George Washington Walker (1800-1859), Quaker, shopkeeper and humanitarian, was born on 19 March 1800 in London, the twenty-first child of John Walker (1726-1821) by his second wife, Elizabeth, née Ridley. Because of the death of his mother and the absence of his aged father engaged in the saddle trade in Paris, he was brought up by his grandmother in Newcastle. He was educated by a Wesleyan schoolmaster near Barnard Castle, and apprenticed in 1814 to a linen draper. Impressed by the probity and wisdom of his Quaker employers and James Backhouse of York, a leading Quaker minister, he left the Unitarian persuasion of his family in 1827 and became a member of the Society of Friends. The next year he formed the first Temperance Society in Newcastle.
For more information see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/walker-george-washington-2764
James Boyd was Port Arthur’s longest serving commandant (1853-1871) and also a member of the Royal Society.
Published
James Boyd correspondence from Darlington, Maria Island to a friend, dated 5 October 1846
Deposited by F Charles Wolfhagen (Simmons, Wolfhagen & Walsh, formally Wolfhagen & Walker)
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Published
Transcription of original document: "James Boyd correspondence from Darlington, Maria Island to a friend, dated 5 October 1846" (W7/28) made by Susan Hood - Port Arthur Historic Site - March, 2021