John Crawford Walker & sons
compiled by: Deanna Branson West

For larger images, click on picture

Walker Tollhouse Was on the Corner of Scott & Monroe Street (Hwy 4)	Location of the Laketon and Walker areas SE corner of the City of La Porte, Indiana	Rose Academy  formerly the John C. Walker home started in 1856 by 3 nuns, moved & added on to the home. Razed  1929  for Civic Auditorium.

The Walker family was of Irish/Scottish decent and arrived in the colonies in the early 17^th century.

John Crawford Walker's father was Benjamin Walker (1758-1845) was a well known veteran. While Benjamin was away in 1782, fighting the Indians in the Revolutionary War, his parents and three sisters were captured and massacred by the Seneca Indians. Some researchers state the Benjamin's father, also named John, was born in Ireland about 1717 and killed, as noted previously, on 8th of August, 1782.  Benjamin and his two brothers, John (1866-1850) and William (1760-1789), were then without parents. About eight years later, in 1790, the same Indians drunkenly boasted about the murders in the same village where the three brothers lived. They gloated and described the burning of the Walkers and how each had pleaded for their life. No mercy was shown. Becoming enraged by this story, the three brothers swore to get revenge. Benjamin and brother John followed the Indians. A frontier fight ensued and and the Indians were killed.

The area citizens became fearful that the Indians would exact revenge and the Pennsylvania governor, to placate the Seneca tribe, issued rewards for their arrest and conviction.
(for more on this story see – 1984 Indiana Magazine of History – John Lauritz Larson and David G. Vanderstal.)
Benjamin's brother John (1766-1850) went to Ohio and Benjamin (1758-1845)  eventually ended up at Laughery Creek, Dearborn County, Indiana and William (1760-1789)  went to Virginia.

Life in Dearborn County, Indiana
Eventually, when he thought it safe, Benjamin sent for his family. His wife Ann, after selling the family's Pennsylvania holdings, rafted down the Ohio River with her three children, eventually meeting up with her husband. Benjamin proudly showed off his grist and saw mill in Hartford to his wife and children. His son, John Crawford Walker Sr. was 10 years old in 1897 and received his only education from his mother and aided his father in running the mills. Son, John Crawford Walker, earned a reputation as one of the best hunters in Indiana Territory. He was a short, heavy set man but was not a man to be trifled with.

At age 25, John married Frances Allen in Hartford, Indiana on December 20, 1812. He along with his wife's brothers, Peter and Claiborn Allen, enjoyed a very profitable business and accumulated enough capital where John could engage in land speculations. John and Frances remained on the Laughery Creek until 1823. Six of their eight children were born during this period: Anne Crawford (1813), Frances Allen. (1814), William James. (1815), Benjamin Powell (1817), Mary Jane (1821), and Eliza Crawford (1823).

Shelby County, Indiana

John C. Walker Sr. attended a land sale in Brookville, Indiana, on October 9, 1820 and purchased several acres in both Decatur and Shelby Counties. He donated part of his Decatur County lands for the county seat of Greensburg on June 12, 1822. He built a log cabin in Shelby County in 1822 and sent for his family. He then built the first saw, grist and flour mill. The mill was of great importance to the settlers of the county.
During his first years in Shelby County, the last four of his ten children were born: Maria Louisa (1825), John Crawford (1828), Harriet Bisby (1830) and Martha Matilda (1834).

John, like his father Benjamin,  was a free mason. He joined the Masons at Rising Sun Lodge No. 6 in Dearborn County on October 7, 1818 and became a Master Mason on March 10, 1819. ….. On
January 7, 1825, the Lafayette Lodge No. 28 in Shelbyville was established of which John Walker was named Senior Deacon Pro Tem. Walker was elected to serve as Sheriff of Shelby County from 1826 until 1830. See the 1984 Indiana Magazine of History – John Lauritz Larson and David G. Vanderstal for much more information on John's accomplishments while in Dearborn and Shelby Counties.

The Michigan Road
In 1826 Indiana began steps to build the famous Michigan Road. Discussion as early as 1818 dealt with the idea of a road running from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. Water-ways were often frozen in the winter and dried up or choked with vegetation in the summer. The settlers of Indiana needed good transportation to move their goods out to the water transportation arteries of the Great Lakes and the Ohio River.

