US Congressman. After attending country schools in the Carolinas, he worked as a store clerk at Charleston. From 1817 to 1823, he represented western North Carolina in the House of Representatives. His district included Buncombe County which had been named after revolutionary war Colonel Edward Buncombe. Walker was a talkative, rambling speaker whose constituents expected him to speak "for Buncombe County." On February 25, 1820, during the lengthy Missouri Compromise debate, despite his colleague's readiness to call the question to a vote, Walker got the floor. Walker delivered his lengthy and rambling speech and had it printed in the newspaper. Speaking "for Buncombe" quickly came to mean speaking "nonsense" and "double-talk." The word caught on. Eventually it was spelled "bunkum," meaning nonsense language, and then shortened to "bunk." After his Congressional career, Walker moved to Mississippi and worked in agriculture and trading. As to the burial? The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that "interment [is] probably in a private cemetery."∼Felix Walker was the son of Colonel John Walker. Colonel Walker and other malcontents drafted and signed the Tryon Resolves a year before John Adams persuaded a committee of the Continental Congress to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was the former Elizabeth Watson. On a recruiting trip to the Upstate, the infamous Patrick Ferguson discovered Colonel Walker was on an excursion. He made the Walker plantation his headquarters imprisoning Mrs. Walker in her own cellar so the Whigs would not burn his HQ.
I included the following, because there was more detail than I could have collected on my own:
Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress,
1774-2005 about Felix Walker
Name: Felix Walker
Elected Office(s): Representative
States: North Carolina, West Virginia,
Washington, Tennessee, Mississippi
Biography:
A Representative from North Carolina; born on the south branch of the Potomac River, in Hampshire County, Va. (now West Virginia), July 19, 1753; attended country school on the Congaree River, near Columbia, S.C., and in Burke County, N.C.; moved with his father to what became Lincoln County, N.C., and in 1768, to what became Rutherford County, N.C.; was employed as a mer-chant's clerk at Charleston, S.C., in 1769; also engaged in agricultural pursuits;
in company with Daniel Boone and others formed the settlement of Boonsboro, Ky., in 1775; clerk of the court of Washington district (most of which is now in Tennessee) in 1775 and 1776 and of the county court of Washington County (now chiefly in Tennessee)
in 1777 and 1778; fought in the Revolutionary and Indian wars; clerk of court of Rutherford County, N.C., 1779-1787; member of the State house of commons in 1792, 1799-1802, and 1806; resumed agricultural pursuits and was also a trader and land speculator in Haywood County, N.C.;
elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1823); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Eighteenth Congress; moved to Mississippi about 1824 and engaged in agricultural pursuits and trading; died in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., in 1828; interment probably in a private cemetery.
I pulled from Walker's own words as he reminisced the founding of Boonesboro:
"In the month of February in that year (1775) Captain William Twitty, Samuel Coburn, James Bridges, Thomas Johnson, John Hart, William Hicks, James Peeke and myself, set out from Rutherford County, North Carolina, to explore a country by the name of Leowvisay, greatly renowed, and highly spoken of as the best quality of land, abounding in game, now the state of Kentucky," wrote Felix Walker in his "Narrative of His Trip With Daniel Boone from Long Island of Holston to Boonesborough".
"I solicited my father to suffer me to go to Kentucky — which was then called Louvizy — with Colonel Richard Henderson, who had made a Purchase of that country from the Cherokee Indians. He consented, and accordingly my father and myself set out to a treaty held for that purpose, on Watauga in the month of Februnry, 1775, where we met with Colonel Henderson and the Indians in treaty. I there saw the celebrated Indian Chief called Atticullaculla — in our tongue "the little carpenter." He was a very small man and andd said to be then ninety years of age and had the charaeter of being the greatest politician ever known in the Cherokee Nation. He was sent as an agent or plenipotentiary from his nation to England and dined with King George the Seeond with the nobility, so I heard him declare in a public oration delivered at the treaty. The name of "little carpenter" was given him by similitude. The Indians said he would modify and connect his political views so as to make every joint fit to its place as a white carpenter can do in wood. You may find his name mentioned in "Weem's Life of General Marion."
The treaty being finished and a purchase made, there associated and collected together about thirty men. Mr. William Twitty with six men and myself were from Rutherford; and others a miscellaneous collection. Adventures with Daniel Boone in the Wilds of Kentucky We rendezvoused at the Long Island in Holston. Colonel Daniel Boone was our leader and pilot. Never was a company of more cheerfull and ardent spirits set out to find a new country. We proceeded and traveled, cutting our way through a wilderness of near three hundred miles, until we arrived within about twelve miles of Kentneky River when, on the twenty-fifth of March, 1775, we were fired on by the Indians while asleep in our camp;
Mr. Twitty and his negro man killed, myself badly wounded, the company despondent and discouraged. We continued there for twelve days. I was carried in a litter between two horses to the bank of the Kentucky River, where we stopped and made a station and called it Booneborough. I well recollect it was a "lick." A vast number of buffaloes moved off on our appearance. I saw some running, some loping and some walking quietly as if they had been driven. It was calculated there were near two hundred. But let me not forget, nor never shall forget, the kindness, tenderness and sympathy shown me by Colonel Daniel Boone.
