William Walker (Wyandot leader) facts for kids
William Walker (1800–1874) was an important leader of the Wyandot people, a Native American tribe. He also became the first temporary governor of the Nebraska Territory. This large territory included the land that is now the state of Kansas.
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Who Was William Walker?
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William Walker was born on March 5, 1800, in Wayne County, Michigan. His father, William Walker Sr., was a white man. He had been captured by Delaware Indians in 1777. Later, he was sold to the Wyandot people and grew up with them. William Sr. married Catherine Rankin, who was part Wyandot. They had ten children together.
William Walker received a good education at a Methodist school in Worthington, Ohio. He was very smart and could speak many languages. These included English, French, Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Miami, and Potawatomi. He could also read Latin and Greek. People described him as a powerful speaker and a strong writer.
Walker married Hannah Barrett on April 8, 1824. She was a student at a Christian mission school. After Hannah passed away in 1863, Walker married Evelina J. Barrett in 1865. She was Hannah's widowed sister. William Walker became a chief of the Wyandot people in 1835. He also worked as a private secretary for Lewis Cass, who was the governor of the Michigan Territory.
Moving to Kansas
Even though the Wyandot people had adopted many American customs, they faced pressure to move. In the 1830s, the government wanted them to trade their lands in Ohio for new land in what would become Kansas.
In 1832, William Walker led a group of five Wyandot leaders to explore these new lands. Walker wrote a report about what they saw. It was not a good report. He said the land was not great, and he described some of the white people they met as "abandoned, dissolute, and wicked." Many of these people were "fugitives from justice," meaning they were running from the law.
After a Wyandot chief and his family were murdered, the tribe realized the American government would not protect them in Ohio. So, in 1843, 664 Wyandot people left Ohio. They traveled by steamboat to their new home in Kansas. They bought their new lands from the Delaware people, another Native American tribe. This land is now where Kansas City, Kansas is located.
A historian named William E. Connelley described the Wyandot people who moved to Kansas. He said that even though most members were only one-fourth Native American, the tribe kept its strong identity. They brought their church, schools, and laws with them. They set up their own communities and made sure laws were followed.
Becoming Provisional Governor
On July 26, 1853, William Walker was chosen as the temporary governor of the Nebraska Territory. This happened at a meeting held at the Wyandot Council house. The group that elected him included Wyandot people, white traders, and others. They wanted to organize the territory themselves before the federal government did. They also hoped to benefit from white settlers moving into Kansas. Walker and the others were also promoting Kansas as a good route for a new railroad across the country.
The United States government did not officially accept Walker's election as temporary governor. However, his election did make Congress act faster. It helped speed up the official organization of the future states of Kansas and Nebraska. This led to the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. This act opened the territory for white settlement. It also allowed settlers to decide if slavery would be allowed in their areas. The Wyandot people had different views on slavery. Some, including Walker, owned enslaved people. However, Walker himself was against states leaving the United States.
In the 1850s and 1860s, some Wyandot people made money by selling their lands to white settlers. But for most, the large number of white settlers caused problems. Many Wyandot soon moved to new lands in Oklahoma. William Walker, however, stayed in Kansas. He passed away there on February 13, 1874.
William Walker's Impact
William Walker worked hard to protect the Wyandot people's lands in Kansas. He wanted to prevent them from losing their land, just as they had in Ohio. As a leader, he believed the Wyandot could live and thrive alongside white settlers. While this didn't fully happen for the tribe as a whole, some Wyandot, including Walker, remained respected citizens in Kansas. They were known as important figures in the territory and later the state.