On October 16, 1826, the United Stated commissioners, John Tipton, Lewis Cass and the then Indiana Governor, James Brown Ray, concluded a treaty with the Pottawatomie Indians, who ceded to the state a sufficient amount of land that could be sold to finance the construction of a public highway from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. This included a section of contiguous land for every mile of the proposed road. The Indiana legislature held very heated debates as to the final route of the Michigan Road as it could prove to be life or death to a community and its livelihood.

The bottom line is, because of John's friendships with influential state legislators, his voice was heard loud and clear and the Michigan Road starting at Madison and  routed through Shelbyville and Greensburg with the bill that was passed in 1829.
Walker entered into contracts with the road commissioner for the clearing of certain sections of the right of way in Southern Indiana. For this work he and others received “scrip” which were certificates or vouchers issued by the state and could be exchanged for the purchase of land in the northern part of the state. Walker was considered to be one of the contractors and was paid because he supplied the tools and organized manpower for the projects. For the various tasks on the road, Walker used his “scrip” to purchase thousands of acres in northern Indiana. In 1831-32 he purchased 5, 250 acres at South Bend and Logansport. And in 1836 he  purchased 5,120 acres through the Government Land Office in La Porte. This made him the largest landowner in the state at the time.

La Porte County
John Crawford Walker Sr. found another area in which he could help to advance Indiana's frontier. He owned the land where La Porte was platted in 1831-1832 and influenced the early history of the town. 

"Five settlers were instrumental in the founding of LaPorte. They were Abraham Piatt Andrew, Jr., his brother William, Dr. Hiram Todd, Gen. Walter Wilson and Maj. John Walker. They purchased government land in 1831 with a view to laying out the county seat. Abraham (also known as Abram) deeded a lot near George Thomas' cabin for the specific purpose of using the site to build a court house. LaPorte County Courthouses have stood on this property ever since. Abram settled where the Masonic Temple now stands. The road past William's land became, appropriately enough, Andrew Avenue; his former homestead is now the site of the Maple Lane Mall. Walker lived where the present St. John's Lutheran Church now stands. The location of Wilson's property is not certain. Todd left LaPorte in 1833 because the area was too muddy." 

Walker along with nine other men formed a corporation, visited La Porte County and then purchased 400 acres of La Porte land at the Logansport land sales in October, 1831. The intention was to lay out the town of  La Porte and make it the county seat. Walker purchased land on the site of the largest and most valuable water power in La Porte County's Michigan Township and built the first sawmill.

In October of 1832, the state commissioners met in La Porte County to make a decision as to the location of the county seat. Walker offered to donate every other lot, the proceeds to be used for erecting the county buildings, if La Porte were chosen over Michigan City. After much heated debate the commissioners finally decided upon La Porte.

In 1833, he cooperated in erecting the first schoolhouse in La Porte County's Michigan Township, and in 1834 he was once again cutting planks in La Porte to use on the Michigan Road. He also sawed lumber for some of the first frame houses built in Michigan City.
Not only did Walker have extensive tracts of land in the central portion of La Porte County, but also owned land on which the eastern and southern portions of where the city of La Porte now stand. In the 1830's Walker traveled the 200 miles alone on horseback between La Porte County to Shelby County on the Michigan Road several times. His incredible health and strength allowed him to accomplish such a feat.

Miriam Benedict connection:
A bystander who attended the 1832 Logansport land sales for La Porte County land, recounted an incident that left him very impressed with the forcefulness of Walker's character.
“When Henry Clyburn [sic] gave Mrs. Benedict's bid for her land, which was $1.25 per acre, some land speculator who was present bid $1.26. John Walker stepped forward and asked who it was that dared to bid against a widow and the first settler of her township, and said that if anyone would point him out, he would shoot him. The greedy land speculator gave it up, and Mrs. Benedict got her land at government price, while others had to pay in some cases $5 and $6 per acre.”

The first white settlers in LaPorte County were the Widow Benedict, her four sons, two daughters and Henley Clyburn, a son-in-law. They established themselves near what is now Westville in March 1829. On July 15th of that year Elizabeth Miriam Clyburn, Benedict's granddaughter, became the first white child born in the county. By 1830 there were several dozen families living in the county, though at that time none had built within the future city limits of LaPorte. Walker blusters and warnings were not idle threats. In 1835, he and another man were arrested in La Porte for “fighting together in a public place”.

In 1838, Walker had increased business dealings within La Porte County. He moved his wife and family to La Porte County after liquidating his Shelbyville interests in 1839.

