B56 - Spence Walker & Family, 1834

see cht 10-1

Spence Walker was born in Darley, Yorkshire, England on 15 Mar. 1834, the 4th child of Thomas and Ann (born Swale) Walker. Spence attended the Quaker Ackworth Boarding School at Ackworth, Yorkshire from 1845 to 1848. The following is an excerpt from one of the “Ackworth Old Scholars Association” annual reports:-

“From school Spence went into apprenticeship to Bartholmew Smith and Sons of Thirsk, in the drapery department. His Master, Mr. B. Smith, was a man of fine artistic tastes, and a most industrious painter, and young Spence, possessing a natural aptitude for drawing and painting, and being active in grinding his master’s colours, became an expert amateur artist, though he did not pursue the acquirement in after life. As a young man he was remarkably good looking, with a most cheerful sunny face which was his possession throughout life”.

Those of us who are his direct descendants know, of course, that he did pursue these acquirements, as evidenced by the large number of his paintings remaining in the homes of his Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren, to this day.

The following chart shows the family connection from Bartholomew and Mary Ann Smith to the Hall family and thus to the Walker family down to Richard B. Walker (1941). Spence Walker (1834) was an apprentice to Bartholomew Smith .from 1848, and Benjamin Walker (1874) was an apprentice to the Hall family from 1890 to 1895.

Robert Spence (1784-1845) was a son of Sarah Walker (1760-1822) and Robert Spence (1742-1793) of Hartwith, Nidderdale, Yorkshire. He married Mary Foster in 1810. Two of their children, John Foster Spence (1818) and Joseph (1819) Spence, later became the proprietors of the shop known as “The old house and shop in Howard Street, North Shields, England”. The ground floor of the building was the shop and the upper part was where the family lived. Spence Walker (1834) a grandson of Robert Walker (1755), who, after leaving Thirsk, became an “Assistant” in the drapery business here. He was a 2nd cousin to John and Joseph Spence, via his Great Aunt, Sarah Walker. “The assistants, 26 or more, were all “Friends” and they lived as one family and had their meals together. A Quaker strictness of behavior was expected of all”.

It is not known exactly how long Spence remained in North Shields. In 1851 when he was just 17 years of age, his father Thomas Walker died, leaving him an Estate at Darley Carr, and a Calf Garth adjacent to the home farm in Darley, still known as “Walker Farm”.

In 1860 he, with his older brother, Thomas, set sail for Canada. They were the first of the Walker Family to leave England and immigrate to Canada. It was on Good Friday of 1860 that the two brothers landed at New York in the United States of America. After visiting relatives there, thought to be Joseph (1798) and Sarah Walker, they travelled on to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and then to Pickering. Spence remained in Pickering while Thomas travelled to numerous places including Goderich, London, Woodstock and finally to a Quaker Settlement known as Norwich. Ontario at that time was known as “Canada West”. Thomas’ biography includes a copy of a letter in which he asks Spence to come on to Norwich so that they might purchase land. In the fall of 1860 Thomas purchased a farm north of Norwich in an area which became known as Beaconsfield, where he and Spence built a log hut. A section of this hut is, as of this writing, still a part of the house that was built some time later, which until 1997 was occupied by the grandchildren of Thomas and Spence’s brother, Charles Walker, they being Dorothea, Paul and John Walker.

In December of 1860 Spence returned to England to dispose of some property there, which he still owned.. On his return journey to Canada he was accompanied by his sister Sarah. Spence apparently stayed in Pickering until sometime in 1862 as verified by the following Notice sent to the Norwich Monthly Meeting from the Pickering Monthly Meeting on 7 Oct. 1862

The Notice reads:-To Norwich Monthly Meeting of Friends.

Dear Friends; Spence Walker a member of this Meeting having removed within the compass of yours and on enquiry made relative to his conduct , and the settlement of his temperal affairs nothing appears to prevent the issuing a certificate on his behalf. We therefore recommend him to your Christian care and remain with love Your Friends. Signed by direction and on behalf of Pickering Monthly Meeting held at Pickering 7th of 10th Mo. 1862 by Richard Dale Elk, Janne Richardson, correspondent.

Spence apparently did not remain on the farm for very long as it was only a short time later that he moved into the village of Norwich where he became a capitalist and money lender. He bought a house on Stover Street, which today is a Funeral Home at 45 Stover St. South. It is believed that Spence returned to England again in 1866. This is substantiated by the fact that his signature does not appear on his sister Sarah’s marriage certificate of that time period. In any case, sometime later, he went to live with Sarah and her husband, Herbert Nicholson, on their farm at Hayesville in Wilmot Township of Waterloo County. It was during this period that he painted a picture of the Nicholson’s farmhouse (a copy of which is in a Link Article associated with these Records). This is verified by an entry in Gertrude Nicholson’s diary, dated 1896 (also part of these Records). By 1885 (and possibly sooner) Spence was again living in Norwich.

