The
oral history of the Walton family dictates that the family
originated from Alexander City, Alabama likely in the mid to late
1800s. Census records dating back to 1870, the first census to
include African Americans, have yielded no trace of the Walton
family in Alexander City or otherwise. The first Walton to appear
on census records was actually a Hawkins ¡§C Thomas Hawkins ¡§C in
Russelville, Alabama with his wife, Mary Napier, in 1900.
Hands down, the most crucial document to the Walton family has been
the death certificate of Oliver Walton. Oliver is the son of our
forefather, Billie Walton. Oliver¡¯s death certificate confirmed
four crucial factors: (1) The first name of Billie¡¯s wife, Julia;
(2) Julia¡¯s surname of Burney, (3) the place of Oliver¡¯s birth,
Tallapoosa County; and (4) a date that places the Walton family in
Alexander City, September of 1871.
The
link below will detail the first three known generations of Walton
ancestry.
Descendants of Billie Walton
In
the 1890¡¯s, Thomas Hawkins took a wife, Mary Mattie Francis Napier.
Mary is a descendant of John Napier, who first surfaced on the 1880
Census of Madison County, Alabama.
It
took extensive research and a lot of prayer to trace this family
line. The results printed here are due to the unrivaled
determination of Anna Williams. The mere connection of Mary to her
ancestors was more instinctual than fact. And, after two years of
research, recently discovered land deeds confirmed Mary¡¯s heritage.
Unfortunately, other than Mary¡¯s lineage, no other living direct
descendants of the Napier family have been located.
Descendants of John Napier
Barbara Parker married Robert Lee Hawkins, the son of Thomas and
Mary. Barbara¡¯s ancestry was primarily an oral history. She knew
the name of her grandfather, Sol Parker, and another man, Ben
Cotton. Barbara did not know the relationship between the two men.
As fate would have it, the death certificate of Sol, or Solomon,
would reveal him to be the son of Mack Parker & Charity Cotton,
presumably Ben¡¯s daughter. This information came to light one day
after Barbara¡¯s funeral.
Descendants
of Ben Cotton
The
Lindsey sisters are said to be the core family that gave rise to he
United Family. These sisters, and their brother Will, would marry,
introducing the Davis, Monticure, and Vines surnames to the United
Family. Research would reveal other surnames to arise from this
group of nine siblings. However, the tree presented here does not
reflect newly discovered data as of October 2006. These changes
will be profound, adding multiple limbs to the family tree and
redefining its roots.
Descendants of Frank Lindsey
The
most legendary ancestor to come out of Alexander City is Frank
Tuck. Oral history suggests that Frank fathered over 40 children.
These children and their descendants would connect the Smith,
Wright, and numerous other surnames to the United Family. In
addition to his children, Frank left a mystery as well. Frank
appeared twice on the 1920 Census, each time in a household with
children presently documented as his own. The research continues¡
Descendants of Frank Tuck