John Walker (abt. 1603 - aft. 1647)

Born about 1603 in Essex or Suffolk, England

Descendants

Died after 18 Mar 1647 after about age 44 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island

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John Walker migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 3, p. 1906) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

John Walker

Uncertain Origin

John was born c. 1603, estimated from his estimated date of marriage.^[1] He was probably from Essex or Suffolk, England, surmised by his association with William Freeborne.^[1] Otherwise, we do not have record of his origins.

Associations

John was probably a follower of Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson and her sister, Katherine (Marbury) Scott.^[1] He was associated with William Freeborne who also immigrated first to Roxbury, then to Boston and on to help found Portsmouth.^[1] William was a witness on both John's and his wife, Katherine's wills and on the deeds for both his sons-in-law.^[1] William Freeborne and his family were probably from Essex or Suffolk, which is the reason Robert C. Anderson believes the Walkers were probably also from Essex or Suffolk, England.^[1]

Immigrated to Massachusetts

John immigrated first to Roxbury, then to Boston by 1637, and to Portsmouth in 1638.^[1] John Walker was made a freeman of Boston 14 May 1634 [MBCR 1:368].^[1]

Family

John married c. 1628 to Katherine _________.^[1]

Note: Apparently, John Walker is sometimes said to have married to Katherine Hutchinson, baptized 7 February 1629/30, the daughter of William and Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson. However that Katherine probably died in the Indian massacre of 1643, and the wife of John Walker was living when he wrote his will in 1648.^[1] In addition, the dates of birth of the daughters of John Walker do not work with the date of birth for Katherine Hutchinson (she would have been younger than her oldest daughter).

Children:

1. Sarah b say 1628; mar James Sands
2. Mary b say 1634; mar William Earle

Portsmouth, Rhode Island

John Walker was one of the signers of the Portsmouth Compact on 7 March 1638, said to be the first document to sever religious and political ties to England. A group of followers of Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson and Katherine (Marbury) Scott all removed together as some of the founders of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This after the Antinomian Controversy, when on 20 November 1637, he and others were warned to "deliver up all guns, pistols, swords, powder, shot, etc." because it was believed that he subscribed to Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson's teachings [MBCR 1:212].^[1]

On 13 May 1638, John was present at a general meeting held at public notice. ^[2]

Death and Legacy

John Walker died after 18 March 1647/8 when his will was dated,^[3] and before 2 April 1654, when his widow Katherine consented to the sale of 50 acres that was land granted to John Walker. ^[1] In his will, he mentions his wife Katherine, his daughter Mary, and his daughter the wife of James Sands to whom he left land in Portsmouth. ^[4]

Marjorie Schunke estimates John Walker died about 1654, based on the land transaction that year.^[2]

The wills of John Walker (18 March 1647) and his wife Katharine (undated but known to be drawn before 2 April 1654) were both recorded together on 16 December 1671,^[2][1] probably to help settle a title dispute on the land.

Research Notes

An excellent study of the wife of John Walker - John Walker, by Marjorie W. Schunke, was published in Rhode Island Roots, June 1985, pp. 21-22.

"John Walker was a freeman of Boston 14 May 1634. It has been widely claimed that he married Katherine Hutchinson, daughter of Edward Hutchinson, who was a brother of William Hutchinson who married Ann Marbury. Primary evidence supporting this claim has not been found..." ^[2]

"The fact that this Edward Hutchinson was 20 years younger than his brother William, having been baptized at Alford, Lincolnshire, England, 20 December 1607, makes it unlikely that he would have been the father of a daughter old enough to be Katherine Walker (New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 45:[1914]: 166.) The idea of this Hutchinson – Walker marriage very probably arose in a misinterpretation of another marriage: Hannah Hutchinson, daughter of Edward3 Hutchinson and granddaughter of William and Anne, born 16 May 1658, married Peter Walker of Taunton. Hannah is named as sister in the will of Edward 3 Hutchinson, dated 21 May 1692, as “my beloved sister Hannah Walker wife of my Brother-in-law Mr. Peter Walker of Taunton in New England,” and he named Peter Walker as one of the executors of the will (Suffolk Co. Probate File 1951)."

Further things to consider, by Robert Givens:

1. Only Sands articles/books purport the Katherine, wife of John Walker as being a Hutchinson.
2. No Hutchinson articles/books give a link to the Sands family other than the fact that James Sands did build the home in Westchester, New York, in which Anne Hutchinson died. This doesn’t prove they were related though.
3. Finally John Osborne Austin – in his “The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island” nowhere gives a surname for Katherine. If he had thought she was a Hutchinson he would have brought it up.
4. Katherine Hutchinson – daughter of Anne Hutchinson died at the age of 14 in the massacre of Anne’s family.
5. Katherine Hutchinson – daughter of Edward3 Hutchinson married Peter Walker not John Walker.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633 (1995) Sketch for John Walker Pages 1906-1908. AmericanAncestors.org (by subscription)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} John Walker, by Marjorie W. Schunke, in Rhode Island Roots, Vol 11 (1985), page 21
3. ↑ Amos Perry and Clarence Saunders Brigham, eds. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth (Providence: E. L. Freeman & Sons, Providence, 1901); images of pp. 421-22 at InternetArchive.
4. ↑ Amos Perry and Clarence Saunders Brigham, eds. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth (Providence: E. L. Freeman & Sons, Providence, 1901); images of pp. 421-22 at InternetArchive.

See also:

• Anderson, Robert Charles The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995); images of pp. 1906-08 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.
• Rhode Island Roots. Warwick, RI: Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 1975–. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.), Vol. 11, page 21, John Walker, by Marjorie W. Schunke.
• Find a Grave, database and images memorial page for John Walker (1603–1647), Find a Grave Memorial ID 34926265; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703); Burial Details Unknown; no headstone image.