In the sequel and conclusion of my narrative I must not neglect to give honor to whom honor is due: Col Boone conducted the company under his care through the wilderness, with great propriety, intrepity and courage; and was I to enter an exception to any part of his conduct, it would be on the ground that he appeared void of fear and of consequence too little caution for the enterprise. But let me, with feeling recollection and lasting gratitude: ever remembering the unremitting kindness, sympathy, and attention paid to me by Col. Boone in my distress. He was my father, my physical [physician] and friend; he attended me as his child, cured my wounds by the use of medicines from the woods, nursed me with paternal affection until I recovered, without the expectation of reward. Gratitude is the only tribute I can pay to his memory."
Mr. Walker was married twice. His first wife was Susan Robertson, daughter of Col. Charles Robertson and Susanna Nichols. The young couple married on January 8, 1778. Forty five years later his pain was evident as he wrote in his Memoir: "On the 28th of June, my dear girl had a miscarriage which terminated her existence. She died on the 9th day of July, 1778, six months after our marriage. This was the most momentous and eventful year in which I lived, through the whole period of my life. I was so shocked and impressed with so unexpected an event, that my mind was almost lost. Absorbed in grief almost insupportable, I felt so deeply afflicted that I thought all my prospects of happiness were buried with the woman I loved.... I continued at my father's as a home for about 16 months under the pressure of a wounded and broken spirit, rather in a state of despondency, spending my time without much effect."
On January 10, 1780, Felix Walker married his second wife, Isabella Henry, daughter of William Henry, DAR Ancestor Number A053877, and Isabel McKeown. About his second wife, he wrote: "I was highly gratified in my second marriage, happy in the woman of my choice, and believe I could not have selected a better had I traveled and traveled till this day." They had the following children:
Elizabeth Stanhope Walker 1782 - 1872
Elvira Watson Walker 1784 - 1874
Felix Hampton Walker 1785 - 1876
Joseph Emanuel Walker 1786 - 1878
Jefferson Walker 1788 - 1880
Isabella Henry Walker 1790 - 1882
In 1928, Tazewell Walker Baird
submitted an Application for Membership in the Louisiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was granted membership after substantiating his direct relationship to Felix Walker through his great, great grandmother, the aforementioned Isabella Henry Walker, wife of James Baird. (He summarized his "clean line" in his SAR Membership Application, Number 43769.)
Felix Walker had seven brothers. Five of his brothers, John, Thomas, William, James, and Joseph, fought in the American Revolution. George Walker was born in 1768 and was killed by Indians at the age of ten. Jacob , the youngest Walker, was born in 1771 and was, thus, too young to serve. His brother, Lt. William Walker, fought at the Battle of King's Mountain as did three of Isabella Henry Walker's brothers:
Major William Henry
Captain John Henry
Malcolm Henry
Colonel Robertson, father of Walker's first wife, was also one of those Heroes.
Neither Colonel Walker nor son Felix fought at the famous battle hailed as the turning point of the American Revolution. In their book, "King's Mountain And Its Heroes: History Of The Battle Of King's Mountain, October 7th, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It" co-authors Lyman Copeland Draper, Anthony Allaire, and Governor Isaac Shelby, another Hero at King's Mountain, recounted that the Patriots retired to Colonel Walker's after the battle. In many of the Applications for Revolutionary War Pension, the applicants testified that they went to Colonel Walker's plantation after the battle. Among those who so testified:
Joseph Rogers James
John Norris
William McFerrin
Edward Murphy
Isaac Lane
Felix Walker was the great, great grandson of
Reverend George Walker, Bishop designate of Derry and Governor of Londonderry during the siege. Harris wrote in his life of William III, "The defence, which lasted above a hundred days, was one of the most heroic in history." Governor Walker accompanied William III (William of Orange) to the Banks of the Boyne. Just as the Battle of King's Mountain was a turning point in the American Revolution, the Battle of the Boyne was a turning point in the history of the British Isles. It was the last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on the battlefield as James II sought to regain the throne after being deposed by William and Mary, his daughter and son-in-law. Reverend Walker was killed in battle attempting to aid the Duke of Schomberg, William's second-in-command who was killed as well.
Felix Walker was also a direct descendant of Sir Michael Stanhope. In 1537, Henry VIII knighted and granted, by letters patent, the governorship of Hull to Stanhope. Later, Stanhope was implicated in the events which led to the downfall of his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Seymour. Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII and mother of his son, King Edward VI. Upon Edward's ascension to the throne at age nine, Seymour became de facto king: his official title was 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England. Stanhope was arrested in 1551, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1552 alongside Sir Thomas Arundel.
Despite the disgrace suffered by Michael Stanhope and his brother-in-law, Edward Seymour, the family regained favor decades later. From Wikipedia: "Earls of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had already been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also in the Peerage of England. Stanhope's youngest son the Hon. Alexander Stanhope was the father of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope while his half-brother Sir John Stanhope of Elvaston was the great-grandfather of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington. He was second cousin three times removed of Felix Walker. The names Chesterfield and Stanhope have been handed down through the generations. My father and my son shared the name "Chesterfield".
