825) labourer and Charlotte Walker (Age 28 - b1823) - Listed as a family
George Walker (Age 19 - b1832+-) labourer - Listed as a single man.
The B(berth) number on the ship's list for William Walker's family and Thomas Walker's family is 1661/3 and George as 1660/1.

The Sydney Shipping Gazette (SSG) reports
"The ship Catherine, 670 tons, Captain Magnus Flett, from Liverpool January 1851 / Plymouth 9th February 1851, arrived at Port Adelaide, South Australia 26th May 1851.
The Catherine, ship, 670 tons, Flett master, from Liverpool and Plymouth February 9th with 228 Government passengers - 5th ship from England to S.A. with government passengers for 1851; James Byrne, surgeon-superintendent; five births and five deaths on the passage."

South Australian Register Tuesday 27 May 1851
"Monday May 26: The Ship Catherine 670 Tons, Flett Master From London and Plymouth 9 February
Passengers: James Byrne Surgeon-Superintendent and the following Emigrants. There were four deaths and five births during the passage, and one named George Knight, supposed to have fallen overboard during the night. "

Other Walker emigrants of Interest
I have found 2 Walker families coming to South Australia in 1849 and wonder if they may have been the inspiration for our Walkers to emigrate also.
They were:
Charles Walker 1822 & his wife Rebecca 1822 m by 1849 arr aboard the "Samuel Boddington" 12 Jan 1849 and William Walker 1824, his wife Mary 1824 and sons William 1847 and John 1848 arr 26 Dec 1849 aboard "Harry Lorrequer".
Further research will be done to determine if Charles and William may have been relatives of our Walkers. Dec 06

Biographical Index of South Australians 1836 -1885
"WALKER William b:15.02.1822 d:17.11.1903 Redhill SA arr: 1851 Catherine occ: Farmer, Contractor res Mt Barker, Redhill, Koolunga m: Isabella ( Mary) OTTO b:20.03.1828 d:20.04.1902 Redhill SA ch: John Thos (1848-1925),Eliz (1850-), Joseph (1857-1940), Cath(1861-), Charlotte (1862-), Caroline Rose Steele (1867 - 1953), Jas."

Gold Diggers from South Australia
Maureen M Leadbeater
"Searchable database of gold diggers from South Australia who brought or sent their gold home from the Victorian goldfields. It includes those who deposited gold at the SA Gold Assay Office in February 1852, the consignors and consignees associated with the first three mounted police escorts, and those who lost their receipts or failed to claim their gold by 29 October 1853.

Further information about South Australian gold.

The search results include consignor, quantity of gold, and the date of arrival or delivery to the Assay Office. The gold was consigned to "self" unless otherwise stated."

Gold Diggers from South Australia
WALKER W consigned 7 oz of gold to WALKER Isabella which arrived by escort 2 on 5-5-1852.
Gold digger sources:
State Records of SA, GRG 45/43 and GRG 5/30
Note:
Below is the full record for 1852-1853 from the Gold Diggers of SA Website
WALKER George consigned 7 oz 5 dwt of gold which arrived by escort 2 on 5-5-1852.
WALKER W consigned 7 oz of gold to WALKER Isabella which arrived by escort 2 on 5-5-1852.
[not recorded] consigned 12 oz of gold to WALKER George which arrived by escort 3 on 6-7-1852.
[not recorded] consigned 13 oz 10 dwt of gold to STANTON Elizabeth which arrived by escort 3 on 6-7-1852. Note: Delivered to WALKER William.


THE CYCLOPEDIA OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA 1907 - 1909
The details below are recorded on Page 497 of the book - in the entry for Joseph Walker
"Mr William Walker farmer, of Koolunga who left Lincoln, England, for South Australia, in 1848 voyaging by the ship "Katherine". He obtained his first employment in the new Province with Mr Prescott, a well known farmer of Kent Town, and afterwards was engaged in contracting and roadmaking in the vicinity of Adelaide in which connection he assisted in grubbing stumps in Rundle Street, then in a very rough state. He also worked in the same line in the Mount Barker district, and subsequently paid a visit to the Victorian gold fields with fairly good results. Returning to South Australia, Mr Walker again entered upon roadmaking and contracting and eventually, in 1874 took up land in the Hundred of Koolunga, which he farmed until his decease, in 1903, at the advanced age of eighty two years."

The Walker's settle at Redhill
It appears to be around 1874 that William Walker paid 661 pounds 5 shillings for a Land Grant of 529 acres, of land near Redhill. The land is in the Hundred of Koolunga, County of Stanley and the Grant was numbered 275. (Lands title office Vol 675 Folio 187).
William's son's John Thomas & Joseph inherited this land in 1903 after the death of William. Joseph subsequently bought John Thomas out on the 14th June1904 when the estate of William was settled.
Joseph willed the farm to his two sons Victor Joseph Walker and Maurice Kendrew Walker. It appears they were tenants in common and farmed until 1976 when Maurice Kendrew Walker became the sole owner. Maurice's son Alan still farms this same land today.
From the Obituary for J. T. Walker - Burra Record
22 July 1925, page 3 Obituary.
"William Walker, a contractor who built much of the
Burra-Adelaide railway line."

South Australian Deaths - Index of Registrations 1842-1915
"WALKER William (M) 81y of Nr Red Hill d 17 Nov 1903 at Nr Red Hill rel Joseph WALKER (S) dist Dal b298 p108."

