About 1830 went west to Arkansas with his brother James, where he remained until about the time of the Civil War. He married in 1850. They lived in Quitman, Wood County, west of Upshur County. His grandson said that his mother told him that his father, Charles, said that they moved away and left a good house and never did sell it. After 11 years of marriage, he returned alone to Virgina, showing up at Mt. Elba, bag and bagage, but without any sign of his wife or 3 children (ages 10-6). On Dec. 1, 1861 Dr. Bernard Walker, William’s half brother, wrote in his diary: Very much to by surprise Bro. William Walker now living in Texas arrived at Smyrna (Church).

After that he lived in Va for about twenty-four years until his death in 1885. During this time he never spoke of his family, nor ever heard from them, so far as anyone knew. One day, when he and his father were seated on Mt. Elba porch, Temple Walker said, “William, you have never told us anything about your wife and children.” Whereupon William said, “It is time to feed and water the stock, I had better go down to see about them.” About 1922 BB Bagby received a letter from William’s grandson in Oklahoma, asking about his ancestors. According to this letter William died after his oldest son, when his grandson was about five years old.

Dr. Walker wrote in his diary on Feb 16, 1885: Heard of death of Bro. William Walker at Melville Walker’s (Locust Grove - Melville was his nephew). He was the oldest son of Temple Walker, hist mother Mary Hill, the daughter of Col. John Hill of King Wm. col, was a carpenter.......

In his notes about the family his grandson Charles Walker, Jr. noted “as a boy eleven years old I remember reading an old letter from him to his son Charles Thomas Walker, (my father) in which he said that he had just finished building the finest church in Richmond, Va., it being a Christian Church.” he futher state that his grandmother had told her children that William was the finest workman in building and that he had the finest set of tools then made.


I remember as a boy my mother receiving two remittances from his estate, being about one hundred and twenty some add dollars. We received the first about 1888 and the rest the next year.