A Historical Marker dedicated to Felix Walker was placed in Dellwood, NC, "Erected 1950 by Division of Archives and History. (Marker Number P-26.) Location. 35¡ã 30.828¡ä N, 83¡ã 4.05¡ä W. Marker is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, in Haywood County. Marker is on Soco Road (U.S. 19) 0 miles east of Moody Farm Road, on the right when traveling west. Clic k for map. Marker is in this post office area: Maggie Valley NC 28751, United States of America."
The actual burial site for Felix Walker has been lost to history. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude and respect we owe him and his family members for braving the unknown and risking their lives to help build a new country: our America.
I included the following, because there was more detail than I could have collected on my own:
Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress,
1774-2005 about Felix Walker
Name: Felix Walker
Elected Office(s): Representative
States: North Carolina, West Virginia,
Washington, Tennessee, Mississippi
Biography:
A Representative from North Carolina; born on the south branch of the Potomac River, in Hampshire County, Va. (now West Virginia), July 19, 1753; attended country school on the Congaree River, near Columbia, S.C., and in Burke County, N.C.; moved with his father to what became Lincoln County, N.C., and in 1768, to what became Rutherford County, N.C.; was employed as a mer-chant's clerk at Charleston, S.C., in 1769; also engaged in agricultural pursuits;
in company with Daniel Boone and others formed the settlement of Boonsboro, Ky., in 1775; clerk of the court of Washington district (most of which is now in Tennessee) in 1775 and 1776 and of the county court of Washington County (now chiefly in Tennessee)
in 1777 and 1778; fought in the Revolutionary and Indian wars; clerk of court of Rutherford County, N.C., 1779-1787; member of the State house of commons in 1792, 1799-1802, and 1806; resumed agricultural pursuits and was also a trader and land speculator in Haywood County, N.C.;
elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1823); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Eighteenth Congress; moved to Mississippi about 1824 and engaged in agricultural pursuits and trading; died in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., in 1828; interment probably in a private cemetery.
I pulled from Walker's own words as he reminisced the founding of Boonesboro:
"In the month of February in that year (1775) Captain William Twitty, Samuel Coburn, James Bridges, Thomas Johnson, John Hart, William Hicks, James Peeke and myself, set out from Rutherford County, North Carolina, to explore a country by the name of Leowvisay, greatly renowed, and highly spoken of as the best quality of land, abounding in game, now the state of Kentucky," wrote Felix Walker in his "Narrative of His Trip With Daniel Boone from Long Island of Holston to Boonesborough".
"I solicited my father to suffer me to go to Kentucky — which was then called Louvizy — with Colonel Richard Henderson, who had made a Purchase of that country from the Cherokee Indians. He consented, and accordingly my father and myself set out to a treaty held for that purpose, on Watauga in the month of Februnry, 1775, where we met with Colonel Henderson and the Indians in treaty. I there saw the celebrated Indian Chief called Atticullaculla — in our tongue "the little carpenter." He was a very small man and andd said to be then ninety years of age and had the charaeter of being the greatest politician ever known in the Cherokee Nation. He was sent as an agent or plenipotentiary from his nation to England and dined with King George the Seeond with the nobility, so I heard him declare in a public oration delivered at the treaty. The name of "little carpenter" was given him by similitude. The Indians said he would modify and connect his political views so as to make every joint fit to its place as a white carpenter can do in wood. You may find his name mentioned in "Weem's Life of General Marion."
The treaty being finished and a purchase made, there associated and collected together about thirty men. Mr. William Twitty with six men and myself were from Rutherford; and others a miscellaneous collection. Adventures with Daniel Boone in the Wilds of Kentucky We rendezvoused at the Long Island in Holston. Colonel Daniel Boone was our leader and pilot. Never was a company of more cheerfull and ardent spirits set out to find a new country. We proceeded and traveled, cutting our way through a wilderness of near three hundred miles, until we arrived within about twelve miles of Kentneky River when, on the twenty-fifth of March, 1775, we were fired on by the Indians while asleep in our camp;
Mr. Twitty and his negro man killed, myself badly wounded, the company despondent and discouraged. We continued there for twelve days. I was carried in a litter between two horses to the bank of the Kentucky River, where we stopped and made a station and called it Booneborough. I well recollect it was a "lick." A vast number of buffaloes moved off on our appearance. I saw some running, some loping and some walking quietly as if they had been driven. It was calculated there were near two hundred. But let me not forget, nor never shall forget, the kindness, tenderness and sympathy shown me by Colonel Daniel Boone.
In the sequel and conclusion of my narrative I must not neglect to give honor to whom honor is due: Col Boone conducted the company under his care through the wilderness, with great propriety, intrepity and courage; and was I to enter an exception to any part of his conduct, it would be on the ground that he appeared void of fear and of consequence too little caution for the enterprise. But let me, with feeling recollection and lasting gratitude: ever remembering the unremitting kindness, sympathy, and attention paid to me by Col. Boone in my distress. He was my father, my physical [physician] and friend; he attended me as his child, cured my wounds by the use of medicines from the woods, nursed me with paternal affection until I recovered, without the expectation of reward. Gratitude is the only tribute I can pay to his memory."
