Philip Walker
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Philip Walker (abt. 1625 - 1679)

Deacon Philip Walker
Born about in Weymouth, Dorset, Englandmap [uncertain]
Son of [father unknown] and
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about 1654 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusettsmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 54 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusettsmap
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Profile last modified | Created 13 Mar 2011
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Contents

European Origin

Philip Walker, Sr. the son of ______Walker and his wife ____ afterward called "Widow Walker" (b. ca.1596) was born in England. The author of the 1861 Walker biography assumed that Philip Walker was one of three children of Widow Walker; his siblings were Sarah Walker (1618-1676) and James Walker (b:1619-20). Note that records show that James and Sarra (Sarah) arrived together but there was no mention of Philip. Philip did not show up in records until 1653. The Walker biographer states that Philip's birth place, age and date of arrival are unknown. Because the Rev Newman came from Weymouth, some have assumed that Philip and his assumed siblings also came from Weymouth.

DNA Evidence

Proof that James was the brother of Philip could be confirmed by Y-DNA STR and SNP matching of direct paternal descendants of James and Philip. None are known at this time (Oct 2016). This could also confirm that their father's identify if other descendants in England could be located and tested. Note that autosomal testing offered by various testing organizations is of no value to prove relationships this far back in time since it is only valid out to five generations and very scant DNA remains even at that point. Y-DNA paternal testing may be the only method to settle this controversy.

Y-DNA analysis places two known descendants of James Walker in Group 28 and two known descendants of Phillip Walker in Group 58, which strongly indicates that they are not brothers.[1]

Identity of Philip's Parents

There is no record of the identity of Walker's father, who may have died in England before Walker emigrated to America. Some have speculated that his father was James Walker. Philip's mother was identified as "Widow Walker". Some have speculated that she may have been Elizabeth Browne but no direct source (marriage record, etc.) has been found to confirm this. However, other evidence indicates that James and Sarah were likely the niece and nephew of John Browne. The deed of 23 November 1655 tells us that John Browne was the uncle of Sarah and James Walker which makes it likely that he was identical to John Brown-baker who was master to James Walker.

Immigration to America

In 1641, Rev. Samuel Newman, a non-conformist minister settled at Weymouth and purchased a tract of land eight miles square for settlement from Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoags tribe. With Rev. Newman came a large portion of the members of his church from Weymouth and they named the place Rehoboth. Among the first settlers was Widow Walker. In 1643 the lands were divided among fifty-eight persons, Second on the list of settlers and owners, stood the name of Widow Walker. In 1644, there was a division of woodland made into fifty-eight shares. Of these shares Widow Walker had one, and two years later, in 1646, in the drawing for the "new meadow", another lot was assigned to her. The year of her death and place of burial are unknown.

Rehoboth, "Ring of the Green"

The "Ring of Green Map"[2] for a self guided tour has three Walker lots. In the upper North West Section is an 8 acre lot assigned to Phillip Walker, in the North East Section is an 8 acre lot assigned to "Wid Walker", and in the lower portion of the North West section is a 6 acre lot assigned to "James Walker"

Rehoboth Ring of the Green Map

Biography

According to the 1861 biography of Philip Walker, Sr., Philip and his mother ("Widow Walker") were "associated with an adventurous company, most of whom went out from Weymouth [England] into the wilderness, a company marked for its religious character, (being a majority of the church at W[eymouth].,) the highly educated and scholarly Rev. Samuel Newman being in some respects the Leader of the enterprise." This early religious influence in Walker's life is perhaps noteworthy, since Walker would become a deacon in the Congregational Church several decades later.

The first record of of Philip Walker which point to him as a son of Widow Walker, is a deed, with his signature dated 1653 at Rehoboth. Some believe he had a brother, James, who settled in Taunton.

