History of the Walton Family

[Johnny]

It is my hope this family history will be a work in progress as we make additions (& subtractions as necessary) in subsequent posts. The biggest addition will be to expand the timeline from John & Liv's marriage in`1910, up to their wedding anniversary in 1969. As many have noted, precise dates of events & family members are not consistent across the whole series & reunion films We may only keep track of what was given to us and make our best guess to connect their story.

Here is a detailed Walton family history, written by John Viens in 2008. It spans the arrival of Rome 1789 up to John (son of Zeb) entering adulthood (age ~15yr).

*The first Waltons on the mountain were Rome and Rebecca Lee Walton. Rome Walton came and settled what came to be known as Waltons Mountain in 1789. He brought with him, an ax, a mule, a plow and a rifle. He cleared his land for planting in the Spring of 1796 and went all the way to Buckingham County to get a Guernsey cow to put on it. Sometime that Spring he married Rebecca Lee and brought her there to settle on the mountain. They had at least two sons, one being Samuel Walton, the father of Zeb and the other, the father of Zadok Walton. Rome and Rebecca Lee raised their children on Waltons Mountain and the family flourished. The work was hard but the evenings were spent with Rome serenading the family with tunes on his fiddle. His favorite tune was Old Rosin the Beau. He would teach this to his young grandson Zadok, who would inherit not only Rome's love of music, but also his treasured fiddle. Zadok would one day pass this treasure on to his cousin Zeb's grandson Jason Walton, who shared in the Walton musical talent.

Samuel Walton grew up and married Zula Tyler. They settled on Waltons Mountain and they had at least six children. First was Henry in 1841, then there came sons, Ben, Charlie, Matt and Zebulon Tyler. They also had a daughter Melissa, that Zeb mentions to Jason in a later episode. The name Tyler is mentioned several times in the series, including the episode The Pony Cart, where Martha Corrine mentions the Tylers. Zeb was the youngest in his family. He was a full twenty years younger than his brother Henry. All the Walton sons grew up and inherited their piece of The Mountain. Not all of them stayed there though.

Henry fought for the Army of Virginia in the War between the States. He came home and married Martha Corrine Tyler, a cousin on his mother's side. They settled up on Blue Rock Creek. They had two sons, Boone, born the same year as Henry's baby brother Zeb, 1862 and a baby boy, named Henry who died in infancy. Henry Walton died in 1921 at the age of 81. His widow Martha Corrine and his grown son Boone continued to live on Blue Rock Creek Boone married and had a son. There was a flood and Boone lost youngest son and wife Rose Jameson. Boone's older son with Rose married and had a son Wade.  Martha Corrine and Boone raised his grandson Wade. Henry Walton's family was forced to move from Blue Rock Creek in 1934, after the Government confiscated their land for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Martha Corrine Tyler-Walton spent the remainder of her years in Brightwood. Martha Corrine died in 1939 at the age of 91.

As for the other Walton brothers, Ben married and moved to Goochland County and it is said, had a large family. Charlie Walton stayed on the mountain but no real mention is made of him except in the episode The Deed, when Zeb talks about Uncle Charlie meeting up with a bear. Matt Walton married and had a daughter Cora, who grew up and married Hamilton Denbee. They had a son, Job and spent many years in Kansas, moving back to Virginia during the Dust Bowl years. They attempted to settle on Waltons Mountain again but ended up going on to New York and farming the Mohawk Valley after learning that Matt Walton had sold his land to his brother Zeb.

Zebulon Tyler Walton was the youngest son.

He stayed on Waltons Mountain, married a young girl they called Sissy Morgan. Sissy came from a very proper family with a strict Baptist up bringing, which was quite a contrast to Zeb's footloose and boistrous personality. She would pretend to scold but Sissy or Esther which was her Christian name, loved him for it. Even as a young couple, Esther took to calling Zeb " The Ol Fool", which had love in every syllable. Zeb and Esther married in 1883, when Zeb was 21 and Esther 17. Esther had wanted to be a seamstress and open her own dress shop but she gave that up to stay with Zeb on the mountain. Their first home was the log cabin on the mountain where Zeb had been raised. They took care of Zeb's folks in their later years.