Mr. Walker was married twice. His first wife was Susan Robertson, daughter of Col. Charles Robertson and Susanna Nichols. The young couple married on January 8, 1778. Forty five years later his pain was evident as he wrote in his Memoir: "On the 28th of June, my dear girl had a miscarriage which terminated her existence. She died on the 9th day of July, 1778, six months after our marriage. This was the most momentous and eventful year in which I lived, through the whole period of my life. I was so shocked and impressed with so unexpected an event, that my mind was almost lost. Absorbed in grief almost insupportable, I felt so deeply afflicted that I thought all my prospects of happiness were buried with the woman I loved.... I continued at my father's as a home for about 16 months under the pressure of a wounded and broken spirit, rather in a state of despondency, spending my time without much effect."
On January 10, 1780, Felix Walker married his second wife, Isabella Henry, daughter of William Henry, DAR Ancestor Number A053877, and Isabel McKeown. About his second wife, he wrote: "I was highly gratified in my second marriage, happy in the woman of my choice, and believe I could not have selected a better had I traveled and traveled till this day." They had the following children:
Elizabeth Stanhope Walker 1782 - 1872
Elvira Watson Walker 1784 - 1874
Felix Hampton Walker 1785 - 1876
Joseph Emanuel Walker 1786 - 1878
Jefferson Walker 1788 - 1880
Isabella Henry Walker 1790 - 1882
In 1928, Tazewell Walker Baird
submitted an Application for Membership in the Louisiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was granted membership after substantiating his direct relationship to Felix Walker through his great, great grandmother, the aforementioned Isabella Henry Walker, wife of James Baird. (He summarized his "clean line" in his SAR Membership Application, Number 43769.)
Felix Walker had seven brothers. Five of his brothers, John, Thomas, William, James, and Joseph, fought in the American Revolution. George Walker was born in 1768 and was killed by Indians at the age of ten. Jacob , the youngest Walker, was born in 1771 and was, thus, too young to serve. His brother, Lt. William Walker, fought at the Battle of King's Mountain as did three of Isabella Henry Walker's brothers:
Major William Henry
Captain John Henry
Malcolm Henry
Colonel Robertson, father of Walker's first wife, was also one of those Heroes.
Neither Colonel Walker nor son Felix fought at the famous battle hailed as the turning point of the American Revolution. In their book, "King's Mountain And Its Heroes: History Of The Battle Of King's Mountain, October 7th, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It" co-authors Lyman Copeland Draper, Anthony Allaire, and Governor Isaac Shelby, another Hero at King's Mountain, recounted that the Patriots retired to Colonel Walker's after the battle. In many of the Applications for Revolutionary War Pension, the applicants testified that they went to Colonel Walker's plantation after the battle. Among those who so testified:
Joseph Rogers James
John Norris
William McFerrin
Edward Murphy
Isaac Lane
Felix Walker was the great, great grandson of
Reverend George Walker, Bishop designate of Derry and Governor of Londonderry during the siege. Harris wrote in his life of William III, "The defence, which lasted above a hundred days, was one of the most heroic in history." Governor Walker accompanied William III (William of Orange) to the Banks of the Boyne. Just as the Battle of King's Mountain was a turning point in the American Revolution, the Battle of the Boyne was a turning point in the history of the British Isles. It was the last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on the battlefield as James II sought to regain the throne after being deposed by William and Mary, his daughter and son-in-law. Reverend Walker was killed in battle attempting to aid the Duke of Schomberg, William's second-in-command who was killed as well.
Felix Walker was also a direct descendant of Sir Michael Stanhope. In 1537, Henry VIII knighted and granted, by letters patent, the governorship of Hull to Stanhope. Later, Stanhope was implicated in the events which led to the downfall of his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Seymour. Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII and mother of his son, King Edward VI. Upon Edward's ascension to the throne at age nine, Seymour became de facto king: his official title was 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England. Stanhope was arrested in 1551, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1552 alongside Sir Thomas Arundel.
Despite the disgrace suffered by Michael Stanhope and his brother-in-law, Edward Seymour, the family regained favor decades later. From Wikipedia: "Earls of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had already been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also in the Peerage of England. Stanhope's youngest son the Hon. Alexander Stanhope was the father of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope while his half-brother Sir John Stanhope of Elvaston was the great-grandfather of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington. He was second cousin three times removed of Felix Walker. The names Chesterfield and Stanhope have been handed down through the generations. My father and my son shared the name "Chesterfield".
A Historical Marker dedicated to Felix Walker was placed in Dellwood, NC, "Erected 1950 by Division of Archives and History. (Marker Number P-26.) Location. 35¡ã 30.828¡ä N, 83¡ã 4.05¡ä W. Marker is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, in Haywood County. Marker is on Soco Road (U.S. 19) 0 miles east of Moody Farm Road, on the right when traveling west. Clic k for map. Marker is in this post office area: Maggie Valley NC 28751, United States of America."
The actual burial site for Felix Walker has been lost to history. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude and respect we owe him and his family members for braving the unknown and risking their lives to help build a new country: our America.