On 14 June, 1889 Spence married Augusta Virginia Dyke at the home of her brother-in-law, F. Fawkes, in Ingersoll, Ontario. Augusta was not a Quaker, therefore Spence “Married Out”, as it were. Augusta was born in Dundas, Ont. on 23 July, 1852, the 6th child of Thomas Jefferson Dyke and Jane Allerthorn. Due to the death of her father shortly after her birth the family moved to Ingersoll. At age 16 Augusta, with her next older sister, took over and operated a private school. Some years later she became a member of the staff at Ingersoll Public School, and in 1884 accepted a position at the Norwich Public School, where she taught until her marriage to Spence.

Following their marriage Spence and Augusta took up residence at Spence’s home on Stover St. South in Norwich. It would appear that they remained here for only a very short time until Spence had a new house built on Clyde St. North. Spence and Augusta had one child, born in Norwich:-

Spence Allerthorn b. 9-12-1892 died 15-2-1964

See separate biography for Spence Allerthorn Walker.

Gertrude Nicholson also wrote in her 1896 diary several entries concerning Spence and his family:-

“He (Spence) seemed very shy, it is hard work keeping the conversation going, .... he is such a good painter, he makes me nervous when he watches me paint, .... the little boy came in, his name is Spence Allerthorn and they call him “Allie”, he is a big strong boy very like the Walkers in looks and very lively and full of fun and mischief, .... Aunt Augusta paints as well as Uncle Spence so the boy ought to be a genius at it”. Allie would have been just shy of 4 years of age at the time of these entries.

Spence Walker died in Norwich, of consumption, on Friday, 19 June, 1903, at age 69. He was buried in the Norwich cemetery (Row B, Plot 25) on the following Sunday. His wife, Augusta, remarried on 7 Oct. 1926, to Reverend James Skeene. They lived in the Walker house on Clyde St. until her death on 20 Jan. 1940, at age 87. She was buried in the Norwich cemetery beside her first husband, Spence.

Spence’s obituary as printed in the Norwich Gazette (newspaper) reads as follows:-

“In the death of Spence Walker on Fri. June 19th after a long and trying illness, borne with remarkable fortitude and patience, Norwich loses one of her oldest most widely known and most highly respected citizens. Mr. Walker first saw the light in England, Mar. 15th, 1834 and was the third of six sons born to Thomas and Ann (Swale) Walker of Darley, Yorkshire, four of whom survive him - Thomas, Charles and Samuel of Norwich and Joseph in Australia. He had five sisters of whom two survive, Maria and Rachel of York, England. Cuthbert Wigham of Toronto is a brother-in-law. He received a superior education at the Friends Boarding School, Ackworth, Yorkshire where all eleven children attended, and he afterwards served an apprenticeship in a large dry-goods establishment at Thirsk. His master at Thirsk was a man of fine artistic tastes and young Spence, possessing a natural aptitude for painting and drawing, became quite an expert amateur artist. In company with his brother Thomas he set sail for this country in 1860 and landed in New York on Good Friday of that year. After visiting “Friends” at Pickering and in Hamilton they came on to Norwich in order to find a home among people of their own faith, there being a settlement of the Society of Friends here. And from then until his decease he was intimately identified as a capitalist with the history and progress of this garden spot of Ontario. Mr. Walker possesses the natural reserve characteristic of the members of the Society to which he belonged, but to those favoured With his confidence and friendship he proved a most entertaining and instructive companion revealing a wide observation of men and things and a deep insight into motives and aims. He was a man whose word was as good as his bond, and who would never knowingly wrong anyone. Though it was often in his power to do so he never dealt harshly with anyone, but he often eased them over the rough places. During all the years of his life here and in all his dealings with men it is said that he never sued a delinquent debtor, preferring rather to lose than to haul him before the Magistrate. He was married on the 14th June, 1889 to Miss Augusta V. Dyke of Ingersoll, Ont. who proved to him a most devoted wife and to whom he was tenderly attached. Besides his widow he leaves one son, a lad of eleven, Spence Allerthorn, under the guardianship of his mother and an uncle, Rev. S. A. Dyke of Cottage City, Mass., U. S. Though his life was quiet, his ways retiring and his spirit conservative, he was a man who will be missed as the unusually large attendance at his funeral and the kindly words spoken of him indicated. The funeral service was conducted by Rev. Mr. Rogers of the Society of Friends of Newmarket, assisted by Rev. Mr. Erwin of the local Methodist church. The bearers were his three brothers, Thomas, Charles and Samuel and his three brothers-in-law, Rev. S. A. Dyke of Cottage City Mass., T.F. Fawkes, London, Ont. and N.W. Ford, Toronto”.

Associated Records:-

-Link article 4-Pg-7

-Link article 4-Pg-13

-Link article 5-Pg-10

Sources:- Society of Friends Library, London, Eng.

- Jessie Walker’s Family History of 1939.

- Gertrude Nicholson’s Diary of 1896.

- Norwich Gazette records, Norwich Archives.

- Lynette Parker, Oakleigh, Vict. Australia

By:- H. L. Walker, Can. & R. B. Walker, Eng. Rev:- 28-Feb-03