Family

Walker was married once, to Jane Metcalf (1632-1702) of Norwich, Norfolk, England. They were married ca.1650, and had ten children. Only six of Walker's children are known to have survived to adulthood. Two of Walker's children died particularly bizarre deaths. Elizabeth (1661-1664) accidentally drowned in "the river" on her way to school. Michael fell through the floor of his father's saw mill, "upon the water wheel, or just by it, when it was going, and was carried away with the stream under the ice."

Children Listed on Pages 122-123 in 1861 Walker Biography:

  1. Samuel (Capt) Walker b. Feb 1655 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, on 11 Nov 1681 married (1) Martha Ide[3] and had six children. After Martha's death he married (2) Elizabeth (surname unknown) and had two children. He died 12 Ag 1712 in Rehoboth.
  2. Sarah Walker b. 16 Feb 1657 – buried 2 Aug 1693, on 27 Dec 1677 married Abraham Perrin[4], son of John, and had eight children.
  3. Philip Walker b. Mar 1661 in Reboth, was the twin of Elizabeth. On 31 Dec 1687 Philip married (1) Mary Bowen[5] and had four children. After her death in 1694, he married (2) Sarah Bowen and had six children.
  4. Elizabeth Walker b. Mar 1661 twin with Philip. According to the inquest, she was "accidentally drowned" 17 Aug 1664 (Ply Col. Rec. 4th Vol. 83, 84 pp)
  5. Marcy (Mary) Walker b. May 1663 Rehoboth, Plymouth, British Colonial America – 1684[6] - d. 8 May 1694
  6. Experience Walker birth unknown - buried 10 Nov 1674 Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts[7]
  7. Elizabeth Walker b. 1 Apr 1666 married on 31 Mar 1687 Henry Sweet[8] of Swanzey and had five children
  8. Michael Walker b. 1 Mar 1667 also died by accident at ten years of age . Buried Feb 1677
  9. Ebenezer Walker b. "mid Nov" 1676 in Rehoboth, on 19 Nov1700 married (1) Mehetable Willmarth[9] who died 27 Oct 1702. Ebenezer married (2) Dorothy Abel daughter of Lieut. Preserved and had nine children. She married 2ndly John Reed.
  10. Martha Walker not of age in 1680. No other information found.

Public Life & Civic Duties

Philip Walker, Sr., was relatively active in civic affairs, holding all of the major public offices. He was a freeman (1658+), Surveyor of the Highways (1657), Constable (1658), deputy (1669), and regular juror (1655-1678). Walker was appointed by the court to settle the estate of Richard Bullocke in 1670, and was chosen in 1669 to serve on a Rehoboth committee, "to meet a Committee of the new town of Swansey, to settle a controversy, (probably about boundaries)."

Wealth & Estate

Philip Walker, Sr., was one of the wealthiest men in Rehoboth. When he died, his estate was appraised at £631.83, with his landholdings totaling nearly 500 acres. According to his estate inventory, Walker owned forty livestock, a £200 homestead (including a house and barn), and land as far away as Swansea.[10] He was also the co-owner of a corn mill and a saw mill, his share in both appraised at £80. Incidentally, Walker's son, Michael, died by falling through the floor of this saw mill, near the water wheel, and drowning in the stream below.

Walker's homestead was located "on Watchemoket Neck, south of the Great Plain, at what is now [in 1861] the Kinnicut Place, on the road from Providence, R. I., to Barrington; about 1 mile from India Bridge, and in Rehoboth, now Seekonk, an attractive and fertile spot, overlooking the Providence river." Walker's house, unfinished at the time of his death, but completed by his heirs, still stands today, according to one of his descendants. It is supposedly located on the corner of Massasoit Avenue and North Broadway, in East Providence, R.I. (formerly Rehoboth).

