All
Ever drive through Northern North Carolina near Winston-Salem, and pass a place called Walkertown? This is the area our Walker ancestors lived prior to moving west in the early 1800s. There is a newly-formed historical society researching the origins of the area. The folklore of the area is that the town was named for Robert Walker, but they are unsure which one. The first Robert Walker in this area around 1760 is our direct ancestor. He was the owner of a tavern/hotel and a key leader in the community. One of his descendants not in our direct line, Dr. Robert Walker, lived in the area in the early 1800s. Either or both could have been the namesake for the town.
Kathy and I have been working with several other researchers to learn more, and Tom took some pictures of the area during a recent visit.
You can learn more at the following site:
http://walkertownareahistoricalsociety.org/web_links.html
Click on the "About Robert Walker" link to connect with the research led by Fred Coffey, a distant cousin.
Craig Walker
3 comments:
Craig,
Have you found any of our "Walker" ancestors that might have been instrumental in the founding of Walkerton In?
Dale
There is little doubt that members of the family have been living in the region since the 1760s, including some with whom we have had recent contact. The DNA testing has shown this to be the case. What is not clear is the exact relationship, because nobody has constructed a comprehensive family tree to tie all of us together.
We know with some certainty that our DIRECT ancestors moved out of the area, or passed away, by the 1820s, so it is unlikely they had a hand in the founding of Walkertown.
There are a lot of Walker relatives out there that probably are related to us, but since, as Craig stated, there is no family tree we will not find out until someone does the research. Research can take a long time and sometimes you end up with nothing helpful.
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