Col. George Walker III

This article details proof that George Walker III, resident of Prince Edward County, VA, and later Jessamine County, KY, husband of Priscilla [last name unknown], satisfies the criteria as a qualifying ancestor for the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons & Daughters of the American Revolution, and details proof of the lineage of Col. George Walker III to the Mullins family.

Qualifying Military Service

Colonial Military Service

1. Sheriff, Elizabeth City County, VA, 1761. George Walker III (Jr.) is documented as Sheriff of Elizabeth City County, VA, in 1761 [1].
2. Captain, Prince Edward County, VA, Militia, 1767. Walker III (Jr.) was documented as a Captain in the Prince Edward Militia on April 20, 1767 [2].
3. Captain, Prince Edward County, VA, Militia, 1768. A Captain’s commission was recorded for Walker III (Jr.) in the Prince Edward Militia in 1768 [3].

Revolutionary War Military Service

• Major, Prince Edward Militia, record of pay on September 23, 1777 [4].
• Lt. Colonel, Prince Edward Militia, appointed May Court 1779 [5].
• Colonel, Prince Edward Militia, appointed March Court 1781 [6]. This entry designates George Walker as “Esq.”; he was the county attorney general at this time (see 1784 below).

Chronology

The following chronology is additional evidence that George Walker III (Jr.) was a long-time, continuous resident of Prince Edward County and that he held many political and military positions, as was befitting of his status as a major landowner in the county.

• 1761 – George Walker Jr. is listed as a Sheriff in Elizabeth City County. [George Walker Jr.’s father was George Walker Sr. of Elizabeth City County, married to Jane Curle.]
• 1762 – George Walker Jr. qualifies as an attorney in Prince Edward [7] {P.E. Order Book 2:164}.
• April 20, 1767 – George Walker appointed Captain, Colonial Army, in Prince Edward.
• November 1770 – George Walker Jr. takes the oath of King’s Attorney, Prince Edward County [8] {P.E. Order Book 4:325}.
• November 1776 – George Walker Jr. took the oath as deputy attorney general for Prince Edward [9] {P.E. Order Book 5:504}.
• 1777 – George Walker receives pay, forage, etc. as Major of the Prince Edward Militia [10] {V.M.H.B. 15:190}.
• May 1779 – George Walker appointed Lt. Col in the Prince Edward militia [11] {P.E. Order Book 6:38-39}.
• June 1781 – George Walker appointed Colonel in the Prince Edward militia [12] {P.E. Order Book 6:96}.
• 1784 – George Walker is petitioned as one of the most substantial property owners in Prince Edward, in an effort to delay the levy of a tax [13] {Mss. Legislative Petition, Archives Division, State Library}.
• 1784 – George Walker resigned as attorney general for Prince Edward [14] {P.E. Order Book 7:207}.
• 1787 – George Walker was listed in the 1787 Census of Virginia in Prince Edward [15].
• 1791 – Four indentures show Col. George Walker, resident of Prince Edward, purchasing land in Cumberland County [16].
• 22 December 1798 – Col. George Walker writes his will [17], now a resident of Jessamine County, KY.
• March 1800 – Will of Col. George Walker is proved in Jessamine County, KY [18].
• 1808 – Indenture by the executors William Walker and George Walker, of the will of “Col George Walker,” selling land in Cumberland County, VA, from the estate of Col George Walker, to Ed Dillon [19].

The proof of the Mullins family lineage from Col. George Walker III follows.

Father Of William Walker

William Walker was the son of Col. George Walker III (Jr.) and Priscilla [last name unknown]. Evidence in William Walker’s bio showed that his father was George Walker of Jessamine County, KY, author of the will written December 22, 1798, proved in 1800 in March Court, Jessamine County, KY [20].

Evidence in Sections 1-4 (below) shows that the George Walker who authored the December 22, 1798, Jessamine County will was the same George Walker who:

• Was a long-time resident of Prince Edward County, VA, and was listed in the 1787 Census of Virginia in Prince Edward County with extensive slave and cattle holdings.
• Was appointed Colonel in the Virginia Militia in March 1781 court, Prince Edward County.

Section 1

This section is evidence that the same George Walker:

• Was the author of the December 22, 1798, Jessamine County KY will.
• Was a resident of Prince Edward County, VA, named on four indentures in 1791.
• Was appointed Colonel of the Prince Edward County, VA, Militia in 1781.

A deed [22] dated September 21, 1808, from Jessamine County, KY, was made between Edward Dillan of Prince Edward, VA, and “William Walker and George Walker executors of the last will and testament of the late Col. George Walker of Jessamine County Kentucky of the other part.”

This deed is relevant for two reasons:

1. The statement “… the late Col. George Walker” establishes that William Walker’s father was a Colonel. There are only two alleged Colonel George Walkers of record from the Revolutionary War from Virginia. George Walker of Prince Edward County was appointed Colonel [22] in March Court 1781. Some websites allege Colonel rank for a second George Walker, of Brunswick County, husband of Mary Meade. However, this claim is probably based on confusion with the George Walker of Prince Edward. The will of George Walker of Brunswick County, husband of Mary Meade, was proved in Brunswick County on December 25, 1780, so he could not have been the George Walker appointed Colonel in Prince Edward in March 1781. To date, this researcher has not been able to find any evidence that George Walker of Brunswick County ever held the rank of Colonel.