Timeline

  • 1655 June 8. Philip Walker, Sr., stood "propounded to take up [his] freedom," and also served on the "Grand Enquest". [PCR 3:77-78]
  • 1657 June 3. Philip Walker, Sr., and Obadia Bowen elected Surveyors of the Highways for Rehoboth. [PCR 3:114-116]
  • 1658 March 1. Report of the coroner's inquest, impaneled to investigate the death of Nathaniel West of Rhode Island. Philip Walker, Sr., was Constable of Rehoboth at the time, and served on this jury. They concluded that West accidentally drowned, by falling through ice while on his way to Providence town. [PCR 3:155-158]
  • 1658 June 1. Philip Walker, Sr., admitted as a freeman, and elected Constable of Rehoboth. [PCR 3:134-137]
  • 1663 November 2. Philip Walker, Sr., appointed "one of a Committee, to buy or build a parsonage, or 'house of ministry.' " [Walker, J. B. R. 1861]
  • 1664 February/March. Death of Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Philip Walker, Sr. The coroner's inquest was originally impaneled 7 March 1664. [PCR 4:81-84]
  • 1664 August 7. Report of the coroner's inquest, impaneled to investigate the death of Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Walker, Sr. According to their verdict, she, "being sent to school," accidentally drowned in a river. She was supposedly two and a half years old. [PCR 4:81-84]
  • 1668 June 3. Philip Walker, Sr., served on jury in case of Nathaniel Soule, who "for telling of a pernicious lie" was fined ten shillings. [PCR 4:179-187]
  • 1669 May 14. Philip Walker, Sr., chosen to serve on a Rehoboth committee, "to meet a Committee of the new town of Swansey, to settle a controversy, (probably about boundaries)." [Walker, J. B. R. 1861]
  • 1669 June 1. Philip Walker, Sr., named as a deputy at the Court of Election. [PCR 5:17]
  • 1670 July 5. Philip Walker, Sr., involved in settling the estate of Richard Bullocke, deceased. He helped "settle all matters between the widow Bullocke and her son in law, Samuel Bullocke." His three partners: Captain Willett, Ensign Smith, and Lieutenant Hunt. [PCR 5:42-45]
  • 1673 November 20. Philip Walker, Sr., and Anthony Perrey took inventory of and appraised the estate of Roger Annadowne. Annadowne owed Walker £2. [Plymouth Colony Wills]
  • 1674 November 10. Burial of Experience Walker, daughter of Philip Walker, Sr.. [PCR 8:54]
  • 1675-1676. King Philip's War
  • 1676 October 27. Philip Walker, Sr., and Daniel Smith took inventory of and appraised the estate of Sampson Mason of Rehoboth. [Plymouth Colony Wills]
  • 1676 November 15. Birth of Ebinezer Walker, son of Philip Walker, Sr.. [PCR 8:62]
  • 1677 February 16. Burial of Michael Walker, likely son of Philip Walker, Sr.. [PCR 8:67]
  • 1677 February 16. Report of the coroner's inquest, impaneled to investigate the death of Michael Walker, likely the son of Philip Walker, Sr. According to their verdict Michael "came accidentally to his end by his falling through the floor of the saw mill upon the water wheel, or just by it, when it was going, and was carried away with the stream under the ice." [PCR 5:203-209]
  • 1678 June 5. Philip Walker, Sr., served on the "Grand Enquest". [PCR 5:255-256]

Death

  • 21 Aug 1679 August Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts[11]. Death of Philip Walker, Sr.. Walker left no will at the time of his death.
  • 1679 August 21. Burial of Philip Walker, Sr. Newman Cemetery, East Providence, RI.
  • 1679 October 10. Inventory taken of the estate of Philip Walker, Sr., by Daniel Smith, Anthony Perrey, John Pecke, and Nicholas Pecke. [Plymouth Colony Wills, Vol. 4, Part 1, Folios 34-36]
  • 1679 October 29. Inventory of the estate of Philip Walker, Sr., probated, "on the oaths of James Walker and Samuel Walker." [Plymouth Colony Wills, Vol. 4, Part 1, Folios 34-36]
  • 1679 November 1. Court proceedings regarding disposal of estate of Philip Walker, Sr.. His widow was named administratrix, with six other overseers: Daniel Smith, Lieutenant Hunt, Ensign Nicholas Pecke, Abraham Perram, Thomas Read, and Samuel Walker. Also, "Phillip Walker, Junior, hath chosen Mr. Daniel Smith to be his guardian, and the Court approves thereof." [PCR 6:27-28]

