John M. "Jack" Walker and his sister Eliza kept the Walker name
Updated: Aug 19
Narrative Biography of John M. “Jack” Walker
John M. “Jack” Walker was born around 1810 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the eldest child of Peggy Walker and Thomas D. Gauldin. He and his sister Eliza were both born before their parents’ marriage in 1815, and like many children born outside of wedlock in early‑nineteenth‑century Virginia, John M. "Jack" Walker and his sister Eliza kept the Walker name. John spent his youth under Peggy’s guardianship, a relationship confirmed by an 1829 marriage bond that identifies Peggy Gauldin as his legal guardian. This document not only underscores Peggy’s active role in her son’s early life but also reveals the close ties between the Walker and Uhles families: both Peggy and Eve Uhles, mother of Susannah Ann Uhles, provided written consent for the marriage of their children.
Family tradition preserved by researcher Gene Collins, a descendant of John, held that Peggy Walker was remembered as a Cherokee woman and a schoolteacher, a story passed down through John’s grandson, John W. Walker. The following is Gene’s correspondence with me in 2012: (1)
“Hi Catherine,
Thanks your response and for sharing. Your info is also very interesting. Because of poor records and oral communication, I believe family lineages have become erroneously crossed over the years. We have to take into account misunderstandings when names and relationships were given to the census takers because so many families of different
generations often shared the same home. Colloquialism and pronouncement of names were also a difficulty for the census recorders who did in fact make serious mistakes. I have been trying to assemble my family tree for eight or ten years. I'm sure you'll agree that, at times, genealogical research can be very confusing .. I have Margaret "Peggy" Lane as William Turner Gauldin, Sr.'s first wife. And Peggy Walker as his son, Thomas Gauldin's wife. Peggy was born about 1788 and died after 1850. Thomas and Peggy Walker had two illegitimate children, a son, John M., born about 1810 and a daughter, Eliza, born about 1812, who took the surname "Walker". They were married 20 Aug 1815 in Rockingham Co., NC . and had an additional seven children who took the surname "Gauldin"…
Gene
In addition to the above, he also sent this information:
“My mother's maiden name was "Walker". She and my grandfather, son of John H. and grandson of John M. "Jack", told me many, many times, that Peggy was a Cherokee from the Cherokee Nation. They said Peggy was a teacher. Both of them often told me stories about the Cherokee, their customs, habits and beliefs. Thus far I have been able to locate two Peggy Walkers within the North Carolina and Virginia area and within the timeframe of Thomas and Peggy's marriage. One of the Peggy Walkers was included as a member of a Walker family that was on the official rolls of the Cherokee Nation. (1)
In my adult life I have read a number of books with information about the Cherokee, including "Trail of Tears". I found much of of the information passed to me by my mother and grandfather in these books and had no problem understanding and relating to it. For these reasons, I find it too difficult to not believe there is a definite blood/family connection. Hopefully, before the winter of my life closes, I will be able to verify what I was told many, many times so long ago. A little factual information, the Choctaw and Cherokee did inter-marry. The Choctaw and Cherokee assisted Andrew Jackson in his war with the British in exchange of his promises to them. Both tribes, afterwards were betrayed by old Andy Jackson when he canceled their treaties with the United States, removed from their ancestral lands and relocated in the baren western part of the United States. About half of the tribes did not survive.
Perhaps we can solve the Peggy Walker riddle.
Gene
Although there are no surviving records to verify this claim, it reflects how some of Peggy’s descendants understood her identity. Peggy was more likely the daughter of Daniel Walker of Pittsylvania County, placing her within the long‑established Walker family whose descendants would later connect to the Gaulding line. See Gaulding Origins,
John’s adult life unfolded entirely within Pittsylvania County. Census records from 1850 list him as a miller, living with his wife Susannah and their children, and owning modest real estate valued at $150.