At some point, Zeb and Esther built their own home at the foot of the mountain. It was a big white two story house and they built it with their own hands. For several years it didn't seem as Zeb and Esther would be blessed with children even though both had hoped for a large family. But finally, in about 1889, their first son Benjamin was born.
They ware overjoyed. About two years later, they had another baby but it died at birth. The third and last child of Zeb and Esther Walton was a son born in 1897. They named him John. John would share his father's love of the land and would spend his life on Waltons Mountain
                                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In their early years together, Zeb and Esther built their home at the foot of Waltons Mountain. They built it big because both truly expected to fill it up with lots of kids and in the meantime, they liked lots of company. Zeb came from a large extended family so they always had company. Zeb's brothers and their families aunts uncles and cousins were always welcome guests, not to mention Zeb's mamma and pappa. Zeb was a man who liked excitement.

Although he was born on Waltons Mountain and always had a love of his family and the mountain itself, he always dreamed of other places and of adventures. Zeb loved hearing the talk of folks moving west and of great battles in long ago wars and the late war between the states that his own brother Henry had fought in. So, it was little wonder in early 1898, when men were being called to serve with Teddy Roosevelt in what would be called the Spanish American War, that Zeb's heart would be stirred once more.

Several friends of Zebs were going to Cuba and it was all he could talk about. Finally, even though it was against her better judgement, Esther insisted Zeb join up with the Rough Riders and go fight the war in Cuba. She said later she didn't want Zeb to hate her for holding him back and it was with this thought in mind, that she let Zeb go. So off he went to the war in Cuba and Esther and their two boys stayed home on the mountain to await his return. Esther would say she was proud of Zeb for doing his duty but it was the worst time of her life. She learned early on that life could throw you curves but faith would get you through. So, she spent her days working hard and enjoying her boys waiting for word from her Ol Fool and for the day he would come home.

The day did come when Zeb came home from Cuba. It was the Spring of 99 and home he came to his Sissy, his boys Ben and John and his beloved mountain, never to leave again.

Life continued on Waltons Mountain, the seasons came and went and Zeb and Esther taught their boys the value of family, hard work, the land and God. They had many good neighbors in those years, The Baldwins, The Godseys who owned the local Mercantile, the Roswells, Sneads and Brimleys to name a few. There was a lot of activity at the local Baptist Church which Esther stayed very involved in and always a barn raising or some affair the family would attend. Those were truly good years.

It was also during these years that the two boys were growing up. Ben was the oldest and pretty much looked after his brother John and kept him in line for he was a bit on the wild side from time to time, although serious at the same time. John was never much for school or church goin. He preferred to working out doors with his pa, going fishing or just taking long hikes up Walton's Mountain. Ben was the more serious student and a very hard worker. He had his mother's sense of work and duty. Although John also had that Walton work ethic and you could always trust both boys to see a job through to it's end, you could tell Ben was the business man to be, while John was to be a man of the land  who liked to have a real good time.

*fixed typographical errors & some misspellings.

[sdw]

Zadok what branch of The Waltons did Cora Beth Godsey come from. I enjoyed reading what you posted on The history of the Waltons.

[Brenda]

That’s a good question sdw . A lot of information about the Walton family can be found on the William Atkins website.

[Johnny]

Apr 26, 2019 11:31:19 GMT -5 sdw said:

Zadok what branch of The Waltons did Cora Beth Godsey come from. I enjoyed reading what you posted on The history of the Waltons.

This is an intriguing question sdw. What do we know about her from the series?  She is John's second cousin. S3E16 The Matchmaker. according to William Atkins. That would mean they share the same great-grandfather. John's great-grandfather is Rome Walton. Rome & Rebecca Lee had Samuel, father of Zeb and at least one other son, who was Zadok's father.. By this reasoning,  Corabeth's grandfather was a third son of Rome & Rebecca Lee.

[Deleted]

Is there any record of where the first of the Walton family came from. Were they of Irish, Scottish, Welsh or English?

[sdw]

Thank you Zadok for answering my question.Brenda I will look at the website you recommend.

[JessicaGirlSpy]

Sometimes I like to create fictional character histories where I am related to such characters as Bob Cratchit, Mycroft/Sherlock Holmes, Emma Woodhouse. Catherine Morland (just to name a few). And our old tool shed is like the wardrobe from Narnia fame and where fictional characters can become real and visit me at our family ranch in Nebraska. The Waltons can be my distant cousins!

[Johnny]

Apr 26, 2019 17:07:45 GMT -5 @josephzebulon said:

Is there any record of where the first of the Walton family came from. Were they of Irish, Scottish, Welsh or English?