Sources

  1. Walker Project on FTDNA James: Kits 21168 & 57921; Phillip: Kits 15335 & 163685
  2. [Rehoboth Ring of the Green Map] “Historic Bus Tour 2016: A map of the “Ring of the Green,” the original town center of Rehoboth, now located in Rumford, RI. “, Rehoboth Antiquarian Society Newsletter, March 2016, pp. 3-4. Accessed 25 Oct 2018: http://www.carpentermuseum.org/RSANewsMarch2016FINALLoRez.pdf
  3. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-M3C6 : 29 November 2018), Samuell Walker and Martha Ide, 11 Nov 1681; citing Marriage, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  4. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-QJXL : 29 November 2018), Abraham Perren Or Peren and Sarah Walker, 27 Dec 1677; citing Marriage, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  5. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-36V2 : 29 November 2018), Philip Walker and Mary Bowen, 31 Dec 1687; citing Marriage, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  6. "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC7N-PMJ : 15 January 2020), Philip Walker in entry for Marcy Walker, 1663.
  7. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1V-TP7G : 29 November 2018), Philip Walker in entry for Experience Walker, 10 Nov 1674; citing Death, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  8. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1V-BHHS : 29 November 2018), Henry Sweet and Elizabeth Walker, 29 Mar 1687; citing Marriage, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  9. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-9BBD : 29 November 2018), Ebenezer Walker and Mehittabell Willmarth, 19 Nov 1700; citing Marriage, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.
  10. "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97D-V32S : 14 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 496 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
  11. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1V-TDXF : 29 November 2018), Philip Walker, 21 Aug 1679; citing Death, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641.

Primary Sources:

  • Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories, Vols. I-VII, 1670-1685. Unpublished compilation, ed. Patricia E. Scott Deetz. Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia, 1999.
  • Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England [PCR]. 1855-61. Ed. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer. New York: AMS Press, 1968.
  • Walker, Philip. Captan Perse & his coragios Company. Ed. Diane Bornstein. American Antiquarian Society. 83 (1973): 67-102. [cross-listed below by editor]
  • Mayflower Source Records
  • U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
  • American Marriages Before 1699

Secondary Sources:

Acknowledgement

  • This profile is a merger of Walker-14774, Walker-3295, Walker-2014 and Walker-2948.
  • WikiTree profile Walker-2948 was created through the import of 2011-05-03 Family Tree_2011-05-24.ged on 25 May 2011.
  • WikiTree profile Walker-3295 created through the import of Ancestors of PBHowe.ged on Jun 6, 2011 by Buck Howe. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Buck and others.
  • WikiTree profile Walker-2014 was created through the import of Bwiki.ged on 03 April 2011.




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Comments: 8

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Restored data as it was prior to recent change
posted by Billy Huff
Sean: see second paragraph of bio. As shown, people have speculated in the past that James may have been his father but there is no proof.
posted by Billy Huff
The father I found could be Sir James Walker Born 1590 Weymouth, Dorset, England died 1629 in Weymouth, Dorset, England.

This makes sense since it is written "Widow Walker" who came to America in 1635

posted by Sean Carpenter
Sean Carpenter's comment: The birth date and date of his arrival in this country are unknown as stated in Memorial to the Walkers of the Old Plymouth Colony.
posted by Billy Huff
Deacon Philip Walker

Born Aug 20 1625 Died Aug 21 1679

posted by Sean Carpenter
Since there is no record or source for the identify of Philip Walker's father, should the present link to James Walker Sr be removed? This appears to be only speculation which is already described in the profile for Philip.

My vote is yes.

posted by Billy Huff
Walker-2014 and Walker-1694 appear to represent the same person because: Same person, different spelling of first name
posted by Billy Huff

W  >  Walker  >  Philip Walker

Categories: Rehoboth, Massachusetts | Founders of Rehoboth