Walker’s Mill in Pittsylvania County
Historical records from Pittsylvania County show that the Southern District contained several small water‑powered mills during the mid‑nineteenth century, many of them named for the families who operated them. These mills were typically located along creeks such as Strawberry Creek, White Oak Creek, Frying Pan Creek, and the Banister River, where millers used the steady water flow to grind grain for local farmers.
The mill operated by John Walker was certainly not a large commercial operation but was rather one of the many neighborhood mills that served rural communities in Pittsylvania County. Mills of this type were often identified by the surname of the miller rather than by a formal business name, which means “Walker’s Mill” would have referred simply to the mill operated by a Walker family living in the district. There is no mention of such a place in any of the local histories, and the standard county history, Maud Carter Clement’s The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, does not mention a mill called Walker’s Mill in the Southern District, but that does not mean it did not exist. If necessary to verify a mill operated by John Walker in Pittsylvania County, the best source would be Pittsylvania County Land Tax Lists (1840–1860) because mills were taxed differently and sometimes noted explicitly.
John Walker enlisted in Company H, 38th Virginia Infantry
By 1860 he was recorded as a job hand in the Southern District near Whitmell. Despite limited means, John was literate—a detail that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries, including his wife and eldest daughter.
According to Gene Collins, John M. “Jack” Walker’s decision to enlist in the Civil War was shaped by a deep sense of duty to his family. When both of his sons entered Confederate service, he felt compelled to follow their example, even though he was already in his mid‑fifties. On October 9, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company H of the 38th Virginia Infantry, the Pittsylvania Regiment. (2) His service was brief—age and physical limitations forced his discharge on February 26, 1865— (5) but the act itself reflected his loyalty to his sons and his community. Family tradition preserved by his grandson, John W. Walker, remembered him affectionately as “Grandpa Jack,” a name that carried forward his legacy of commitment and courage.
John and Susannah raised a large family, many of whom remained in Pittsylvania County throughout their lives. Their eldest son, John Henry Walker, lived until 1915. Their daughters—Susan Ann, Sarah “Sallie,” Margaret, and Julia Ann—appear in multiple census records, with Susan and Julia never marrying. Julia Ann spent her later years in the county poorhouse, appearing in the 1900 and 1910 censuses. Their son Moses Walker served in Company B of the 38th Virginia Infantry and died from wounds sustained at the First Battle of Manassas in 1861, one of the earliest casualties in the Walker family.
John M. “Jack” Walker lived at least until February 8, 1878, the date of his last known appearance in Pittsylvania County records. His life reflects the story of a man deeply rooted in his community—shaped by the legacy of his mother Peggy, connected through marriage and kinship to the Uhles and Gauldin families, and bound to Pittsylvania County through work, family, and service. Through his descendants, John’s story became an enduring part of the broader Gaulding Origins narrative, preserving the memory of the Walker family’s place in the history of Southside Virginia.
Narrative Summary of the Ancestry of Susannah Ann Uhles
Susannah Ann Uhles was born in 1790 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the daughter of Michael Uhles and his wife Eva, whose maiden name is unknown. She grew up in a family of German descent that had migrated from Pennsylvania into Virginia during the late eighteenth century. In 1829, Susannah married John M. “Jack” Walker, the eldest child of Peggy Walker and Thomas D. Gauldin. Their marriage bond (6), signed by both Peggy Gauldin and Susannah’s mother Eve Uhles, reflects the close relationship between the two families and the community ties that shaped their lives in Pittsylvania County. Susannah lived into her later years and died sometime before 1884, remaining in the county where she had spent her entire life.
Susannah’s father, Michael Uhles, was born around 1765, likely in Pennsylvania, before his family moved south into Virginia. He died before 1827 in Pittsylvania County. Michael was the son of Johannes Mikl (John Michael) Uhles and Anna Maria Odermann, German immigrants who had married in 1748 in Gaugrehweiler, in the present‑day German state of Rheinland‑Pfalz. Johannes Mikl was born in 1730 in Saxony and came to America as part of the mid‑eighteenth‑century wave of German migration. He settled first in Pennsylvania, where his son Michael was born, and later moved to Bedford County, Virginia, where he died in January 1791. His wife, Anna Maria Odermann, born in 1730, followed him to Virginia and died there in 1793.
