Walker, Elkanah, 1805-1877

Missionaries to the Spokane Indians for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

From the description of Papers of Elkanah and Mary Richardson Walker, 1821-1938. (Washington State University). WorldCat record id: 29852997

Reverend Elkanah Walker, pioneer Congregational missionary, was born on August 7, 1805 in North Yarmouth, Maine. Following his ordination in 1838, Walker and his new bride, Mary Richardson, journeyed overland to the Oregon Country in order to serve as missionaries for the Spokane Indians at Tshimakain Mission. The Walkers studied the Spokane language and prepared educational materials for publication by the Mission Press at Lapwai. After the Whitman Massacre (1847), they moved to Oregon and assisted in the organization of the Congregational Association in Oregon City. Elkanah Walker died on November 21, 1877.

From the description of Elkanah Walker papers, 1828-1885. (Oregon Historical Society Research Library). WorldCat record id: 32315740

When Elkanah Walker (1805-1877) was a senior at the Bangor (Maine) Theological Seminary in 1836, he was planning a mission career among the Maritime Zoolaks of South Africa. He was told that it would perhaps be better for him to be married before undertaking such a mission. At the same time Mary Richardson (1811-1897) of Baldwin, Maine, was told that she too must be married to become a missionary. The result was a whirlwind courtship and marriage which did not go to South Africa but the equally distant and primitive Oregon Mission. Eventually settling at Tshimakain on Walker's Prairie near Spokane they ministered to the Spokane Indians and their fellow missionaries: Marcus Whitman, Cushing Eells, Henry H. Spalding and William H. Gray and their wives. After the Whitman Mission killings in 1847, the Walkers moved to Fort Colville for nearly three months and then spent the remainder of their days in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Here they helped establish the Congregational Association of Oregon City and Tualatin Academy (now Pacific University) at Forest Grove.

From the guide to the Elkanah and Mary Richardson Walker Papers, 1830-1938, (Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC))

Elkanah Walker and his wife, Mary Richardson Walker, both of whom were from Maine, married in 1838 and left to be missionaries in Oregon Territory. Together with Rev. and Mrs. Cushing Eels, they established a mission at Tshimakain, near Ft. Colville, Washington, where they lived from 1839-1848, working with the Spokane Indians. After nine years in Tshimakain, the Walkers moved to the Wilamette Valley following the Whitman massacre.

From the description of Papers of Elkanah Walker, 1837-1871. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122564558

Elkanah and Mary Walker served the Spokane Indians at Tshimakain Mission from 1839 to 1848, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

From the description of Diary, 1838. (Oregon Historical Society Research Library). WorldCat record id: 31784099

Reverend Elkanah Walker (1805-1877) was a pioneer Congregational missionary in Oregon and Washington. He was born in North Yarmouth, Maine and graduated form Bangor Theological Seminary in 1837. Following his ordination in 1838, he came overland to the Oregon Country to serve the Spokane Indians, bringing along his bride Mary Richardson Walker (1811-1897), with whom he would have seven children. The Walkers established their mission at Tshimakain (the place of the springs), where they studied the native language and prepared a primer which was published by the Mission Press at Lapwai. After the Whitman massacre, the Walkers moved to Oregon City where they assisted in the organization of the Congregational Association. In 1848 they helped establish the Tualatin Academy at Forest Grove, and they moved to the area in 1850 to begin farming. They lived there the rest of their lives, taking an active role in religious and educational matters. Elkanah Walker died on November 21, 1877, and his wife Mary lived until 1896.

From the guide to the Elkanah and Mary Walker papers, 1828-1885, (Oregon Historical Society)

Elkanah Walker, and his wife, Mary were early Oregon missionaries. The settled at Tshimakain on Walker's Prairie near Spokane where they ministered to the Spokane Indians. After the Whitman massacre, in 1847 the Walker's moved to Oregon City where they assisted in the organization of the Congregational Association. In 1848 they helped establish the Tualatin Academy at Forest Grove, and they moved to the area in 1850 to begin farming. They lived there the rest of their lives. Elkanah Walker died on November 21, 1877, and his wife Mary lived until 1896.

From the description of Walker Letter, 1853. (Spokane Public Library). WorldCat record id: 743357712

Rev. Elkanah Walker was sent to Oregon Territory in 1838 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to reinforce the Mission established in 1836 by Dr. Marcus Whitman and company.

From the description of Marcus Whitman papers [microform], 1837-1872. (Washington State University). WorldCat record id: 29852766

Elkanah Walker (1805-1877), missionary in the Oregon Territory.

Mary Richardson Walker (1811-1897), missionary in the Oregon Territory.

From the description of Walker Family papers, 1839-1854. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702126676