| Notes |
- From "History of Mercer County, Its Past and Present", 1888 (archive.org)
JAMES WALKER, deceased, was one of the earliest settlers of Mercer County. He was a native of Ireland, and about 1793 immigrated to Ligonier, Penn. In the fall of 1797 he settled in the forest half a mile west of Leech's Corners, in what is now Sugar Grove Township, purchasing the improvement of William Lindsey. He was accompanied by his wife and three sons, and April 27, 1798, a daughter, Martha, was born, who is said to have been the first white child born in that part of the county. His wife died in 1811, and soon afterward he married Catharine McFetridge, also a native of Ireland, of which union one daughter, Mary Ann, was born March 13, 1812. This daughter married Marvin Loomis in 1829, and he took charge of the Walker homestead, the parents making their home with Mr. Loomis until they died. Mr. Walker died February 20, 1834, and his widow January 10, 1849. All of their children are dead, the two daughters and two of the sons dying in this county, and one son in Minnesota. The Walker family were Whig and Republican in politics. and Methodists in religious belief. They were upright, industrious, respected citizens, and did their full share in developing the full interests of Mercer County. When James Walker built his cabin in Sugar Grove Township the whole county was one vast, unbroken forest, and during his life-time he often illustrated the density of the forest by relating how he once got lost in the woods within twenty rods of his own cabin door.
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1761 - 1834 (~ 72 years)
