William Walker (b. circa 1829 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51524
Maryland State Colonization Society Emigrant to Liberia from Caroline
County, 1835
Biography:
William Walker was the freeborn son of Luke and Ann Walker, manumitted slaves from Caroline County. Allen had eight brothers and sisters; the two eldest, Thomas and Laura Ann, had had their freedom purchased by their father. His remaining siblings—George, Mahalah, Mary Adeline, Joseph, Elizabeth , and Allen—were all free born.1
On December 24 1835, the entire Walker family, as well as Allen's fourteen-month old nephew John Smith, emigrated to Liberia, where Luke hoped to set up a saw mill.2 The Walkers sailed from Baltimore on the brig Fortune, arriving at Cape Palmas, Liberia on February 4, 1836.3 Adjusting to the climate and diseases of the new land was often difficult, if not fatal, for colonists. However, by the time that the colony's first census was conducted in 1837, all of the Walkers survived their first year in the settlement.4 Luke worked as a carpenter and was soon appointed to the position of Measurer of Lumber and Inspector of Shingles for the colony.5 However, the family did not remain in Liberia for long. Luke became disillusioned by the frequent material shortages and lack of opportunities in the new colony.6 In June 1837, the family returned to the United States on the Niobe. Colonial officials welcomed Luke's departure, believing that his attitude demoralized the colonists as well as dissuaded potential settlers from coming to Liberia.7
In December 1837, the family probably lived in Baltimore where Luke
owned a grocery store in the Fell's Point area.8 In 1850, William
and much of his family were living in New York City in the home of Lewis
Walker, who was probably a relative. William and his brothers, Thomas and
George, working as porters while his mother and sisters, Elizabeth and
Mahala, and youngest brother Allen had no occupation listed.9 By
the next federal census in 1860, the family had dispersed with Thomas remaining
in New York City while Allen had moved to Massachusetts, George to Philadelphia.10,
11, 12 The whereabouts of William and the other Walkers is unclear.
2. Hall, Richard L. On Afric’s Shore: A History of Maryland in Liberia, 1834-1857. (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 2003), 156.
3. Ibid, 453.
5. Hall, 453.
6. Ibid, 156.
7. "Luke Walker." Maryland Colonization Journal, December 1837, Vol. 1, No. 13, p. 54.
8. Ibid.
9. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (Census Record, NY) for Wm. Walker, 1850, New York County, 1st District, 8th Ward New York City, Page 235a, Lines 37-42. Page 235b, Line 1.
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