WYANDOT WILLIAM WALKER—1ST PROVISIONAL GOVERNOR OF KANSAS–DIED
Born March 5, 1800, in Wayne County, Michigan Territory, and educated in Worthington, Ohio, Walker spoke English, French, Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Miami, and Potawatomi. He read Latin and Greek. An eloquent speaker & prolific writer, William was a merchant, interpreter, postmaster, and Private Secretary to the Governor of Michigan Territory. In 1835, he became Wyandot chief. With the murder of a Wyandot leader in 1843, the tribe traded its Ohio lands for lands in the future state of Kansas. In 1853, William was elected provisional governor of the Nebraska Territory by Wyandot, White traders, and others looking to preempt Federal organization of the territory. The Federal Government rejected the election causing Congress to pass the Kansas– Nebraska Act of 1854 which opened the territory to White settlement, slavery, and the “Border Wars.” With the influx of Whites, the Wyandot mostly moved to Oklahoma. Walker remained in Kansas and died in Kansas City.
Sources:
“William Walker,” Abelard Guthrie Daguerreotype Conservation Project, Kansas City, Kansas Public Library. Retrieved 10/12/2022, Daguerreotype| Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (kckpl.org)
Photo: Author and date unknown (1874 or earlier). Public Domain.
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