Thus, Susannah Ann Uhles descended from a line of German immigrants who established themselves first in Pennsylvania and then in the growing German communities of Bedford and Pittsylvania counties. By the time Susannah married John M. “Jack” Walker in 1829, her family had been part of the Virginia landscape for more than two generations.
The children of John M. “Jack” Walker and Susannah Uhls were:
1. John Henry Walker 1824–1916
John Henry Walker & Nancy Jane Midkiff Walker
John Henry Walker was born 14 September 1824 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into a longstanding rural family whose roots ran deep in the county’s farms and small communities. His life stretched across nearly a century, carrying him from the antebellum era through the Civil War and into the modernizing world of the early twentieth century.
During the Civil War, John enlisted as a Private in the 38th Virginia Infantry, a regiment raised largely from Pittsylvania men. Military records place him in both Company B and Company D (8), a common occurrence in Confederate service where transfers and record inconsistencies were frequent. His widow later confirmed he served under Colonel Edmonds and Captain John Cabell, officers of the Pittsylvania regiment. (8)
In October 1865, only months after the war’s end, John married Nancy Jane Midkiff in Henry County, Virginia, with Rev. Herbert Eanes officiating. Nancy, born 1 September 1840, was the daughter of Harrison M. Midkiff and Elizabeth Riddle, both from established Pittsylvania families. (9) She had lost her mother young and entered adulthood early. In 1856, she married Wilson Tucker Gregory (9), with whom she had two children—Henrietta and Thomas Gregory—before Wilson’s death in 1862 while serving the Confederacy in Richmond.
Widowed at twenty‑two with two small children, Nancy remarried three years later, joining her life with John Walker. Together they built a large blended household and raised five children of their own:
· Susan “Mollie” Walker (b. 1867)
· John William Walker (1870–1957) - John William Walker born 4 March 1870 and died 6 July 1957, married Geneva Walker 1878-1941. Their children were James Edward "Jim" Walker 1908–1981 and Nona Lee Walker Barbour 1913–1975. Gene Collins was Nona's son. (Her first husband was David Keen Collins – B: Aug 23, 1918, Callands, Pittsylvania Co., VA, USA – D: Jan 09, 1979, Danville, VA, USA - Father: James Edward "Jim" Collins – B: Sep 07, 1891, Callands, VA, USA – D: Jan 07, 1969, Danville, VA, USA – Mother: Lou Bessie Hodges – B: Aug 07, 1897, VA, USA – D: Jun 13, 1972, VA, USA - Children: Gene R. Collins – B: Sep 19, 1937, Callands, Pittsylvania Co., VA, USA)
o James Moses Walker (b. 1872) - He was born on 11 May 1870 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and he died on 21 April 1950 in Schoolfield, Pittsylvania, Virginia. He married Fannie Bet Gauldin (1866-1936), the daughter of William Gauldin b. 1840 and Virginia.
o Nancy Elizabeth “Bettie” Walker (b. 1877) - She was born 1 August 1877 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and she died on 6 October 1962 in Stoneville, Rockingham, North Carolina. She married John Allen Gauldin (1877-1963), the son of John Franklin Gauldin 1845-1908 and Eliza M. Hodges b 1839. Their children were Nancy K Gauldin 1901–, John E Gauldin 1904–1913, Rosie Belle Gauldin 1906–1995, Martha Lou Gauldin 1909–1986, Janie Elizabeth Gauldin 1910–1995, Eliza J Gauldin 1913– and Lillian Esther "Lilly" Gauldin* 1919–1984
o Jennie Lee Walker (1881–1913) - She was born 7 July 1881 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and she died at the age of 36 on 8 August 1913 in Pittsylvania County.
