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Francis Walker (abt. 1637 - 1702)

Francis Walker
Born about in Massachusettsmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married before 23 Jul 1668 in Plymouth Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Father of
Died at about age 65 in Middleborough, Plymouth, Province of Massachusetts Baymap [uncertain]
Profile last modified | Created 14 Sep 2010
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Biography

Francis Walker, b. c 1645; d. prob in Middleboro, Massachusetts between 10 May 1698 and 9 April 1702, probably the youngest son of Joseph and Hannah (Philbrick) Walker.[1]

He married Elizabeth Soule. They had one child[1]

  1. Isaac Walker b. c. Dec 1667 of Jan 1667/8

Children previously claimed, no longer accepted
RootsWeb: [1] Archiver > MAYFLOWER > 2004-12 > 1104244286

"From: "Susan E. Roser" Subject: Elizabeth Soule/Francis Walker Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 09:31:26 -0500

The listing of four children of Elizabeth Soule & Francis Walker in the 1980 edition of Mayflower Familes (MF) for the Soule family, was hastily done and almost immediately caused corrections from the genealogical community.

The children listed were Francis, Mary, Isaac and Patience. These children are carried further in the 1980 version of the silver MF book (this work has since been updated and revised and is currently in the form of pink "Mayflower Families In Progress" (MFIP) booklets).

In "The Genealogist" 1 [1980]: 228:229, ["Mayflower Families To Date: A Critical Examination"], by Neil Thompson, FASG, it was stressed that the researchers had relied heavily on the unreliable work of Ora E. Monnette ("First Settlers of ye Plantations of Piscataway and Woodbridge, Olde East Jersey, 1664-1714", 6 parts 1930-1934] for the identification of the Walker children. Note that in the biblio in MF 3 with the above source is the cautionary note "Acceptable only after verification".

In one paragraph, Thompson states that there is no proof for any children other than Isaac and no others shared in any property.

An article in the "Mayflower Quarterly", 50 [1984]: 31-40, ["Elizabeth Soule, Wife Of Francis Walker, And Their Posterity"], by Robert C. Anderson, F.A.S.G., went into great detail on the available and existing proof for the Walker children.

First, there was a Francis Walker of Woodbridge NJ (living as late as 1706) and a Francis Walker of Middleboro MA (died before 1702). The two were different men and no connection between them has been found. Francis of NJ cannot be the son of Francis (& Elizabeth) of MA because he was born too early to be their son. From his land dealings we know Francis of NJ was born no later than 1659 - Francis & Elizabeth did not have a child until at least 1667. Note as well that there was only one Francis residing in Woodbridge - this is known from the absence of the use of "Sr." or "Jr." in the records.

Francis Walker of Middleboro never lived in Woodbridge NJ - although his son Isaac did for a time.

When Francis of MA died, son Isaac returned from NJ to take care of his father' s estate. He acted alone when he disposed of his father's lands. If there were other children, they would have shared in the lands, or Isaac would have bought their shares in order to dipose of the lands. There is no mention of any other heirs in the records.

This leads to the conclusion that Francis & Elizabeth (Soule) Walker of Middleboro MA had only one child, son Isaac, born ca1667.

There is no controversy over this, the Mayflower Society accepts only one child, Isaac.

Interesting to note however that there is still a bit of a mix-up in biographical information pertaining to the two Francis Walkers. In the updated MFIP, George Soule, [1999], #7, it states that if Elizabeth Soule died early, husband Francis Walker may have m. 2nd to Anne and had these additional children. Robert Anderson, in MQ, already pointed out that Francis of MA never lived in NJ and that it was Francis of NJ who had married Anne. MFIP also quotes Monette and gives early biographical info on Francis of MA's early life in New Amsterdam, Staten Island and Woodbridge - however this info pertains to Francis of NJ - not Elizabeth Soule's husband.

Food for thought - what is the family connection between Francis of NJ and Francis of MA - cousins? Isn't it a little ironic that son Isaac lived in NJ where these other Walkers lived? What brought him there? No connection has been found.

Hope this helps answer some questions.

Susan E. Roser www.rootsweb.com/~canms/canada.html"


Once upon a time - Francis, Mary and Patience Walker were accepted as children of Francis Walker and Elizabeth Soule Walker. Elizabeth was the daughter of George Soule of the Mayflower. The family along with another child Isaac all went to New Jersey later in the life of their father Francis, who it was believed married Ann after Elizabeth's death.

Robert C Anderson in the Mayflower Quarterly Vol 50:31-40 argues that Elizabeth Soule and Francis Walker had only one legitimate child, Isaac. Not everyone agrees with this. See Why Mary Walker, Daughter of Elizabeth Soule and the linked articles within. The Mayflower Quarterly article is not available online, so it is difficult to draw conclusions one way or another.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 George Soule of the Mayflower and his Descendants for Four Generations. Originally compiled by John E. Soule and Milton E. Terry. Revised by Louise Walsh Throop. Mayflower Families in Progress. Seventh Edition. (Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2015.)







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Comments: 7

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Walker-2192 and Walker-446 appear to represent the same person because: See the bios
posted by Anne B
Walker-539 and Walker-446 appear to represent the same person because: Same parents; same siblings.
posted by Kenneth Kinman
Walker-11853 and Walker-446 appear to represent the same person because: Same wife; same year and place of death.
posted by Kenneth Kinman
Perhaps, but how do you know its him? He has no dates or information attached to him, it could be another Francis Walker. Its a common enough name. Just wondering how you know its this exact Francis Walker? Was Hannah Philbrick a second wife that I don't have record of to the father, Joseph Walker? Otherwise, I have no objections to changing his mother. Mindy
posted by MG Pitts
Mayflower Society says Francis may be son of Joseph and his other wife Hannah Philbrick, OBjections to changing his mother?
posted by Anne B
Mayflower Society in light of the Anderson Article has Francis' death before 1702 in Middleboro. Anderson believes he didn't go to NJ. Should this death place not be changed?
posted by Anne B
There are definitely duplicates of Francis Walker-446. Walker-11853 son of Hanna Philbrick; Walker-3275 & Walker-12619 but they may actually be the NJ Walker. I'm going to research some before I do these merges.
posted by Anne B

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