His mother Ann passed away in 1836 (burial location unknown) and his father Benjamin lived among his children spending a month or two with one then going to another.
Benjamin died in Walkers Grove, Illinois and is buried there in Fullerton Cemetery, Mason Co., IL.  Some researchers state that he was living with his son James at the time of death in Illinois.

In 1839, Walker had moved his family to La Porte. He lived again in the woods on a tract of land three miles east of Michigan City. He also built a beautiful home, which he called "Oak Grove",
the structure he had built, became part of St. Rose Academy,  12 years after his death in 1856.  The home stood on the site of the present-day Civic Auditorium.

From 1839 until 1844 he engaged in further land speculations, banking and promoting his dream of making the site of a valuable railway. He wanted to make La Porte the grand junction of railways of the northern part of Indiana, with facilities for the shipment of lumber and grain arriving on vessels by way of Lake Michigan. This hope was not realized, as Chicago became the center and La Porte was thrust aside. The move north was not a healthy decision for him. The weather was too severe for his advanced years. Immediately after moving to La Porte his health declined until the end of summer, 1844. He died Aug 1, 1844 and his wife Frances Allen died in 1846. They were buried in the Walker family cemetery, which he had created for he and his close family and friends, one of which was the Dr. Gustavus Adolphus Rose family.
Dr. G. A Rose was born 1781 in Lynchberg, VA and died 1860, this county. His wife Ann Shepherd Garland Rose was born 1797 in Virginia and she died July 5, 1856. The cemetery was the first cemetery in the area and holds the remains of many of the earliest settlers.  After the cemetery fell into disrepair, the Rose family had the bodies of Gustavus and his wife removed  and reburied in Pine Lake Cemetery, same city in 1920. 
It would be known as the Walker Cemetery and developed more in later years. (More on this cemetery – further in the article.) John Crawford Walker's work would be continued by his sons, William James and Benjamin Powell and in later years, Col. John Crawford Walker.

Col. John Crawford Walker M.D., son of John C. Walker had a very notable but not trouble free life. He was born February 11, 1828 in Shelbyville, Indiana. For a while, after his parents deaths in the 1840's. John lived with the Cummins family. His brother-in-law, Professor F. P. Cummins, a teacher and minister schooled John.
John's siblings were:
Ann (Walker) Teal 1813 to 1836 - w/o Nathaniel Teal. Died in Shelby Co., IN. buried City Cemetery, Shelbyville, IN - -

William James Walker was born March 10, 1815 in Hartford, Indiana. He married Caroline Matilda Rose, daughter of Dr. Gustavus A. Rose on May 31, 1838.
Caroline was born about 1822 in Virginia as was her sister Judith Cabell Rose. William eventually left La Porte and went to Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois
where he died on October 18, 1883.  Caroline died Oct 10, 1899 in Cook Co., Illinois.
One notable fact that I found in my research was, William was the first Mayor of the City of La Porte in 1853.

Benjamin Powell – born Jan 30, 1817 and died 2/14/1887 – He wed Judith Cabell Rose on July 21, 1848.  Judith Cabell Rose, born March 16, 1826 and died  on Mar 3, 1901.
Benjamin  died in New York. He on 2/14/1887. They are buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond City, VA.

Frances Allen (Walker) Cummins – 1821 to 1895 d. Indianapolis, IN – dob is in discrepancy with some of the family histories previously viewed. --
Mary Jane (Walker) McCoy – w/o Dr. William W McCoy , wed in Shelby Co., IN 1839
she was born 1821 to (still living in the 1870 census in California) --

Eliza Crawford (Walker) Ludlow – wed Oliver P. Ludlow in 1842 in La Porte Co., IN
she lived 1823 to 1870 burial Walker now Patton Cemetery--
Maria Louisa (Walker) Rose – Wed David Garland Rose , Judith and Caroline Rose's brother
b. 1824 and died in 1848. burial Walker now Patton Cemetery --

Harriet Bisby (Walker) Holcombe – wed John Warwick Holcombe in 1851 in La Porte Co., IN
1830 to 1911 – died Washington D. C. –