   The above comprises evidence that the Col. George Walker mentioned in the 1808 indenture, author of the Jessamine County will (December 22, 1798), was in fact Col. George Walker of Prince Edward County, VA.

2. The 1808 Jessamine County deed shows that George Walker, author of the December 22, 1798, Jessamine will, owned land in Cumberland County, VA. Specifically, the deed trades [23] 600 acres of land in Cumberland County, held by George Walker’s estate, for land in KY.

   There are (at least) 4 deeds from 1791 that prove that George Walker, resident of Prince Edward County in 1791, purchased land in adjacent Cumberland County, consistent with this George Walker being the individual mentioned in the 1808 indenture, and the author of the December 22, 1798, will. By these 4 indentures [24,25,26,27] from 1791, George Walker “of the County of Prince Edward” purchased a total of 357 acres of land in Cumberland County.

   These 4 deeds from 1791 prove that George Walker of Prince Edward County owned land in Cumberland County, VA. This fact is consistent with his being the same George Walker whose estate is referenced in the 1808 Jessamine County indenture which specifies that his estate owned 600 acres of land in Cumberland County.

Section 2

This section is evidence that the same George Walker:

• Was the author of the 22 Dec 1798 Jessamine County KY will.
• Was the subject of the 1791 Prince Edward County indentures.

There are 2 facts that provide additional evidence that ties the George Walker of the 1791 deeds to the George Walker named on the 1808 indenture.

• The first of 4 1791 deeds cited [28] is between John Holcombe and George Walker. John Holcombe’s daughter, Sarah, married William Walker, the son of the George Walker named on the 1808 indenture, providing additional supporting evidence that these 2 George Walkers are the same individual.
• There is a clue on the 1808 indenture that part of the 600 acres sold by George Walker’s estate on the 1808 indenture was the same land purchased by George Walker of Prince Edward in the second 1791 indenture cited [29].

  Specifically, the LeGrande-Walker 1791 indenture describes the location of the particular parcel of land purchased by George Walker with the unusual designation “more or less lying and being in the County of Cumberland,” whereas the other 3 indentures specify that the parcels of land involved were specifically “in” Cumberland County. The 1808 indenture selling George Walker’s land to Edward Dillon uses almost exactly the same wording: “…six hundred acres of land be the same more or less lying in Cumberland County…” [italic emphasis added].

  The wording “more or less lying in Cumberland County” places the land involved in both the 1791 indenture and the 1808 indenture in a specific area of Cumberland County either where county borders were vaguer, or where the parcel of land was partly in another county. Therefore there is a greater chance that the land sold by the executors of George Walker’s will was comprised in part of the same land purchased in 1791 by George Walker of Prince Edward County, providing further evidence that the George Walker, author of the 1798 Jessamine County, KY, will, was the same George Walker of Prince Edward County named on the 1791 indenture.

Section 3

Evidence shows that, of the 9 George Walkers listed in the 1787 Census of Virginia (which included the area later established as the state of Kentucky in 1791) [30], the only George Walker who had sufficient wealth to be the author of the December 22, 1798, Jessamine County will was George Walker of Prince Edward County (40 slaves, 15 horses/mares, 40 cattle).

The December 22, 1798 will of George Walker of Jessamine County lists extensive wealth [31]:

• “The [farm] whereon I now live” in Jessamine County, KY.
• 3 additional tracts of land in Kentucky totaling 1,624 acres (page D37, red underlines).
• Land in Virginia, shown to comprise (at least) the 600 acres in Cumberland County by the 1808 deed (cited above).

This will was written just 11 years after the 1787 census. Thus, it appears that the only George Walker on the 1787 census with sufficient wealth to be the George Walker who wrote the December 22, 1798, Jessamine County will is the George Walker listed in Prince Edward County in 1787. The fact that he had moved to a new farm between 1787 and 1798 is supported by the statement in the will that he left his son William “the [farm] whereon I now live,” and by the relentless move westward by tobacco farm owners, as their crops exhausted the land within a few years.

Section 4

Documentation of dates and places of birth, marriage, and death.

In the article, “Proof of Lineage – George Walker III,” a chronology of George Walker’s public offices and military appointments is detailed. His first public office was Sheriff in Elizabeth City County, VA, in 1761, placing his birth year before 1740. He died before his will was proved in Jessamine County in March 1800.

George Walker’s wife Priscilla is listed on the 1810 Jessamine County census, age over 45, placing her birth year before 1765. The last record of her that we have found is on the 1820 Jessamine County census, living with William Walker, placing her death after 1820.

The birth year of George and Priscilla’s oldest child, William, was before 1776; therefore, the date of marriage between George and Priscilla was before 1776. If we assume she was at least 14 at the time of her marriage, her birth year would be before 1762.

There is no firm record of Priscilla’s last name. Circumstantial evidence suggests that she was Priscilla Curle, the daughter of George Walker’s first cousin, David Curle (1737-1767), but this supposition remains unproven.

© 2013 W. Mullins