Hi, Jackie,
I have collected a nine page file on Sylvanus Walker but I don't know if he was related to Wiseman Walker. Here is some of the info on Sylvanus:
Name: Sylvanus WALKER
Birth Date: Circa 1744
Birth Place: Virginia or North Carolina
Death Date: 1830
Death Place: Monroe County, Georgia
Occupation: land speculator, ranching
Education: unschooled
Father: Henry WALKER Jr.
Spouse: Alcy PILCHER
Children: Rachel, Talitha, Charity, Henry, Elizabeth
The earliest records of Sylvanus/Silvanus Walker (of Georgia) are found in the land deeds of Anson County, North Carolina, where Silvanus purchased 195 acres at the confluence of the Pee Dee River and Turkey Creek on 1 August 1765. This same tract of land had been leased to Henry Walker, Jr. (1749-1750) and to Henry Walker of Bladen County in 1748. Because land deeds are confusing, it is hard to determine if Henry Walker and Henry Walker, Jr. are the same person or father and son. Either way, it is assumed that Silvanus Walker’s father was Henry Walker of Bladen County, North Carolina. Further support for this assumption is that Sylvanus’ only son was named Henry.
Sylvanus apparently emigrated to Georgia about 1772 based on "Early Records of Georgia – Wilkes County", Volume 1; p 17, which contains the entry "Obtained liberty to settle on lands ceded to his Majesty: 8/22. 11-1773 Walker, Silvanus - N.C., no family, 100 ac. N fork of Little River, including Zachariah Phillips Camp." In 1784, while living in Wilkes County, Sylvanus petitioned for land in Washington County, Georgia, stating that he was married and the father of three children. In 1786, Greene County was formed from Washington County, and the deed records of Anson County, North Carolina show that in 1797, 287 acres of land was sold by “Sylvanus Walker and Alsey of Greene County”. The deed record indicates that this land was obtained by Sylvanus Walker on a bounty warrant, granted for services as a soldier of the American Revolution. At least one Walker descendant has been admitted into membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution based on the evidence of this bounty warrant to Sylvanus.
Additional information about the movements of Sylvanus Walker come from "A Sketch of the Burney Family" by Thomas J. Burney: "My maternal Grandfather Silvanus Walker resided in Greene County, Georgia for several years, near the junction of the Oconee and Appalachee Rivers. He married as well as I remember, Elcy Pilcher, by whom he had five children, Rachel, Elizabeth, Charity, Tilothy, and Henry. About the year 1805 he moved over the river and settled the place eight miles south of Madison, where the old seven Island road and the road from Eatonton to Madison cross, where he resided several years, then moved to a place on Indian Creek now a part of the Taylor plantation, and where my grandmother and my own father and mother were buried; from thence he moved to Jasper County to the Ocmulgee River, whence after residing some years, he moved to Monroe County where he died about the year 1823. He was a man of great benevolence and greatly beloved by his children and grandchildren.“
Last Will and Testament
State of Georgia
Monroe County
In the name of God Amen.
I Sylvanus Walker, of this county and state aforesaid being weak in body but of sound mind and memory do this sixteenth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and for as follows (towit)
Item 1st. I give to my daughter Rachel Vardeman and her issue - Mary, Cinda, Silvia and their issue, all and one fraction of land on the Ocumlgee River in Jasper County containing one hundred and eight acres granted to Green Young and one negroe man named Isom and one half of my stock of horses and mules and the one-third part of my household and kitchen furniture.
Item 2. I give to my daughter Tilatha Phillips and her issue - Pat and Katy and their issue, and a negroe man named Bill and one-third part of my household and kitchen furniture.
Item 3. I give to my daughter Charity Lawson and her issue - Silvia, Susey, Prissy, Mary, Nicey, Annie and their issue and the one-third part of my household and kitchen furniture.
Item 4. I give to my grandson Sylvanus Walker one negroe girl named Harriet and her issue.
Item 5. I give to my grandson Zachariah Walker one negroe boy named George.
Item 6. I give to the heirs of my son Henry Walker, deceased, the following negroes: Sissy and Nancy and their issue and Mary and Jacob and Isau.
