Our Family

Walker Family History

Thomas Jefferson Walker Notes

I don't have a specific birth date, but I believe Thomas Jefferson Walker was born prior to 1822 in St. Landry Parish, LA.  I don't really know who his father was due to no documentation.  I had thought that the John Walker, b. between 1780 and 1790, living in St. Landry Parish in the 1830 census with his wife and children may have been the father of Thomas Jefferson.  The John Walker in the 1830 census had a male child living with him that was born between 1815 and 1820 who I now believe was his son John Walker, Jr., found in the 1840 St. Landry census as head of his own household.  Mrs. John Walker, Sr., was born between 1790 and 1800 and they probably married before arriving in Louisiana.  Oral family history had indicated that Thomas Jefferson was the son of Jeremiah Walker, but all of the facts that I have lead me to believe that this is not true.  Jeremiah and Mrs. Jeremiah would have been 70-80 years of age in 1820 (based on 1830 census age information and Jeremiah's RW pension request), which would have made it improbable that Mrs. Jeremiah would have had a child and there was no baby (child under 10 years) in the 1820 household.

I believe that John Walker, Sr. was the son of Jeremiah and Mrs. Jeremiah, but not the Walker that was the father of Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson owned a plantation on the Bayou Chicot side of Bayou Cocodrie and south of Fontenot Road in St. Landry Parish (became Evangeline Parish in 1910).  This property was passed to his wife, Frances Whittington Walker, and their children when he died around 1858 at about 38 years of age (based on the succession inventory dated Nov., 1858).  I have no record of his date of death or what caused it, only the tax and debt records and his succession dates. His death in 1858 explains why he only appeared once in a census as head of household after marrying Frances in 1841 (1850 census).  I did find a newspaper advertisement of a public sale dated 31 Dec 1859 in The Opelousas Courier that stated the property was to be sold at public sale on Tuesday, 24 Jan 1860, by John Whittington (father of Thomas' wife, Frances Whittington Walker).  It's interesting to note that John Whittington was the administrator of the sale of property "belonging to the succession (Thomas J. succession) in community between John Whittington and his children".  This implies that John Whittington still owned or held the mortgage for Thomas Jefferson's property in Bayou Chicot.  The list of land and other property corresponds with the property inventory mentioned in the note below and created by Emily Ophelia Walker in November, 1858, for Thomas Jefferson's succession.

COMMENT: - Some comments on a possible death date includes two documents.  The first document is a debt document for a purchase at an estate sale on July 20, 1857.  Thomas Jefferson paid part of the debt for $156.25 owed to James Akinhead on Feb. 20, 1858 and Dr. C. D. Tatman paid the remainder with interest on Mar. 1, 1861.  The second is a document dated Nov. [ ], 1858 and created by Emily Ophelia Walker who was the oldest child of Thomas and Frances.  She was 16 years old at the time that she wrote an inventory page for Thomas' estate.  So, I believed he died somewhere between Feb., 1858 and Nov., 1858 when Emily created the inventory of his estate.

A Mrs. Isaac Walker paid the state taxes on Thomas' property in 1859, which is another conundrum.  Who was Isaac Walker? One possibility is that Mrs. Isaac may have been the wife of a brother of Thomas.  Another debt document dated later in 1871 presents another question that I don't have the answer for yet.  Frances Walker payed a debt to Sam Haas for $5.66 and the debt document stated, "Recd of Mrs. Frances Walker and James Walker, her son".  Where did Janes Walker come from?  He is not listed on the 1850 St. Landry Parish census or other family documents indicating he was a child of Thomas Jefferson.  James was born about 1840, which would make him the oldest child of T. J. and Frances, but still too young in 1850 to be out and head of his own houshold.  I found James in the 1870 ad 1880 censuses and a marriage record to Marcia Alzina Fuselier on 27 May 1856. There was a major difference in the ages given in both censuses.  The 1870 census said that James and Alzina were both 30 years old which indicates a birth year of 1840.  The 1880 census lists James as 46 (b. 1834) and Alzina as 42 (b. 1838).  Even if he was born in 1834, he would have only been 16 years old in 1850 and should have appeared in T. J.'s household in the 1850 census.  Since T. J. and Frances didn't get married until 1841, I believe she may have been married once before prior to her marriage with Thomas if James was her son and her husband had to be a Walker, possibly a brother to Thomas who died and left her a widow.  Still, why didn't James appear on the 1850 census?  I added James Walker to our records, but you have to take that with a grain of salt because I don't have any proofs that he is Thomas Jefferson's son.

Jeremiah Walker Notes
John Walker Notes
Thomas J. Walker Notes
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