It was this cabinet card that started me wondering about my great-grandmother’s family.
The people were identified on the back in her distinct cursive: l-r: Grandfather Kinkade (my 2x great-grandfather); Uncle Robert Kinkade, of the St. Louis Kinkades (Joe’s brother); Uncle Robert Kinkade (Joe’s son); Kathleen Kinkade (my great-grandmother); Uncle Bob Walker; Uncle Charles Kinkade; Grandmother Kinkade (my 2x great-grandmother).
It’s so nice to have photos with identification! It gave me a boost with the Kinkade tree, but who was this Uncle Bob Walker and how did he fit in? That search has led me 1000s of miles and back again.
Robert Walker was the nephew of the lady sitting in the front-right of the picture, identified as “Grandmother Kinkade”, aka Mary Ann Walker Kinkade, so he was actually Kathleen’s first cousin once-removed. But…he was married to Kathleen’s mother’s sister, Maggie McWilliams Walker, so he was also her uncle. This Uncle/Cousin, Robert Horatio Walker, lived quite a life! I’m here to tell his story…
Let’s meet the Kinkade/McWilliams/Walker families who worked, played, worshiped, and loved in Richland County, Illinois, in the 19th century.
Illinois became a state, carved out of the Northwest Territory, in 1818. That same year, the Methodist Episcopal Church assigned two Circuit riders, Shadrach Ruark, Sr. and Joseph C. Reed to Southeast Illinois, around 10 miles west of the Wabash River. The two preachers brought their families, and bought land to settle and farm just south of the stagecoach road that they’d followed from Ohio.
The Reverend Ruark platted the community of Fairview (now Calhoun), and built a church there. The community grew quickly with stores, blacksmiths, homes, and even a hotel. While it was not officially organized under village government, the community of Fairview became well-known.
It was about 1830 when John and Julia Walker and family arrived from Ohio. Honestly, there were several families of Walker who arrived around that same time, forming a bit of a commune around the Fairview area. John and Julia bought acres near Fairview and settled into farming. Theirs was a blended family, as both were widowed at some point. I’ve not been sure about whose is whose in the group, but it included James Newell, 13; Elizabeth, 24; Sarah 19; Ebenezer, 15; and Mary Ann, 13, and James Walker, 7.
Next to check into the county were Joseph and Margaret Kinkade, Irish immigrants who had stepped off the boat just four years earlier. While still in Pennsylvania, Joseph and Margaret had their first child, Susan. They, too, had family already settled in the area, and the little family arrived in 1837, and started cranking out babies: Margaret, 1837; Elizabeth, 1839; Matilda, 1841; Alexander, (my 2x great-grandfather) 1845; Martha, 1848; and Joseph, 1850. That’s eight babies in 14 years.
Meanwhile, Ebenezer Walker married the Reverend Reed’s daughter, Abigail, in 1841. They started their family in 1843 when their daughter, Julia, was born, followed by their son, Robert Horatio, in 1846; Joseph, 1849; Sarah, 1852; John, 1857; Harry, 1860.
Ebenezer’s sister, Mary Ann, married the Reverend Ruark’s son, Milton, in 1844. They had a son, James, in 1845. Tragically, Milton died in 1847.
It was 1848 when George C. McWilliams and his wife, Catherine, arrived to farm land that was just down the road from the Kinkades and Walkers. There were already seven children in the family, as the couple was in the habit of having babies every two years. Their ages upon arrival from Pennsylvania: Philip, 14; George, Jr., 12; David, 10; Sarah, 8; Nancy, 6; Mary Elizabeth, 4; and Ann Eliza, (my 2x great-grandmother) was 2. Their daughter, Margaret “Maggie”, was born in 1850, and Catherine had twins, Hugh and Hannah Isabelle (later called Belle) in 1853. There may have been more, but I find no record of them surviving to adulthood, so we’ll stop at ten.
1850 brought hard times to the community. Ebenezer and Mary Ann’s parents, Julia and John Walker, died within 18 hours of each other, possibly from milk sickness, a disease that comes from drinking milk from cows that ate the toxic white snakeroot plant. There was something going around that year, for sure. The McWilliams Family lost two daughters, Nancy, 8, and Mary Elizabeth, 6, and Margaret Kinkade, Joseph’s wife, also died, leaving Joseph with seven! children, including six-month-old, Joseph, Jr. The whole community was in mourning.
It wasn’t long before Joseph remarried. He wed the widow Mary Ann Walker Ruark in 1851. Mary Ann’s son, James Ruark, was the same age as Joseph’s son, Alex, and he was blended right in, as along came four more babies: Harriett, 1852; Robert, 1854; and Charles, 1856; John, 1861 (died 1862). That’s a grand total of twelve children in the Kinkade household.
The new generation – about 30 of them! – grew up together, attending school and church together, and working on the family farms. These were Scots-Irish folk, and they sang, played stringed instruments (eventually pianos), and danced a fierce jig. The community grew, sharing the happiness and grief of life in those years.
Along came that pesky Civil War…
Stay tuned…
Family Stories 