Census records show John as a farm laborer, not a landowner—an important detail that reflects the economic reality of many rural Pittsylvania families. In 1880 (8), he and Nancy lived in the Tunstall District, raising their children while John worked for wages. By 1910 (9), at age 84, he was still employed full‑time as a farm laborer. He and Nancy lived in a rented house in Callands, and John was recorded as unable to read or write, a common trait among older rural Virginians of his generation. Their daughter Jennie and her twins, Hugh and Susie, lived with them at that time.
In February 1916, Nancy applied for a Confederate widow’s pension. (10) Her testimony provides a rare personal glimpse into their later years: John had died of old age and Bright’s disease at Sandy River, Virginia, and although he had received a soldier’s pension, she had never received support as his widow. She stated she had no property, no income, and was living with her son Thomas Gregory.
John Henry Walker died 22 December 1916 (12), at the remarkable age of 92, and was buried in Callands, Pittsylvania County. Nancy lived nearly a decade longer, remaining in Pittsylvania County until her death on 10 February 1925 at age 84. (13) She was buried at Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery in Callands.
2. Susan Ann Walker 1829–Susan Ann Walker, the daughter of She was born in 1829 in Callands, Pittsylvania, USA and nothing else is known about her.
3. Sarah "Sallie" Walker 1836–1916 - Sarah “Sallie” Walker, the daughter of John M. “Jack” Walker and Susannah Uhls was born around 1836 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into the large household of John M. Walker and Susan Walker, a farming family living in the county’s southern district. She grew up among many siblings—Susan A., Margaret, John, Moses, Julia—and appears consistently in census records as part of a close‑knit, multigenerational home. By 1850, Sallie was about 18 years old, living with her parents and siblings in the Southern District of Pittsylvania County. The census lists her mother Susan as age 44 and her father John M. Walker as age 40. Sallie’s early life fits the pattern of rural Pittsylvania families: daughters remained at home, contributing to household labor, childcare, and farm work. In 1860, Sallie—then about 24—was still living with her mother, now recorded as Susanna Walker, age 70, suggesting either an age reporting error or a different Susan/Susanna Walker in the extended family. The household consisted entirely of women and young children: Sallie, her sisters Margaret and Julia, and two small children, Rebecca (age 6) and Matilda C. Walker (5 months). The absence of adult men in the home reflects the upheaval of the late antebellum period and the approach of the Civil War. Sallie was recorded as unable to read or write, a common trait among rural women of her generation. The 1860 census also places the Walker women living next to Thomas Gauldin, age 65, and near Mary Pruitt and Elizabeth Franklin—families with whom Thomas had lived in 1850. This proximity suggests long‑standing neighborhood ties among Walker, Gauldin, Pruitt, and Franklin families in the Southern District. Sallie never married. Her life appears to have been shaped by economic hardship, limited opportunities for women, and the loss of family support as she aged. By the early twentieth century, she had no surviving immediate household and ultimately entered the Pittsylvania County Alms House, a facility for the elderly poor.
4. Margaret Walker b abt 1836– Margaret Walker, the daughter of John M. “Jack” Walker and Susannah Uhls was born around 1836 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, one of the middle children in the large household of John M. Walker and Susan Walker. Like many daughters in rural Southside Virginia during the antebellum period, her early life was shaped by family labor, close‑knit kin networks, and the rhythms of small farming communities. In the 1850 census, Margaret appears as a 14‑year‑old living in the Southern District of Pittsylvania County. The household was substantial and multigenerational: her mother Susan Walker, age 44, her father John M. Walker, age 40, and siblings Susan A., Sarah, John, Moses, and Julia. Margaret’s presence in this record reflects the typical structure of rural families—children remained at home well into adulthood, contributing to domestic work, childcare, and farm labor. By 1860, Margaret—then about 22—was still living with her mother, now recorded as Susanna Walker, age 70, in the same Southern District. The household consisted entirely of women and young children: Sallie (Sarah) Walker, Julia Walker, and two small children, Rebecca and Matilda C. Walker. Margaret, like her sisters, was listed as unable to read or write, a common trait among rural women of her generation. The 1860 census places the Walker women living next to Thomas Gauldin, age 65, and near Mary Pruitt and Elizabeth Franklin—families with whom Thomas had lived in 1850. This neighborhood clustering suggests long‑standing ties among Walker, Gauldin, Pruitt, and Franklin families in the Southern District. After 1860, Margaret disappears from surviving census records. No marriage record has been confirmed, and no later documentation has been located to establish her residence, marital status, or death. Her absence from subsequent enumerations suggests she may have died young, married and changed her surname, or moved into another household where she was not easily identifiable.