Martha Matilda Walker 1834 to 1837 – buried City Cemetery, Shelbyville, IN

In referencing the History of La Porte County, it states that John C. Walker and John W. Holcombe worked as editors of the La Porte Commercial Times. Early in Col John Crawford Walker's career he purchased the La Porte Times of which he became the editor and proprietor. He made it the most influential paper in Northern Indiana. It was the first paper in the State, if not all of the country, to expand on the methods and dogmas of the Know-Nothing party, then becoming powerful and evil. He was soon recognized as a man of mark. Elected to the Legislature in 1853, he took a high rank in that body. At only 23 years of age, he was known and respected by well-read men of his day. In March of 1855 he along with Charles Cottom, purchased the Indianapolis Sentinel, but suffered a heavy financial loss. In 1856, although nominated, he was denied to run on the ticket for Lieutenant-Governor due to him being under the constitutional age, he had to withdraw. His substitute, on the ticket, A. A. Hammond became the Governor of Indiana.
John resumed control of the La Porte Times, and he was chosen by his party in 1858 to make the race for Congress against Schuyler Colfax who was then the editor of the South Bend Tribune. John ran a vigorous campaign against the powerful opponents,  Douglas of the Wing party. John did not win.

Col. John C. Walker was a War Democrat and took the first opportunity to enter the service of the Union. He was elected to command the Thirty-fifth Indiana Volunteers by the captains of the regiment in the fall of 1861, and with it went to the field early in winter. He was stationed at Bardstown, Ky., where he soon earned the respect of his brother-officers and the people of the town and area. As early as Jan 17, 1862, while stationed there, he became a member of the board for the examination of officers touching their qualifications and fitness of service. In this capacity he evinced a large knowledge of tactics and details of the military art. He displayed great ability as a drill-officer and disciplinarian and brought his regiment quickly to a high stated of efficiency in all their duties. He was then ordered to leave Bardstown and go farther South and in the spring and summer of 1862; he was constantly in active service in Tennessee, marching over much of the state.

His last service was performed without orders from any superior, but under the highest instincts and most chivalric sense of soldierly honor in marching with his regiment forty miles to Murfreesboro when the place was about to be attacked. For this gallant act he received the formal and written approval of General Buell. John was soon given leave by his commander after he was stricken with typhoid fever. Never being very robust the effects of the disease required him to rest and recover. John returned to Indiana. Upon recovering at his home in La Porte, Governor O. P. Morton, without the slightest intimation of any fault in his career as an officer or offense at his presence at home, procured his dismissal or discharge from the army. It should also be noted that  Walker was friends with John W. Holcombe, his brother-in-law, and when the Civil War broke out, Holcombe and his wife, Harriet, Walker's sister, went south due to his allegiance to the Southern Ideals.

In reviewing a few of the telegrams stored at Indiana University, the Governor, Oliver P. Morton, ordered his dismissal and stated that John was not following his orders. However, this author feels that there was quite a bit of politics being dispersed at the time. It also culminates into what started my journey in finding out more about the Walker family and how a family so powerful, well known and vast land owners could lose their properties including the rights to Walker (now Patton) Cemetery. 

Viewing the histories and political beliefs of the then War time Lt. Governor, Oliver P. Morton, who was a close ally of Lincoln's and John Walker being a staunch War Democrat probably influenced the discharge and property sacrifices that John had to deal with.
John's discharge date was Aug 6, 1862, when he had been in service for almost a year. And he was determined to fight this stain on his record. The act of being discharged was a shock to the men who had served under him along with his family and friends.

He was in New York as an agent of State at the time of the culmination of his difficulties. There he arranged for a complete and honorable settlement of his accounts with the State of Indiana and went to Europe where he remained until 1872. Before leaving for England, it took the president of the United States to grant him a pardon. The Pardon reads as follows:

Andrew Johnson
President of the United Stated of America,

To all to whom thees presents shall come, Greeting:

Whereas, John Crawford Walker of La Porte, Indiana, by taking past in the late rebellion against the Government of the United States has made himself liable in heavy fines and penalties;

And whereas, the circumstances of his case render him a proper object of Executive clemency.

Now, therefore, be it known, That I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America, 
in consideration of the promises, divers other good and sufficient reasons we thereunto moving, do hereby grant to the said, John Crawford Walker, a full pardon and amnesty for all offenses by him committed, arising from participation direct of indirect, in the said rebellion conditioned as follows:
1^st. The pardon to be of no effect until the said John Crawford Walker shall take the oath prescribed in the Proclamation of the President dated May 29, 1865.
2^nd. To be void and of no effect if the said, John Crawford Walker shall hereafter, at any time, acquire any property whatever in slaves, or make use of slave labor.
3^rd. That the said, John Crawford Walker first pay all costs which may have accrued in any proceedings instituted or pending against his person or property before the date of acceptance of this warrant.
4^th. That the said John Crawford Walker shall not, by virtue of this warrant, claim any property or the proceeds of any property that has been sold by the order, judgment, or decree of a court under the confiscation laws of the United States.
5^th. The the said, John Crawford Walker shall notify the Secretary of State, in writing, that he has received and accepted the foregoing pardon.
In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the Seal of the United States of America.
Done at the City of Washington, this Eleventh day of August, 1866, and of the Independence of the United States the Ninety-first
Andrew Johnson
By the President: Henry Stanbery, Acting Secretary of State.