US Congressman. After attending country schools in the Carolinas, he worked as a store clerk at Charleston. From 1817 to 1823, he represented western North Carolina in the House of Representatives. His district included Buncombe County which had been named after revolutionary war Colonel Edward Buncombe. Walker was a talkative, rambling speaker whose constituents expected him to speak "for Buncombe County." On February 25, 1820, during the lengthy Missouri Compromise debate, despite his colleague's readiness to call the question to a vote, Walker got the floor. Walker delivered his lengthy and rambling speech and had it printed in the newspaper. Speaking "for Buncombe" quickly came to mean speaking "nonsense" and "double-talk." The word caught on. Eventually it was spelled "bunkum," meaning nonsense language, and then shortened to "bunk." After his Congressional career, Walker moved to Mississippi and worked in agriculture and trading. As to the burial? The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that "interment [is] probably in a private cemetery."∼Felix Walker was the son of Colonel John Walker. Colonel Walker and other malcontents drafted and signed the Tryon Resolves a year before John Adams persuaded a committee of the Continental Congress to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was the former Elizabeth Watson. On a recruiting trip to the Upstate, the infamous Patrick Ferguson discovered Colonel Walker was on an excursion. He made the Walker plantation his headquarters imprisoning Mrs. Walker in her own cellar so the Whigs would not burn his HQ.
I included the following, because there was more detail than I could have collected on my own:
Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress,
1774-2005 about Felix Walker
Name: Felix Walker
Elected Office(s): Representative
States: North Carolina, West Virginia,
Washington, Tennessee, Mississippi
Biography:
A Representative from North Carolina; born on the south branch of the Potomac River, in Hampshire County, Va. (now West Virginia), July 19, 1753; attended country school on the Congaree River, near Columbia, S.C., and in Burke County, N.C.; moved with his father to what became Lincoln County, N.C., and in 1768, to what became Rutherford County, N.C.; was employed as a mer-chant's clerk at Charleston, S.C., in 1769; also engaged in agricultural pursuits;
in company with Daniel Boone and others formed the settlement of Boonsboro, Ky., in 1775; clerk of the court of Washington district (most of which is now in Tennessee) in 1775 and 1776 and of the county court of Washington County (now chiefly in Tennessee)
in 1777 and 1778; fought in the Revolutionary and Indian wars; clerk of court of Rutherford County, N.C., 1779-1787; member of the State house of commons in 1792, 1799-1802, and 1806; resumed agricultural pursuits and was also a trader and land speculator in Haywood County, N.C.;
elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1823); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Eighteenth Congress; moved to Mississippi about 1824 and engaged in agricultural pursuits and trading; died in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., in 1828; interment probably in a private cemetery.
I pulled from Walker's own words as he reminisced the founding of Boonesboro:
"In the month of February in that year (1775) Captain William Twitty, Samuel Coburn, James Bridges, Thomas Johnson, John Hart, William Hicks, James Peeke and myself, set out from Rutherford County, North Carolina, to explore a country by the name of Leowvisay, greatly renowed, and highly spoken of as the best quality of land, abounding in game, now the state of Kentucky," wrote Felix Walker in his "Narrative of His Trip With Daniel Boone from Long Island of Holston to Boonesborough".
"I solicited my father to suffer me to go to Kentucky — which was then called Louvizy — with Colonel Richard Henderson, who had made a Purchase of that country from the Cherokee Indians. He consented, and accordingly my father and myself set out to a treaty held for that purpose, on Watauga in the month of Februnry, 1775, where we met with Colonel Henderson and the Indians in treaty. I there saw the celebrated Indian Chief called Atticullaculla — in our tongue "the little carpenter." He was a very small man and andd said to be then ninety years of age and had the charaeter of being the greatest politician ever known in the Cherokee Nation. He was sent as an agent or plenipotentiary from his nation to England and dined with King George the Seeond with the nobility, so I heard him declare in a public oration delivered at the treaty. The name of "little carpenter" was given him by similitude. The Indians said he would modify and connect his political views so as to make every joint fit to its place as a white carpenter can do in wood. You may find his name mentioned in "Weem's Life of General Marion."
The treaty being finished and a purchase made, there associated and collected together about thirty men. Mr. William Twitty with six men and myself were from Rutherford; and others a miscellaneous collection. Adventures with Daniel Boone in the Wilds of Kentucky We rendezvoused at the Long Island in Holston. Colonel Daniel Boone was our leader and pilot. Never was a company of more cheerfull and ardent spirits set out to find a new country. We proceeded and traveled, cutting our way through a wilderness of near three hundred miles, until we arrived within about twelve miles of Kentneky River when, on the twenty-fifth of March, 1775, we were fired on by the Indians while asleep in our camp;
Mr. Twitty and his negro man killed, myself badly wounded, the company despondent and discouraged. We continued there for twelve days. I was carried in a litter between two horses to the bank of the Kentucky River, where we stopped and made a station and called it Booneborough. I well recollect it was a "lick." A vast number of buffaloes moved off on our appearance. I saw some running, some loping and some walking quietly as if they had been driven. It was calculated there were near two hundred. But let me not forget, nor never shall forget, the kindness, tenderness and sympathy shown me by Colonel Daniel Boone.
