02/20/2024
In honor of Black History Month, I'd like to tell the story of AB Walker...from the beginning.
Many Whartonians already know my late father, Larry Owens. He was well known and well liked in the community and after retiring from J&M Manufacturing he finished out his years bartending at the Wharton Country Club. Born and raised just outside of Glen Flora, my father's family has a rich history stemming back to Morgan County, Georgia in the early 1800s. I hope you like to read, because I like to write. 🙂🙃😉
Zeno P. Walker, "The Beginning"
Zeno P. Walker was born around 1815 in Madison, Georgia. Zeno came to Texas and settled in Wharton County. He married Esther Young and together they had one child, Letitia Nisbet Walker, in 1843. In 1850 and 1860, Zeno is recorded as having 20 slaves in Wharton County, 11 men and 9 women including 8 children under the age of 18. He died on July 16, 1859, in Columbus, Georgia, at the age of 40.
Letitia Nesbit Walker met and later married Charles Irvin Battle on November 29, 1865 in Wharton, TX. Charles, who was also known as C.I Battle, was born on January 12, 1842, in Wilkes, Georgia. Charles came to Wharton County with his father Oliver Lazarus Battle in 1855. Charles and Leticia maintained Zeno's plantation here in Wharton County in the Glen Flora area. After Zeno's death, his daughter Letitia Walker was still a minor and did not immediately inherit his estate. Charles Favor was appointed executor of Zeno's estate and later Charles Irvin Battle would be appointed as the executor of Charles Favors estate. According to probate records Zeno's slaves remained and worked on the plantation under an overseer after his death. The slaves were paid wages to pick cotton as well as given other expenses for clothing, materials, etc. Eventually, Charles and Letitia were awarded the estate just at slavery was ending. Records indicated that Zeno Walker's estate contained slaves by the name Malinda Walker, Adam Walker Sr., and Dick Robertson in 1860.
Letitia died in 1878 in Madison, Georgia, at the age of 50, and was buried in the Walker family cemetery in Morgan County, Georgia. Charles remarried to Anna M. Sanford on December 2, 1878 and remained living on the what was now called the Battle Plantation in Wharton County. Among those working on the Battle plantation were, Malinda, Adam, Dick, Jim and 13 others.
In 1886 Charles and Anna begin to sell portions of their property to former slaves who remained and worked on the property. Malinda Walker (Davis), 22 acres, Adam Walker Sr., 50 acres, and Dick Robertson, 50 acres. Later, 2 of Dick's sons, Ned and Ed Robertson would go on to purchase over 100 additional acres of the former Battle Plantation. The remaining Battle Plantation acreage is owned today by the Hudgins family.
Charles Battle, his brother John, and other members of their family moved to McClennan County, TX and held residences in Waco where Charles's brother John was in real estate.
Who is Malinda, Adam, Dick and Jim?
Malinda Walker was a slave born around 1818 to 1825 in Georgia. Malinda was the mother of Adam and Jim Walker, and Dick Robertson. Once slavery ended, they were given the option to choose their own last names. While most kept the slave owners last name, not all of Malinda's kids wanted to be known as Walkers and went with the name Robertson, often misrepresented in the Census records as Robinson or Robinston. There were many Walkers and Robertsons during that time. A 1900 Census record shows Malinda, now a Davis through marriage to Peter Davis, had a total of 16 kids, 7 of which were still alive in 1900. Malinda, at the time, was living with her granddaughter Sally Sandford, mother of Jasper Caviel, creating the local Caviel lineage in Wharton County.
Adam Walker Sr married Betty Spring on November 19, 1870 (AB Walker🙂). There were believed to be 7 children born to this union. Peter, Ida, Susan, Mary, Robert, Adam Jr, and Betty Walker.
Betty Walker (daughter) met Ardley Owens Sr and in 1910 gave birth to Hosea Owens. Hosea met and married Frances Aldridge. To this union 10 children were born including my father, Larry Owens.
The Walker/Robertson families maintained close ties in the community and were very involved in day to day life. The Walker/Robertson families were co-founders of the historically marked Camp Zion Baptist Church, later forming the Camp Zion Cemetery and the Mt Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. The area became known as the Mt Vernon Community. The Mt Vernon Missionary Baptist Church was built on a portion of the land purchased by Malinda Walker and was given to the church's trustees, one of which was Malinda's son, Dick Robertson, by Malinda's other son, Jim Walker. Adam Walker Sr had passed away by this time.
Still today descendants of Malinda Walker, Adam and Betty Walker, and Dick Robertson reside, own and maintain the property of some of the former Battle Plantation lands in the Mt Vernon Community.
The Camp Zion Cemetery, a local historical marker, houses relatives of former slaves who worked the Walker, Battle, Winston and other plantations in the area. A vast majority of Spanish Camp residents are descendants of Malinda Walker. Walker descendants went on to marry Heard, Aldridge, Hawks, Moore, Sanford, Caviel, Hill, Coleman, Myers, and many others creating a large lineage in Egypt, Glen Flora, Spanish Camp, and Wharton.
Malinda, Adam Sr. and his wife Betty, and many others are buried on the plantations grounds in what became known as the Robertson Slave Cemetery.
The story of Malinda Walker was recently recognized and documented by the Morgan County Georgia Archives.