Walker left for England and once there married Laura Marion Seymour she was born October of 1849 and was the daughter of Harry Marchmont Seymour (an officer of the British Navy). Laura would outlive Walker by several years. While in London, John studied medicine at the King's College. He would return to the US 27 Sep 1873 on the ship Denmark. Arriving with them were their three children; Reginald John Crawford - age 6, Evangeline Fanny Hortense – age 4 and infant Mary Ethel McCoy.
Upon his return Walker continued his studies at Indiana Medical College, from which he obtained his doctor's degree. He settled back in Shelbyville, and there practiced his profession until 1879, when he was appointed assistant physician in the Hospital for the Insane in Indianapolis, IN. In that institution he died Saturday, April 14, 1883 of consumption. He was laid to rest in Crown Hill Cemetery, where his son Reginald would be interred also, at only 19 years of age in 22 May 1886. John's wife, Mrs. Laura Walker , would fill the position of matron in the male department of the Hospital for the Insane at Indianapolis. In 1886 Laura married for a second time to William E. Brandt MD and they moved to Washington D C. He died in 1919 and she was still living in 1921.  

Walker/Patton Cemetery

The Walker brothers (William J. (1815-1883) and Benjamin P.(1817-1887)  also bought land and interest in the Kankakee twp where they helped set up much of the town of Portland (now known as Rolling Prairie).  Unknown to this author at this time is whether William J. Walker inherited the land abutting the then Walker Cemetery or if he bought it from family trusts. John Walker had started it as a family/friends cemetery in about 1841. (See Patton Cemetery History)  Upon looking at the 1874 atlas for the City of La Porte, it is very evident that at one time Walker Cemetery sat on the homestead.  The Walker family cemetery would have been on the North East corner of the homestead. Eventually, as the town matured and lots sold off, there was a street called State Street which divided the William J. Walker addition from the Cemetery. This street's name was later changed to Rumely Street.  The effects of the Civil War and the financial strain there in, put many families in financial hardship and countless families were forced to dissolve interests and some of their land ownership. Is this what happened with the Walker family? 

The Cemetery, when shown in the 1874 atlas, indicates a lake surrounding the West, South and part of the East side of the Cemetery.  
Laketon - large village consisting of 275 lots platted in November 1857, by W. J. Walker and his wife C. M. Walker. Walker was one of the earliest residents of LaPorte and owned extensive properties, most of which were subdivided and later annexed into LaPorte City. 
  Laketon - a political nightmare, portions lying in each of Center, Scipio, Kankakee and Pleasant townships, and covered parts of four different sections. The village was on the northern edge of what was then known as Walker Lake. The area would later be drained and would be used by a local truck farmer. Laketon was annexed into the city of LaPorte and is bounded by Rumley, Ohio, Roberts and Clement streets. Patton Cemetery occupies land located between Laketon and the old Walker Lake

The thing I admire most about Col. John Crawford Walker, is no matter what the challenges that met him, either fair or questionable in fairness, he kept going and never really accepted defeat. And one final note should be added here: I have seen in some family histories, placed in the county histories, from family memories:
I have seen references of the military rank of Major attached to Benjamin Powell Walker and John Crawford Walker Sr.. To date I have found no evidence of this.

Sources for portions of this document:

1982 La Porte Now and Then - by: Carl E. Krentz - Published by LaPorte Sesquicentennial Commission, LaPorte, Indiana, 1982

1984 Indiana Magazine of History – John Lauritz Larson and David G. Vanderstal.)

1884 History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana

The Shelbyville News (25 Mar 2008)

Federal Census reports (Various)

John Crawford Walker Pardon - Andrew Johnson, President of the United States

John Walker collection of Civil War telegrams house at Indiana University

Patton Cemetery history and burial listing

Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana - Find a Grave

City Cemetery, Shelbyville, Indiana

Shelby County, Indiana INGenweb site

La Porte County, INGenweb site

Denmark Ships manifest - 27 Sep 1873

Return to La Porte County Index page

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CRALPC 2013