Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Walker (Elkanah) Papers
mssWA  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Overview
 
Table of contents What's This?
Description
Collection consists of correspondence, 29 diaries and one drawing related to the lives and activities of Oregon Territory missionaries Elkanah Walker and Mary Richardson Walker.
Background
Elkanah Walker (1805-1877) and his wife, Mary Richardson Walker (1811-1897), both of whom were from Maine, married in 1838 and left to be missionaries in Oregon Territory. Together with Reverend Cushing Eells and his wife, Myra Fairbanks Eells, they established a mission at Tshimakain, near Fort Colville, Washington, where they lived from 1839 to 1848, working as protestant missionaries among the Spokane Tribe of Indians. The Walkers left the Tshimakain Mission following the killing of missionaries at the Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, Washington by the Cayuse Indians in November 1847, eventually settling in Forest Grove, Oregon in 1849. In the 1860s, Elkanah Walker was on the Board of Trustees of the Whitman Seminary (now Whitman College) in Walla Walla. Both he and his wife, Mary Richardson Walker, died in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Extent
5 Linear Feet (4 boxes, 4 folders)
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.