I can't recall if it was mentioned on the show where the family came from. However Earl Hamner's family did come from Wales. If no one else recalls a specific reference in the series or reunion films and since the Waltons does parallel Earl's life in many ways, if Earl was still with us today, I don't believe he would mind we speculate the Walton family came from Wales too. 

[RebeccaLee]

I wonder how Ester's  last name was discovered. I listened I thought very closly and never heard it. Any ideas?

[carol]

I recall Earl saying that many of the people in Schuyler were of Scottish decent which is why they spoke the way they did for
example saying Hoose instead of house. Maybe then The Waltons were of Scottish decent?

[Johnny]

Apr 27, 2019 21:50:24 GMT -5 carol said:

I recall Earl saying that many of the people in Schuyler were of Scottish decent which is why they spoke the way they did for example saying Hoose instead of house. Maybe then The Waltons were of Scottish decent?

I agree, as a piece of fiction, Earl could have had the Waltons originating from Scotland.
Many people who settled along the Blue Ridge were of Scots or Scots-Irish descent.
Yet if you go to Earl's own webpage it says:

The Hamner family came to Virginia from northern Wales where they had been well established for over a thousand years. In the early 1900s, the Hamner family moved from its James River tobacco farm to the town of Schuyler

So it is equally likely, Earl would have the Waltons be of Welsh descent.

[Johnny]

Apr 27, 2019 21:12:09 GMT -5 RebeccaLee said:

I wonder how Ester's  last name was discovered. I listened I thought very closely and never heard it. Any ideas?

If you check the William Atkins website, he notes mention of her maiden name Morgan, in the reference A Walton Wedding (1995).

[Deleted]

Apr 27, 2019 15:07:48 GMT -5 Johnny said:

Apr 26, 2019 17:07:45 GMT -5 @josephzebulon said:

Is there any record of where the first of the Walton family came from. Were they of Irish, Scottish, Welsh or English?

I can't recall if it was mentioned on the show where the family came from. However Earl Hamner's family did come from Wales. If no one else recalls a specific reference in the series or reunion films and since the Waltons does parallel Earl's life in many ways, if Earl was still with us today, I don't believe he would mind we speculate the Walton family came from Wales too. 

Thanks Zadok. 

As I was reading your response a thought came to me, why not Google the origin of the Walton name. Scrolling down the page I found the following. 

Walton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Walton, who settled in Virginia in 1623
William Walton, who settled in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1630
Richard Walton, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1634 [8]
William Walton, who landed in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635 [8]
Daniel Walton who settled in Virginia in 1635

Walton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Walton, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 [8]
Samuel Walton, who arrived in Virginia in 1710 [8]
Margeratt Walton, aged 25, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 [8]


Suggested Readings for the name Walton

A Brief Historical and Genealogical Account of the Walton Family by Hattie E. Walton.
Kith and Kin of Willie Adam Walton and Ethel Mae King by June Roper Walton.
The Waltons of Brunswick County, Virginia By Joe C. Tinney.

Hope this helps.

[Johnny]

Apr 28, 2019 2:02:38 GMT -5 @josephzebulon said:

Walton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Walton, who settled in Virginia in 1623
William Walton, who settled in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1630
Richard Walton, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1634 [8]
William Walton, who landed in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635 [8]
Daniel Walton who settled in Virginia in 1635

Walton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Walton, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 [8]
Samuel Walton, who arrived in Virginia in 1710 [8]
Margeratt Walton, aged 25, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 [8]

Suggested Readings for the name Walton

A Brief Historical and Genealogical Account of the Walton Family by Hattie E. Walton.
Kith and Kin of Willie Adam Walton and Ethel Mae King by June Roper Walton.
The Waltons of Brunswick County, Virginia By Joe C. Tinney.

Thanks for these notes Joe-Zeb. As I was reading through them I was thinking, if they had listed Rome Walton arriving in Virginia in 1789, I would have fallen out of my chair. 

[Deleted]

Zadock, having done a search on given names I can only find one reference to the name Rome. When I'm looking for character names in the stories I write I goto Behind the Name. This is what I found when I entered Rome.




I clicked on the user submitted name option





Incidentally




I'm surprised I didn't use this site to find the origin of Walton. In your post you said, "if they had listed Rome Walton arriving in Virginia in 1789, I would have fallen out of my chair." Look under categories




I wonder if Earl found out about this after he'd written Spencer's Mountain, could be why the name was changed for the TV series. Makes sense when you think about it. The forest, the spring water hole (Drucilla's Pond), the lumber mill.