In the sequel and conclusion of my narrative I must not neglect to give honor to whom honor is due: Col Boone conducted the company under his care through the wilderness, with great propriety, intrepity and courage; and was I to enter an exception to any part of his conduct, it would be on the ground that he appeared void of fear and of consequence too little caution for the enterprise. But let me, with feeling recollection and lasting gratitude: ever remembering the unremitting kindness, sympathy, and attention paid to me by Col. Boone in my distress. He was my father, my physical [physician] and friend; he attended me as his child, cured my wounds by the use of medicines from the woods, nursed me with paternal affection until I recovered, without the expectation of reward. Gratitude is the only tribute I can pay to his memory."
Mr. Walker was married twice. His first wife was Susan Robertson, daughter of Col. Charles Robertson and Susanna Nichols. The young couple married on January 8, 1778. Forty five years later his pain was evident as he wrote in his Memoir: "On the 28th of June, my dear girl had a miscarriage which terminated her existence. She died on the 9th day of July, 1778, six months after our marriage. This was the most momentous and eventful year in which I lived, through the whole period of my life. I was so shocked and impressed with so unexpected an event, that my mind was almost lost. Absorbed in grief almost insupportable, I felt so deeply afflicted that I thought all my prospects of happiness were buried with the woman I loved.... I continued at my father's as a home for about 16 months under the pressure of a wounded and broken spirit, rather in a state of despondency, spending my time without much effect."
On January 10, 1780, Felix Walker married his second wife, Isabella Henry, daughter of William Henry, DAR Ancestor Number A053877, and Isabel McKeown. About his second wife, he wrote: "I was highly gratified in my second marriage, happy in the woman of my choice, and believe I could not have selected a better had I traveled and traveled till this day." They had the following children:
Elizabeth Stanhope Walker 1782 - 1872
Elvira Watson Walker 1784 - 1874
Felix Hampton Walker 1785 - 1876
Joseph Emanuel Walker 1786 - 1878
Jefferson Walker 1788 - 1880
Isabella Henry Walker 1790 - 1882
In 1928, Tazewell Walker Baird
submitted an Application for Membership in the Louisiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was granted membership after substantiating his direct relationship to Felix Walker through his great, great grandmother, the aforementioned Isabella Henry Walker, wife of James Baird. (He summarized his "clean line" in his SAR Membership Application, Number 43769.)
Felix Walker had seven brothers. Five of his brothers, John, Thomas, William, James, and Joseph, fought in the American Revolution. George Walker was born in 1768 and was killed by Indians at the age of ten. Jacob , the youngest Walker, was born in 1771 and was, thus, too young to serve. His brother, Lt. William Walker, fought at the Battle of King's Mountain as did three of Isabella Henry Walker's brothers:
Major William Henry
Captain John Henry
Malcolm Henry
Colonel Robertson, father of Walker's first wife, was also one of those Heroes.
Neither Colonel Walker nor son Felix fought at the famous battle hailed as the turning point of the American Revolution. In their book, "King's Mountain And Its Heroes: History Of The Battle Of King's Mountain, October 7th, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It" co-authors Lyman Copeland Draper, Anthony Allaire, and Governor Isaac Shelby, another Hero at King's Mountain, recounted that the Patriots retired to Colonel Walker's after the battle. In many of the Applications for Revolutionary War Pension, the applicants testified that they went to Colonel Walker's plantation after the battle. Among those who so testified:
Joseph Rogers James
John Norris
William McFerrin
Edward Murphy
Isaac Lane
Felix Walker was the great, great grandson of
Reverend George Walker, Bishop designate of Derry and Governor of Londonderry during the siege. Harris wrote in his life of William III, "The defence, which lasted above a hundred days, was one of the most heroic in history." Governor Walker accompanied William III (William of Orange) to the Banks of the Boyne. Just as the Battle of King's Mountain was a turning point in the American Revolution, the Battle of the Boyne was a turning point in the history of the British Isles. It was the last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on the battlefield as James II sought to regain the throne after being deposed by William and Mary, his daughter and son-in-law. Reverend Walker was killed in battle attempting to aid the Duke of Schomberg, William's second-in-command who was killed as well.
Felix Walker was also a direct descendant of Sir Michael Stanhope. In 1537, Henry VIII knighted and granted, by letters patent, the governorship of Hull to Stanhope. Later, Stanhope was implicated in the events which led to the downfall of his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Seymour. Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII and mother of his son, King Edward VI. Upon Edward's ascension to the throne at age nine, Seymour became de facto king: his official title was 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England. Stanhope was arrested in 1551, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1552 alongside Sir Thomas Arundel.
Despite the disgrace suffered by Michael Stanhope and his brother-in-law, Edward Seymour, the family regained favor decades later. From Wikipedia: "Earls of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had already been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also in the Peerage of England. Stanhope's youngest son the Hon. Alexander Stanhope was the father of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope while his half-brother Sir John Stanhope of Elvaston was the great-grandfather of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington. He was second cousin three times removed of Felix Walker. The names Chesterfield and Stanhope have been handed down through the generations. My father and my son shared the name "Chesterfield".
