William Walker (abt. 1787 - abt. 1827)

Born about 1787 in England

Husband of Nancy Ann (Fletcher) Halsey — married 5 Dec 1816 in Coshocton, Ohio, USA

Descendants

Died about 1827 at about age 40 in At Sea

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Steve Lake [send private message]

Biography

The 1880 US Census for William's daughter, Elizabeth Ann Hawkins, states that both of her parents were born in England. Birth year estimates vary from 1775 to 1787.

William married Nancy Ann on 5 December 1816 in Coshocton county, Ohio,^[1] and they had four children; Adam 1819, Elizabeth "Betts" 1821, Thomas 1823 and Jane 1825. The marriage record for William Walker and Nancy Groom is known to apply to these two profiles because of names, date and place, plus agreement with family history. Nancy Ann Fletcher was the widow of Cornelius Lake, with whom she had a son, Joseph, and the widow of George Groom, with whom she had a son, William, and a daughter, Mary.

William and his family may have lived in Tuscarawas county, Ohio in 1820.^[2] It is hard to decipher the columns of numbers of males and females and their ages. The household would have contained his wife, Nancy Ann, age 29, Joseph Lake, age 11, Mary Groom, age 8, William Groom, age 6 and Adam Walker, age 1. Further study and commentary is needed.

Family tradition says that William had served in the British Navy and deserted. He joined a US privateer and his ship was captured by the British. He was convicted of desertion and executed at sea. This family story may have a few problems. His death would have been after the birth of his last child in 1825 and before the fourth marriage of his wife in 1830. The only US war during this time was the Winnebago Uprising in Wisconsin in 1827. But the crime of desertion may have happened earlier, possibly during the war of 1812. Still, it is puzzling why a settler in the Ohio frontier, with a new wife and four children, would go back to the sea. Another possibility may have been that he didn’t go back to sea on a military ship and was discovered on a merchant ship during customs inspection near a British port. Ethel Emma (Holmes) Walker suggests that he had obtained his own vessel, of an unknown name, which was commissioned as a privateer by the United States. This seems the most plausible and there was privateer activity for several years following the War of 1812. See further notes in burial source.

There is a military record for a William Walker who served in the New York militia during the war of 1812. A note from Ethel Emma (Holmes) Walker regarding possible military service: William enlisted from New York in War of 1812. The claim records and militia payroll cards are in the custody of the State Archives, 11th Floor, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, where they may be examined. Names of soldiers who served during the War of 1812 can be found in the following published sources: New York (State) Council of Appointment. Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783-1821. Albany: J.B. Lyon,State Printer, 1901-1902. 3 vols. and index (R,974.7,N555). New York (State) Adjutant-General's Office. Index of Awards on Claims ofthe Soldiers of the War of 1812. Baltimore: Genealogical PublishingCompany, 1969. (R,973.52447,qA2a). There are no less than eight men named William Walker in the New York Militia records. It would be hard to guess which, if any, of them is our William Walker. This military record references the New York militia, which is difficult to reconcile to the family story that he was a resident of Ohio and was a sailor.

Referencing our reasoning above, William probably died between 1825 and 1830 in or near Ohio, that is after the birth of his fourth child, but before the marriage of his widow, Nancy Ann to Silas Halsey in 1830. No will or death records for William are known to exist. His burial memorial offers a death year of 1827.^[3]

Credit is due the various descendants of Nancy Ann Halsey who have collected and preserved this family history. Nancy Ann was certainly a strong and notable character worth remembering. My contribution has been to work on linking public records to this family history in order to provide support for the facts.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [1], Ohio Marriages.
2. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [2], 1820 US Census.
3. ↑ Find-a-Grave.com, [3], Burial Memorial.
4. ↑ Various reasoning, commentary and opinion not attributed to source or family history was added by Steve Lake 26Apr2018

• William Walker, "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994"

Indexed Information
Name: William Walker
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 05 Dec 1816
Event Place: Coshocton, Ohio, United States
Spouse's Name: Nancy Groom
"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2QH1-5S6 : 8 December 2014), William Walker and Nancy Groom, 05 Dec 1816; citing Coshocton, Ohio, United States, reference ; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 895,287.

• William Walker, "United States Census, 1820"

Indexed Information
Name William Walker
Event Type Census
Event Date 1820
Event Place Oxford, Tuscarawas, Ohio, United States
Page 178
Citation
"United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XHL9-TWP : accessed 21 February 2018), William Walker, Oxford, Tuscarawas, Ohio, United States; citing p. 178, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 95; FHL microfilm 181,401.

• William Walker, "Find A Grave Index"

Transcribed Information:
Name: William Walker
Birth 1775 England
Death 1827 (aged 51–52) New York, USA
Burial Body buried at sea
Memorial ID 70125981
Nickname: Bill
from Ethel Emma (Holmes) Walker's notes:
William enlisted from New York in 1812
During the war of 1812, between the United States and Great Britain, he arrived on an ocean vessel of an unknown name at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. He was a British naval officer and, along with others, he jumped ship upon arrival at Charleston and joined the American cause.
Possibly, William eventually became involved with the Great Lakes naval battles between Britain and the United States. However, no United States naval records have been found to confirm his participation. Within eight years of Williams arrival, he had obtained his own vessel, of an unknown name, which was commissioned as a privateer by the United States. At some unknown date, his ship was captured by the English and William was tried as a deserter, found guilty, hung aboard ship, and his body was thrown overboard.
(Ethel Emma (Holmes) Walker's notes)
William married Nancy (Fletcher) Groom on 5 Dec 1816 in Coshocton Co, Ohio.
Family Members
Spouse
Nancy J Fletcher Halsey 1791–1872 (m. 1818)
Children
Adam Fletcher Walker 1819–1859
Elizabeth Ann Walker Hawkins 1821–1906
Jane Walker Hicks 1825–1860
Citation:
Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 May 2019), memorial page for William Walker (1775–1827), Find A Grave Memorial no. 70125981, ; Maintained by Sue McDuffe:) (contributor 47122067) Body buried at sea. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70125981/william-walker | accessed on 30May2019)

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