Edward
Walker Jr. did have a family Bible, although he
himself could not write. His second wife and widow,
Sarah (Crumley), mentions having a family Bible in her
possession in 1878 in which her own marriage was recorded
by her brother. Whatever else may have been in that
Bible is unknown. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that
that Bible as well as others in her possession were
destroyed by fire in 1912.
One might assume that, as his widow and the mother
of four of his children, Sarah retained Edward's family
Bible, and family stories suggest she had several Bibles.
She left Claiborne County in 1882 and in the last years
of her life lived alternately with her sons Jim and
Green in Newport, Tennessee, where she died in 1898.
Both sons continued to live in Newport for several years,
and Jim owned a hotel there that burned in 1912.
Few descendants of Green remain, and none are aware
of any Bibles that may have passed to him; his wife,
in Annie Walker
Burns's 1929 book also indicated that family records
had burned. The person most likely to have had possession
of any remaining items, Vesta Elizabeth (Taylor) Underwood,
Green's granddaughter, died in 1996 but was interviewed
and knew of no such records. On Jim's side, one of his
granddaughters, Adelia Ann (Guthrie) Knight, recalls
her grandmother, Jim's wife, telling her that Jim had
several family Bibles from earlier times including a
German Bible but that all were destroyed in the hotel
fire.
In short, there is no way to prove for certain that
Edward's Bible was destroyed in the fire but a strong
presumption that it was.
Although the Bible itself is presumed to be lost, a
copy of the family record, for the first family at least,
was found unexpectedly in New Tazewell in 2006. The
copy, apparently made in the 1800s, had belonged to
Isaac Walker, Edward Walker Jr.'s son. It passed to
Isaac's son William Anderson Walker, the only one of
his siblings who stayed in Claiborne County on at least
part of Isaac's land. Billy passed it down to his son
James Ottis Walker, who stayed on the land, who in turn
passed it to his son Bill who occupies the land today.
Bill also has a number of tax records belonging to Isaac
dating to as early as 1846, dating essentially to Isaac's
marriage, further confirming provenance. The copy is
embossed with some sort of seal, not an official seal
but a seal nonetheless. An image
is below; click the image for a larger version.
Analysis
As the copy of the record appears to be Isaac's personal
copy and not used for any particular purpose, there
is no need to analyze for possible deception. However,
since the records are a copy and not contemporaneous
to the births, an analysis for error is needed.
No other evidence exists of
Mahala's actual birth date; the timing is certainly
consistent with the oldest woman in the household
in the censuses of 1830 and 1840 and with what is
known of her siblings. The death date, though, does
directly conflict with the one other piece of related
evidence, namely Ned's second wife's statement in
the pension application, where the second wife gives
the same day but in the year 1842. At the moment,
this Bible record is assumed to be the correct date
as one would guess that Isaac would have been likely
to correct a date he knew to be in error, and he would
be more likely to know his mother's death date than
his father's second wife.
Henry's tombstone in Gose Cemetery
in Claiborne County lists his year of birth as 1818,
and although the year of his wife's birth is apparently
wrong on the stone, Henry's is consistent with later
census records and matches the year in the Bible records.
No other evidence indicates the exact date of birth.
The stone has been examined in person and through
photographs and is quite legible.
Jane's birth date matches exactly
the date passed down on her side of the family in
Kansas through people who were not aware of the connection
to Edward until recently. Included in Harold
Ball's book, written well before he knew of the
connection, the date apparently comes from the writings
of her son, Arthur Ingles Ball, although the exact
source has not yet been determined.
Isaac's birth date matches
his tombstone, and, as his copy of the Bible record,
presumably concurs with his own belief about the date.
The tombstone stands in Burch Cemetery in Claiborne
County and has been examined in person and in photographs
and is quite legible.
No other exact source of Mary's
birth date is known, although the 1900 Census reports
that she was born in the same month a year later.
Jacob's birth date in the record
matches exactly the statement of his daughter Lizzie
in Annie Walker
Burns' 1929 book. Lizzie was not quoting from
a family record but from a story that her father often
told.
Anna's birth date has no other
exact source, and census records for her vary considerably.
Estle Munsey's book reports her birth on the same
date two years later but provides no source for the
date.
As with Anna, Sabra's age in
various census records varies considerably, and no
other exact source is known.
John Gilmore's birth date in
the record varies by one day from the date on his
tombstone, which indicates that he was born a day
earlier; his son, Melbourn Green, gives the tombstone
date in Annie
Walker Burns' book, but John's obituary, from
an unknown source but reprinted in Charles
Atkins Walker's book, gives a date matching the
family records. At present, the family record is considered
to be the best date though, in any case, the difference
is only a single day. John's tombstone is located
in Yadon Cemetery in Union County, and the stone is
quite legible in the photo taken by Timothy Claude
Walker.
Johnathan's birth date in the
family record varies by 20 days from his tombstone
photograph by Tim Walker, which indicates that he
was born 13 November 1837. However, his death certificate
gives a third date, namely 3 November 1837. In two
of three cases, the 3rd is used, and December matches
the 1900 Census entry of December 1837, so the family
record is assumed to be correct.
No exact source of Sarah's
birth date is known, but the month and year match
the 1900 Census.
The list of children and dates contains no obvious
breaks and represents a reasonable birth pattern. The
list also matches the children, with the exception of
the children from the second marriage, as listed several
times in the court records related to the settlement
of Edward's estate. The deeds related to the estate
would have been lost in the Hancock County court house
fire, and the court record makes clear that Edward died
without a will.
Image
Edwerd [sic]
Walker was born on the 7 of september in the year
of our lord 1795
Mahala Walker was born on the 29 of december in
the year of our lord 1793
Henry Walker was born on the 21 of aprile [sic]
in the year of our lord 1818
Jane Walker was born on the 22 of augest [sic] in
the year of our lord 1820
Isaac Walker was born on the 27 of october in the
year of our lord 1822
Polly Walker was born on the 16 of december in the
year of our lord 1824
Jacob Walker was born on the 31 of december in the
year of our lorder 1826
Anna Walker was born on 18 of aprile in the year
of our lord 1830
Sabra Walker was born on the 6 of augest in the
year of our lord 1832
John Walker was born on the 27 of November in the
year of our lord 1834
Jonahen [sic] Walker was born on the 3 of december
in the year of our lord 1837
Sally Walker was born on 29 of july in the year
of our lord 1840
Mahala Walker died on the 28 of december in the
year of our lord 1844
Edward Walker died on the 9 of aprile in the year
of our lord 1860