Note:
The following inscription from the family bible of William & Isabella Walker reads:
" William Walker Father died Nov 17 1903 82 years".
I suspect this entry was made by Joseph Walker. The entries continue in the family bible after the death of Joseph but it is unclear who recorded the events ~ possibly Maurice or Shirley Walker. CW May 07

Timeline for William and Isabella Walker
1822 Born - Bourne, Lincolnshire
1847 - Married - Isabella Otter at West Deeping, Lincolnshire
1848 - Son Born at Bourn, Lincolnshire - John Thomas
1850 - Daughter Born at Bourn, Lincolnshire - Elizabeth
Feb 1851 - Family Departed Plymouth
May 1851 - Arrived Port Adelaide, South Australia
c1851 - Worked on farm of Mr Prescott at Kent Town, South Australia
- Worked on roads - Grubbing stumps from Rundle Street, Adelaide
1852 - Sailed from Adelaide 5 Feb 1852 bound for Melbourne aboard the "Reliance" 1852 - Con #163 7ozs 5dwt of gold shipped from Mt Alexander (nr Castlemaine Victoria) by Wm Walker to Isabella Walker - Isabella colletcted the gold from HM Treasury Adelaide11th May 1852 and signed X (her mark). The cost of the shipment was 5dwt - 1 pound 9 shillings and 4 pence. It appears Willian returned to Adelaide for the birth of his son William (or shortly after). William Walker was acting as agent, collecting gold on behalf of other miners wives by July 1852 .
1852 - Son Born at Kensington - William 30 May 1852
1853 - Son Died at Kensington - William - Aged 1 year
1853 - Son Born at Norwood - George
1854 - Son Died at Norwood - George - Aged 1 year 2 months
1855 - Son Born at Norwood - William
1857 - Son Died at Norwood - William
1857 - Son Born at Norwood - Joseph
c1858 - Moved family to Mt Barker - worked on road construction
1859 - Son Born at Western Flat, Mount Barker- James
1861 - Daughter Born at Western Flat, Mount Barker - Catherine
1862- Daughter Born at Western Flat, Mount Barker - Charlotte
1860's
Possibly went to the Victorian Goldfields "with some result" sometime in the 1860's, enabling the family to establish a business "empire" stretching across SA and NSW.
They were drapers, clothiers, boot importers and general furnishers.
There were no babies born to the wives of the Walker brothers between 1864 and 1867.
William's wife Isabella gave birth at Mount Barker, South Australia in June1862 and then not again in Oct 1867. (Up to this time they had a child every year or two at the most)
It is possible that William and his son John Thomas may have been the first to seek their fortune in the gold fields accompanied by William's brother Thomas (not married and no offspring till 1868) leaving Mt Barker after June 1862.
John Thomas broke both legs in a childhood accident and spent his entire life on crutches or in a wheel chair but demonstrated great determination. If he did not accompany his father and uncles to gold fields he was certainly capable of being head of the family while his father was away. He would have be 14 in 1862 - in those days children were often in service or farm labourers by 11 or 12 years.
I estimate William would have returned to South Australia by late 1866 or early 1867.
It is possible that William's brothers John & George followed later, after George's wife gave birth (George) in Nov 1864 (no offspring Nov 1864 - Sept 1869) and John's wife Elizabeth gave birth in Sept 1864 (this baby - Isabella died 3 months later and the death was reported by Elizabeth). This couple have a gap in reproduction until late 1867 (Edward Thomas born Aug 1867).

Railway to Burra
There is some suggestion that William was a contractor involved in building the rail link from Adelaide to Burra
Rail services to Burra commenced in August 1870 and ceased 1985. The journey took about five hours in 1874.

William and Isabella's family continues to grow
1867 - Daughter Born at Western Flat, Mount Barker - Caroline Rose
1870 - Daughter Married at Mount Barker- Elizabeth
1872 - Son Married at Wistow - John Thomas

1874 - Took up land - near Redhill
William took up land at Redhill dist of Koolunga in 1874 but was engaged in road/rail building from Adelaide to Burra prior to this. It is not clear if Isabella remained at Mount Barker with her daughter in law Mary between 1872 & 1874 or accompanied her husband north.

1882 - Son Married at Res of William Walker, Koolunga, South Australia - James
1884 - Daughter Married at Res of William Walker, Redhill - Catherine
1885 - Daughter Married at Res of William Walker, Redhill - Charlotte
1888 - Son Died at Terowie, South Australia - James
1897 - Daughter Married - Caroline Rose
1902 - Son Married at Narridy, South Australia - Joseph
1902 - Wife Died at Redhill - Isabella
1903 - William Died at Redhill, South Australia

William married Isabella (Mary) OTTER, daughter of Father of Isabella Otter - BATTERS and Elizabeth OTTER, on 18 May 1847 in West Deeping Lincolnshire England. (Isabella (Mary) OTTER was born on 20 Mar 1828 in Lincolnshire, UK, christened on 24 Mar 1828 in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, England, died on 20 Apr 1902 in Redhill South Australia ¹ and was buried in Redhill South Australia ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

Marriage Record Free BMD Web site
Marriages Jun 1847
Otter Isabella District: Stamford Vol 14 Page 1133
Walker William District: Stamford Vol 14 Page 1133

Marriage Certificate
The marriage of William Walker and Isabella Otter was performed by R.E. Hubberty, Curate of West Deeping at the Parish Church after Banns on 18 May 1847.
William was a batchelor, a labourer, 25 years old and residing at Bourn. His father, William Walker's occupation was "Wheelwright". Isabella was a 19 year old spinster residing at West Deeping. Her father was --- Batters, "Gentleman".
Witnesses were John Otter and Elizabeth Wallace. William signed his name and Isabella made her mark.

Family Bible
The entry from the "Marriages" page of the family bible of William and Isabella Walker reads:
" William Walker & Isabella Otter was married at West Deeping, Lincolnshire England 18th Day of May 1847".
It appears William Walker may have recorded this entry. CW May 2007.