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Note: Walker Family Bible reads " Henry A. Walker was borne Augest(sic) 29[d?] A.D. 1852"
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1860 US Census, Clay Township (Post Office : Shirleysburg), Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, page 44 (stamped 164), dwelling #305, Family # 297, Roll 1115, Book 1, genealogy.com image #26 of 27 for Clay Twp), enumerated October 27, 1860.
John Walker, (head), age 65, real estate $150, personal property $300, occ: blank, born in PA
Eliza A., (wife), age 38, born in PA
Jacob, (son), age 15, born in PA, attended school
Sarah A., (daughter), age 15, born in PA, attended school
Joseph, (son), age 14, born in PA, attended school
Charles A.(?), (son), age 10, born in PA, attended school
Henry A., (son), age 8, born in PA
Margaret, (daughter), age 5, born in PA
Barton D., (son), age 2, born in PA
Note: almost all the people in this Township were dittoed as born in PA which is a bit suspicious. No occupation was given for anyone in the family. Immediate neighbors were farmers, others in the immediate area were laborer, mill wright, shoemaker.
Barton D. is clearly the same child as the "Bartin" age 10 listed in 1870 but he should have been 12 there. Barton might actually be Bartin here but there is no clear dot over the letter i. He should have only been 11 months old here, not 2, but it is possible that the ages were supplied by a neighbor or one of the children.
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sketch of the history of Shirleysburg from "History of the Juniata Valley" published in 1936
SHIRLEYSBURG
George Croghan, famous in Indian and Colonial history of Pennsylvania
settled on the site of this town before the French and Indian War." The
term "George Croghan's" meaning Croghan's cabin here, appears on many
colonial records. Later it came to be known as Aughwick and Old Town,
and when a frontier fort was built took the name Fort Shirley. Its prominence
in the early history of the Commonwealth lay in the fact that it
was one of the very few stopping points for colonial agents between the
Susquehanna River and the interior of the province. Then many persons
crossed the mountains in lower Cumberland County instead of following the
Juniata Valley through water gaps. On April 3, 1837, Shirleysburg was
incorporated as a borough. In 1840 the population was 247. The location
of the old fort gave it a military tinge and the town was the center for
militia reviews and exercises for many years. The East Broad Top Rail-
road brought business to Shirleysburg when a station was established here
in 1873. Cigar manufacturing is the chief industry. The population of
Shirleysburg is 217. In 1910 it was 256 and in 1920 it was 200.
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1870 US Census, Crowmwell Township, Post Office : Orbisonia, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Roll 1349 Book 1, page 564-A, genealogy.com image # 13 of 30 for Cromwell Twp, Dwelling # 86, family # 90, enumerated Aug 22, 1870.
John Walker,(head), age 70, occ: laborer, value of real estate $50, value of personal estate $200, born in PA,
Eliza A.,(wife), age 47, occ: keeping house, born in PA, could not read or write,
Sarah A., (daughter), age 24, at home, born in PA, could not write,
Charles, (son), age 19, occ: laborer, born in PA,
Henry, (son), age 18, occ: laborer, born in PA,
Margaret, (daughter), age 14, at home, born in PA, attended school
Bartin, (son), age 10, at school, born in PA, attended school
David,(son), age 8, at school, born in PA, attended school,
Mary, (daughter?), age 3, born in PA,
Bertha E., (daughter?), age 1/12, born in PA, born in May
(Note: If John's age is correct here, he would have been born about 1800 not 1795 as the Bible states
Bartin is probably James B. D. Walker.
the 2 youngest girls, Mary and Bertha E. apparently died before 1880. There is no entry for either their births nor their deaths in the family Bible or they may have been granddaughters (parents unknown). The 1870 census did not record relationships. Eliza at 47 would have been a bit old to have had a 1 month old or even a 3 year old child.
If they had been grandchildren, they may not have died but may be listed with a parent in 1880 or later
The handwriting of this enumerator is quite neat and clear)
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Sketch of the history of Orbisonia from the "History of the Juniata Valley" published in 1936
ORBISONIA.
This town is the largest community in the southeastern section of
Huntingdon County. An Indian trading post was established on its site
in 1760. When the Bedford Furnace was opened in 1785 more settlements
were made in the neighborhood. Taverns, stores and a post office were
established here by 1836 but it was not until May, 1850 that any definite
steps were taken to lay out the town. It had been known as Orbisonia for
more than a decade previously and was the home of William Orbison who
conducted the furnace. Sherman Day wrote of it in 1842, "The estate,
formerly Ridgley and Cromwell's, has changed owners, and a town has
been laid out at the site of the old furnace, called Orbisonia, from the name
of the present proprietor, William Orbison, Esq., of Huntingdon. Two
furnaces and a forge have been built; and the inexhaustible mines of valuable
ore, and steady water-power, promise to make it a growing place."
On November 23, 1855 Orbisonia was incorporated as a borough and
Simon Gratz, member of a famous Pennsylvania family, became the first
burgess. Mining, rolling mill operations and the East Broad Top Railroad
& Coal Company employ the residents today, The Orbisonia Telephone
Company of which J. W. Hostetler is secretary operates in the borough.
The Orbisonia Water Company, privately maintained, serves 246 consumers.
The population of the borough was 618 in 1910, 682 in 1920 and 741 in
1930.
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1880 US Census, Orbisonia Town, Cromwell Twp, Huntingdon Co, PA. visit 28, family #32. pg 40 of 53, enumerated June 22, 1880.