5. Moses Walker 1840–1861 – Moses Walker, the son of John M. “Jack” Walker and Susannah Uhls Moses Walker was born around 1840 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, one of the younger children in the large household of John M. Walker and Susan Walker. He grew up in the Southern District of the county, surrounded by siblings and extended kin who lived and worked together on small farms typical of rural Southside Virginia. In the 1850 census, Moses appears as a 10‑year‑old living with his parents and siblings—Susan A., Sarah, Margaret, John, and Julia—in a household headed by John M. Walker, age 40, and Susan Walker, age 44. His childhood would have been shaped by farm labor, seasonal work, and the close community ties characteristic of Pittsylvania families in the antebellum period. By 1860, Moses—then about 22—was living independently as a farm hand in the Southern District. He was listed as unable to read or write, a common trait among young rural laborers of his generation. His occupation and separate residence suggest he had begun working for wages on neighboring farms, a typical path for young men preparing for adulthood. Like many Pittsylvania men, Moses entered Confederate service early in the Civil War. He enlisted as a Private in Company B, 38th Virginia Infantry, a regiment composed largely of men from Pittsylvania and surrounding counties. His service was short and tragic. A military report from September 1861, filed near Centerville, Virginia, lists him among the sick and wounded, suffering from pneumonia. On 10 September 1861, Moses Walker died at Manassas Junction, only months after the war began. He was just 21 years old. His death represents the experience of many young rural Virginians whose lives were cut short by disease rather than battle. Pneumonia, camp fever, and other illnesses claimed thousands of soldiers in the early months of the war, often before they ever saw combat. Moses left no known descendants and appears only briefly in surviving records, but his presence in the Walker household and his early death in Confederate service preserve his place within the broader story of Pittsylvania County families during the Civil War.
6. Julia Ann Walker 1842– Julia Ann Walker was born around 1842 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, one of the youngest children in the large household of John M. Walker and Susan Walker. She grew up in the Southern District of the county, surrounded by siblings and extended kin who lived and worked together on small farms typical of rural Southside Virginia. In the 1850 census, Julia appears as an 8‑year‑old living with her parents and siblings—Susan A., Sarah, Margaret, John, and Moses—in a household headed by John M. Walker, age 40, and Susan Walker, age 44. Her early years would have been shaped by domestic labor, farm work, and the close community ties characteristic of Pittsylvania families in the antebellum period. By 1860, Julia—then about 16—was still living with her mother, recorded as Susanna Walker, age 70, in a household composed entirely of women and young children: Sallie (Sarah), Margaret, Rebecca, and Matilda C. Walker. The absence of adult men reflects the economic and social instability of the late antebellum period. Julia, like her sisters, was listed as unable to read or write, a common trait among rural women of her generation. In 1870, Julia appears in a small household with her mother Susan Walker, age 65, and her sister Susan Ann Walker, age 45. They lived in the Subdivision North of Dan River, near Chatham, Pittsylvania County. Julia, then about 25, was employed as a seamstress, one of the few occupations available to unmarried women in rural Virginia. She was again recorded as unable to read or write, suggesting limited access to formal education throughout her life. By 1880, Julia was living alone in the Tunstall District of Pittsylvania County. The census lists her as 35 years old, single, and working as a servant, likely in a nearby household. Her continued employment in domestic service reflects both her unmarried status and the economic realities faced by many rural women without family support or property. Julia Ann Walker died in January 1880, still in Pittsylvania County. She left no known descendants and appears only briefly in surviving records, but her presence across three decades of census entries preserves her place within the broader Walker family.