A Historical Marker dedicated to Felix Walker was placed in Dellwood, NC, "Erected 1950 by Division of Archives and History. (Marker Number P-26.) Location. 35¡ã 30.828¡ä N, 83¡ã 4.05¡ä W. Marker is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, in Haywood County. Marker is on Soco Road (U.S. 19) 0 miles east of Moody Farm Road, on the right when traveling west. Clic k for map. Marker is in this post office area: Maggie Valley NC 28751, United States of America."
The actual burial site for Felix Walker has been lost to history. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude and respect we owe him and his family members for braving the unknown and risking their lives to help build a new country: our America.
I included the following, because there was more detail than I could have collected on my own:
Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress,
1774-2005 about Felix Walker
Name: Felix Walker
Elected Office(s): Representative
States: North Carolina, West Virginia,
Washington, Tennessee, Mississippi
Biography:
A Representative from North Carolina; born on the south branch of the Potomac River, in Hampshire County, Va. (now West Virginia), July 19, 1753; attended country school on the Congaree River, near Columbia, S.C., and in Burke County, N.C.; moved with his father to what became Lincoln County, N.C., and in 1768, to what became Rutherford County, N.C.; was employed as a mer-chant's clerk at Charleston, S.C., in 1769; also engaged in agricultural pursuits;
in company with Daniel Boone and others formed the settlement of Boonsboro, Ky., in 1775; clerk of the court of Washington district (most of which is now in Tennessee) in 1775 and 1776 and of the county court of Washington County (now chiefly in Tennessee)
in 1777 and 1778; fought in the Revolutionary and Indian wars; clerk of court of Rutherford County, N.C., 1779-1787; member of the State house of commons in 1792, 1799-1802, and 1806; resumed agricultural pursuits and was also a trader and land speculator in Haywood County, N.C.;
elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1823); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Eighteenth Congress; moved to Mississippi about 1824 and engaged in agricultural pursuits and trading; died in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., in 1828; interment probably in a private cemetery.
I pulled from Walker's own words as he reminisced the founding of Boonesboro:
"In the month of February in that year (1775) Captain William Twitty, Samuel Coburn, James Bridges, Thomas Johnson, John Hart, William Hicks, James Peeke and myself, set out from Rutherford County, North Carolina, to explore a country by the name of Leowvisay, greatly renowed, and highly spoken of as the best quality of land, abounding in game, now the state of Kentucky," wrote Felix Walker in his "Narrative of His Trip With Daniel Boone from Long Island of Holston to Boonesborough".
"I solicited my father to suffer me to go to Kentucky — which was then called Louvizy — with Colonel Richard Henderson, who had made a Purchase of that country from the Cherokee Indians. He consented, and accordingly my father and myself set out to a treaty held for that purpose, on Watauga in the month of Februnry, 1775, where we met with Colonel Henderson and the Indians in treaty. I there saw the celebrated Indian Chief called Atticullaculla — in our tongue "the little carpenter." He was a very small man and andd said to be then ninety years of age and had the charaeter of being the greatest politician ever known in the Cherokee Nation. He was sent as an agent or plenipotentiary from his nation to England and dined with King George the Seeond with the nobility, so I heard him declare in a public oration delivered at the treaty. The name of "little carpenter" was given him by similitude. The Indians said he would modify and connect his political views so as to make every joint fit to its place as a white carpenter can do in wood. You may find his name mentioned in "Weem's Life of General Marion."
The treaty being finished and a purchase made, there associated and collected together about thirty men. Mr. William Twitty with six men and myself were from Rutherford; and others a miscellaneous collection. Adventures with Daniel Boone in the Wilds of Kentucky We rendezvoused at the Long Island in Holston. Colonel Daniel Boone was our leader and pilot. Never was a company of more cheerfull and ardent spirits set out to find a new country. We proceeded and traveled, cutting our way through a wilderness of near three hundred miles, until we arrived within about twelve miles of Kentneky River when, on the twenty-fifth of March, 1775, we were fired on by the Indians while asleep in our camp;
Mr. Twitty and his negro man killed, myself badly wounded, the company despondent and discouraged. We continued there for twelve days. I was carried in a litter between two horses to the bank of the Kentucky River, where we stopped and made a station and called it Booneborough. I well recollect it was a "lick." A vast number of buffaloes moved off on our appearance. I saw some running, some loping and some walking quietly as if they had been driven. It was calculated there were near two hundred. But let me not forget, nor never shall forget, the kindness, tenderness and sympathy shown me by Colonel Daniel Boone.
In the sequel and conclusion of my narrative I must not neglect to give honor to whom honor is due: Col Boone conducted the company under his care through the wilderness, with great propriety, intrepity and courage; and was I to enter an exception to any part of his conduct, it would be on the ground that he appeared void of fear and of consequence too little caution for the enterprise. But let me, with feeling recollection and lasting gratitude: ever remembering the unremitting kindness, sympathy, and attention paid to me by Col. Boone in my distress. He was my father, my physical [physician] and friend; he attended me as his child, cured my wounds by the use of medicines from the woods, nursed me with paternal affection until I recovered, without the expectation of reward. Gratitude is the only tribute I can pay to his memory."