Eliza A. Walker, 57, widow, head, could not write
Sarah A. Walker, 34, daughter, single, could not write
Henry A. Walker, 27, son, single <<<-----------
James B. Walker, 20, son, single
David C. Walker, 18, son, single
Lilly M. Walker, 9 granddaughter [it is unknown who the parents were]
unnamed Walker, 8 months, born in Oct 1879, grandson, [parents unknown]
none of the above people had any listed occupation,
all were shown as born in PA with both parents also born in PA
[names and numbers were very clearly written]
Note: The blank occupations and the PA birth locations for all and the lack of a name for the baby make me suspect that the data was supplied by a neighbor or by Lilly and that the missing (or incorrect) data was unknown to them.
family lore says that Eliza(beth) Walker's deceased husband John was born in England
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see below for sketch of Rockhill history
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1900 US Census, Rockhill Borough, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, ED #103, sheet #11 (stamped 306-A), ancestry.com image #21 of 24, dwelling # 238 (originally #70), family # 240 (originally #70), enumerated June 13, 1900.
address: Culvert (?) Street (no numbers were listed)
Henry Walker, head, born Aug 1856, age 43, widower, occupation: RR Day Laborer, rented his house, born in PA, parents born in PA
Maude, daughter, born Oct 1882, age 17, single, at school, born in PA, parents born in PA
Edith, daughter, born Mar 1884, age 16, single, at school, born in PA, parents born in PA
Elsie, daughter, born Sept 1889, age 10, single, at school, born in PA, parents born in PA
Guy, son, born June 1892, age 8 (or maybe 7 still), single, at school, born in PA, parents born in PA
Note: although all 4 children were listed as "at school" , the 2 oldest are shown as having attended 0 months in the previous year, and the 2 youngest had attended for 7 months (the normal number apparently)
Henry's age of 43 and birth date of Aug 1856 calculate out correctly, but do not match with his age in all other censuses or with his birth date in the family Bible. He probably was 47 in 1900 - age was probably supplied by one of the children.
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1910 US Census, Rockhill Borough, Huntingdon County, PA,
enum dist # 79, visit #203, pg 15, enumerated April 21st, 1910.
Henry A. Walker, head, age 57, widower, occupation: locomotive engineer, rented his home.
Edith, age 26, single
Guy A., age 18, single, occupation, railroad laborer
All are shown as born in PA with all parents born in PA.
They were living on Meadow Street in 1910. (It is unclear if this was the same street as 1900 that had been renamed or if they had moved to a new house)
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1920 US Census, Mount Union, Ward 2, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania,ED #85, page 8-A (stamped 166), dwelling #, family # ancestry.com image #15 of 33, enumerated January 2, 1920
address: 206 Shirley Street
Henry A. Walker, head, age 67, born in PA, father born in Scotland, mother born in PA, occ: Engineer - Railroad, rented his house
Mollie H., wife, age 59?, born in PA, father born in Maryland, mother born in PA, occ: none
Elmer Stump, head, age 38, born in PA, parents born in PA, occ: electrician - Penn Central , rented his house
Maud, wife, age 35, born in PA, parents born in PA, occ: none
Alvin,son, age 13, born in PA, attended school,
Mary, daughter, age 11, born in PA, attended school
Miriam, daughter, age 8, born in PA, attended school
Jean, daughter, age 11/12?, born in PA
They were living next door to Owen and Martha Cassady.
I am not absolutely positive that this is the right Henry A. Walker, but we do know that he had married again although we did not know his second wife's name. His age is correct as is his occupation.
The Stump family is not assigned a dwelling or family number and is shown as if they were all living together.
It seem likely that Maud Stump was Henry's oldest daughter although she should have been 37 not 35. We had previously believed that she had married a man named Somers, but had no real information on that and was never able to locate anyone named Somers with a wife named Maud(e).
The fact that they are living next to Owen Cassady who was a half-brother of Henry's late wife Margaret is also significant.
The McConeghy family lore also said that Elsie Mae Walker had come from Mt. Union when she married Robert McConeghy would also support the idea that the family had moved to Mt Union shortly after 1910.
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we have 2 photos of the Walker house (probably the one on Meadow Street ) in Rockhill, PA, taken about 1907
Henry's first wife had died in 1894 and he had not yet married his second wife by 1900 or by 1910.
Apparently Henry died in 1920 but we don't know where they were living then or if he died before or after the 1920 census. We have not yet located any of the family after 1910 other than Elsie although we have photos of Maude and of Guy taken several years later.
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Rock Hill did not exist until 1874 It was built across the Black Log Creek from Orbisonia. It was built as a depot
for the East Broad Top Railroad. The town and the dwellings belonged to the Rock Hill Iron and Coal Company for their employees.
When Rockhill was built, there were no stores or businesses, all of that was across the creek in Orbisonia.
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Sketch of the history of Rockhill from "History of the Juniata Valley" printed in 1936
The town of Rockhill, situated across the Black Log Creek from Orbisonia,
was laid out in 1874 and the first houses were built for the Rockhill
Iron & Coal Company. As early as 1831 an iron furnace was operated here
by the firm of Diven & Morrison. Other furnaces were operated at intervals
until a town was established. Rockhill became a borough on June
16, 1887. It had the advantage of being a station on the East Broad Top
Railroad and a post office listed as Rockhill Furnace. Mining continues
to be the leading industry. The population has changed little since 1910
when it was 504. In 1920 it was 500 and in 1930, 502.
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