Item 7. I give to my granddaughter Charity Stark and her issue and to them only a negroe girl named Hannah.
Item 8. I give to my daughter-in-law Livicy Walker, widow of Henry Walker, one half of my stock of horses and mules and my whole stock of hogs, and a negroe man named Major for the benefit of her and her young children that is now with her and not of age, and when the youngest child arrives at twenty-one years of age or marries the said negroe man Major is to be sold and the proceeds equally divided between the following heirs of Henry Walker, dec., (towit) Zachariah, Henry, Alice, and Helen.
Item 9. It is my desire that all the negroes which I have at my death not herein bequeathed and all my stock of cattle, lands and debts shall be equally divided between the following heirs (to wit) one portion to my daughter Rachel Vardeman and her heirs and one portion to my daughter Tilatha Phillips and her heirs, one portion to my daughter Charity Lawson and her heirs, one portion to the heirs of Henry Walker, dec., and one other portion to the heirs of my daughter Elizabeth Burney, dec. And it is my express will and desire that all and singular the property herein given to my daughters shall go to them and their children and to no other person whatsoever. And I do hereby constitute and appoint John W. Burney, Thomas Jefferson Burney and Dr. James S. Phillips executors to this my last will and testament in witness wherof I have herewith set my hand and seal the day and year above written.
Signed Sealed and acknowledged in the presences of us
James Bailey
Anderson Buffington
Isom Bailey, J.P.
The preceding will indicates that Sylvanus Walker owned a large number of slaves and therefore must have been a man of significant wealth since the value of a slave was about $500 in 1830 dollars, an amount which could purchase hundreds of acres of land. 22 slaves “and their issue” are willed to his heirs, and 11 others were listed by name under the sale of division of his property. These slaves were needed to tend to the cattle as well as the several properties owned by Sylvanus. An indication of the size of Sylvanus’ livestock holdings is found in the writing of Thomas Burney which indicates that Sylvanus “owned a large stock of cattle, and spent much of his time looking after them.” According to Burney’s account, at one time General McIntosh, the Creek Indian chief, offered Sylvanus $10,000 for his cattle, agreeing to take them “as they run”. At the going rate of $10 per head, this offer suggests that Sylvanus may have owned as many as one thousand head of cattle. Sylvanus seems to have been a person, like many of his contemporaries, who steadily moved westward into newly opened lands.
At almost 60 years of age, Sylvanus was issued a passport by the governor of Georgia on 27 January 1801 to cross through Indian Territory. The passport details that he “passed thru 8 February, repassed 24 May. Sylvanus Walker of Greene County, Georgia, on a journey to the settlement of Tombigbee, on lawful business. Certificate of good character, signed by E. Parks, clerk of that County.” Sylvanus’ eldest daughter, Rachel, and her husband, William Vardeman, had moved to the Mississippi Territory (now Alabama), and Sylvanus was visiting them and possibly looking at the area with the thought of moving to a newer frontier. Sylvanus and his family lived much of their lives close enough to the frontier that they were subject to Indian raids. Pursuant to terms of the Indian Treaty of 1821, Sylvanus submitted an Indian depredation claim for the years 1778 through 1787 that included “2 negroes” in 1779, and 50 head of cattle in 1780.
Sylvanus was involved in numerous land transactions and a few lawsuits involving disputed land, and at the time of his death owned land in Jasper, Monroe, Harris, Pike, and Stewart counties in the state of Georgia. The newspaper announcement above makes reference to a disagreement, possibly involving a land deal, in which Sylvanus was accused of defaulting on an obligation. William Fitzpatrick, son-in-law to Zachariah Phillips, came to the defense of Sylvanus and his in-laws (since at least Sylvanus could not read or write) by publishing the above piece. Greene County Court records also refer to a case dated 24 July 1794, “Sylvanus Walker vs William Melton et. al., Assault & Battery”, suggesting that Sylvanus was involved in other more heated disagreements. The Walker and Phillips families were apparently very close, as witnessed by the above article and the marriage of Sylvanus’ son, Henry, to Zachariah’s daughter, Livicy.
Frank Butcher
June 2003
The information for this article was obtained from the research and writings of Linda Harris and Mary Murphy.