Mr. Walker was married twice. His first wife was Susan Robertson, daughter of Col. Charles Robertson and Susanna Nichols. The young couple married on January 8, 1778. Forty five years later his pain was evident as he wrote in his Memoir: "On the 28th of June, my dear girl had a miscarriage which terminated her existence. She died on the 9th day of July, 1778, six months after our marriage. This was the most momentous and eventful year in which I lived, through the whole period of my life. I was so shocked and impressed with so unexpected an event, that my mind was almost lost. Absorbed in grief almost insupportable, I felt so deeply afflicted that I thought all my prospects of happiness were buried with the woman I loved.... I continued at my father's as a home for about 16 months under the pressure of a wounded and broken spirit, rather in a state of despondency, spending my time without much effect."
On January 10, 1780, Felix Walker married his second wife, Isabella Henry, daughter of William Henry, DAR Ancestor Number A053877, and Isabel McKeown. About his second wife, he wrote: "I was highly gratified in my second marriage, happy in the woman of my choice, and believe I could not have selected a better had I traveled and traveled till this day." They had the following children:
Elizabeth Stanhope Walker 1782 - 1872
Elvira Watson Walker 1784 - 1874
Felix Hampton Walker 1785 - 1876
Joseph Emanuel Walker 1786 - 1878
Jefferson Walker 1788 - 1880
Isabella Henry Walker 1790 - 1882
In 1928, Tazewell Walker Baird
submitted an Application for Membership in the Louisiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was granted membership after substantiating his direct relationship to Felix Walker through his great, great grandmother, the aforementioned Isabella Henry Walker, wife of James Baird. (He summarized his "clean line" in his SAR Membership Application, Number 43769.)
Felix Walker had seven brothers. Five of his brothers, John, Thomas, William, James, and Joseph, fought in the American Revolution. George Walker was born in 1768 and was killed by Indians at the age of ten. Jacob , the youngest Walker, was born in 1771 and was, thus, too young to serve. His brother, Lt. William Walker, fought at the Battle of King's Mountain as did three of Isabella Henry Walker's brothers:
Major William Henry
Captain John Henry
Malcolm Henry
Colonel Robertson, father of Walker's first wife, was also one of those Heroes.
Neither Colonel Walker nor son Felix fought at the famous battle hailed as the turning point of the American Revolution. In their book, "King's Mountain And Its Heroes: History Of The Battle Of King's Mountain, October 7th, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It" co-authors Lyman Copeland Draper, Anthony Allaire, and Governor Isaac Shelby, another Hero at King's Mountain, recounted that the Patriots retired to Colonel Walker's after the battle. In many of the Applications for Revolutionary War Pension, the applicants testified that they went to Colonel Walker's plantation after the battle. Among those who so testified:
Joseph Rogers James
John Norris
William McFerrin
Edward Murphy
Isaac Lane
Felix Walker was the great, great grandson of
Reverend George Walker, Bishop designate of Derry and Governor of Londonderry during the siege. Harris wrote in his life of William III, "The defence, which lasted above a hundred days, was one of the most heroic in history." Governor Walker accompanied William III (William of Orange) to the Banks of the Boyne. Just as the Battle of King's Mountain was a turning point in the American Revolution, the Battle of the Boyne was a turning point in the history of the British Isles. It was the last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on the battlefield as James II sought to regain the throne after being deposed by William and Mary, his daughter and son-in-law. Reverend Walker was killed in battle attempting to aid the Duke of Schomberg, William's second-in-command who was killed as well.
Felix Walker was also a direct descendant of Sir Michael Stanhope. In 1537, Henry VIII knighted and granted, by letters patent, the governorship of Hull to Stanhope. Later, Stanhope was implicated in the events which led to the downfall of his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Seymour. Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII and mother of his son, King Edward VI. Upon Edward's ascension to the throne at age nine, Seymour became de facto king: his official title was 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England. Stanhope was arrested in 1551, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1552 alongside Sir Thomas Arundel.
Despite the disgrace suffered by Michael Stanhope and his brother-in-law, Edward Seymour, the family regained favor decades later. From Wikipedia: "Earls of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had already been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also in the Peerage of England. Stanhope's youngest son the Hon. Alexander Stanhope was the father of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope while his half-brother Sir John Stanhope of Elvaston was the great-grandfather of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington. He was second cousin three times removed of Felix Walker. The names Chesterfield and Stanhope have been handed down through the generations. My father and my son shared the name "Chesterfield".
A Historical Marker dedicated to Felix Walker was placed in Dellwood, NC, "Erected 1950 by Division of Archives and History. (Marker Number P-26.) Location. 35¡ã 30.828¡ä N, 83¡ã 4.05¡ä W. Marker is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, in Haywood County. Marker is on Soco Road (U.S. 19) 0 miles east of Moody Farm Road, on the right when traveling west. Clic k for map. Marker is in this post office area: Maggie Valley NC 28751, United States of America."
The actual burial site for Felix Walker has been lost to history. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude and respect we owe him and his family members for braving the unknown and risking their lives to help build a new country: our America.
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