Conclusion
Taken together, the lives of the John M. Walker family of Pittsylvania County form a vivid portrait of rural Virginia across the nineteenth century. Through census entries, military records, pension files, and the quiet traces left in local communities, a picture emerges of a family shaped by hard work, limited means, and deep ties to the land they lived on for generations. Some—like John Henry Walker—endured war, rebuilt their lives, and lived into old age. Others, like Moses, died young in Confederate service, while sisters Sarah, Margaret, and Julia remained rooted in the domestic sphere, their stories preserved only in the brief lines of census schedules. Nancy Jane Midkiff Walker’s long life bridges these experiences, linking the Midkiff, Gregory, and Walker families through marriage, loss, and resilience.
Works Cited
1. Portrait of John M. "Jack" Walker. ancestry.com. [Online] gr_ric originally shared this on 24 May 2018. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229287/media/40453d78-b81d-4860-916a-a999907bb554?galleryindex=1&sort=-created.
2. Document prepared by Catherine L. Gauldin, 2012. Information about Peggy Walker from Gene Collins. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121228019/media/d5f751d4-9777-4888-b5ec-5c996d31a0e3?galleryindex=4&sort=-created.
3. 1850 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] Occupation: Miller, Pittsylvania, Southern District. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4206390_00173?pId=15427701.
4. 1860 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] Pittsylvania, Southern District. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4298865_00435?pId=33812986.
5. There is no direct source for this information. [Online]
6. VaGenWeb, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Genealogy Project. Pittsylvania County Special Records, Marriage Bonds: 9 Sept. 1829. [Online]
7. Image of John Henry Walker. ancestry.com. [Online] gr_ric originally shared this on 24 May 2018. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229042/media/a5f582e3-e16b-4d66-a8c2-c2c51b21d6fa?galleryindex=4&sort=-created.
8. He may have been with Jabez S. Gaulden at Gettysburg.
9. U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2322/records/13575656?tid=163174124&pid=422121229042&ssrc=pt.
10. Find a Grave. Nancy Jane Midkiff Walker. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69030721/nancy-jane-walker.
11. 1860 US Federal Census. Pittsylvania, Virginia, North District. [Online] Wife of William S. Gregory in this census. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4298865_00218?pId=34368758.
12. Image of John William Walker. ancestry.com. [Online] A S originally shared this on 15 Mar 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229892/media/61a349ba-d22e-4f08-9443-f2c8dc37c038?galleryindex=1&sort=-created.
13. Image of Jenny Lee Walker. ancestry.com. [Online] gr_ric originally shared this on 27 Apr 2017. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422196170830/media/38f8e42b-ec2c-4177-8013-f8ea218e8cb5?galleryindex=1&sort=-created.
14. 1880 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] Tunstall, Pittsylvania, Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4244750-00296?pId=12457983.
15. 1910 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] Callands, Pittsylvania, Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4454831_00754?pId=29415455.
16. Alabama, Texas and Virginia, U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958. ancestry.com. [Online] Act of 1902 Pensions (Nottoway Co-York Co), Pittsylvania County (surnames Po - Y) to Powhatan County (surnames A - G). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1677/images/31867_B034416-00788?pId=1083718.
17. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/32766051?tid=163174124&pid=422121229042&ssrc=pt.
18. Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014. ancestry.com. [Online] Death Record of Nancie, states she was widowed, wife of John Walker, She was daughter of Harrison Midkieft and Betsy Riddle. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9278/images/43004_162028006056_0018-00358?pId=450364231.
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