BIOS: Philip H. WALKER, Somerset, Somerset County, PA

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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Vol. XXXII, Containing Life Sketches of Leading 
Citizens of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania. Boston, 
Biographical Review Publishing Company: 1899, pp 64 and 67.

  Philip H. Walker, one of the leading farmers of Somerset, was born in Summit, 
Pa., August 3, 1839, son of Peter P. H. and Sarah (Will) Walker.
  The family of which he is a representative is of German origin; and its first 
American ancestor was Jacob Walker, a native of Wurtemberg, who emigrated with a 
brother in 1772, first locating in Frederick, Md.  Two years later he came to 
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, then a part of Bedford County, and, settling upon 
a large tract of land, began the process of improving his property for 
agricultural purposes.  He died, however, in 1778, before he had had time to 
reap the full fruition of his labors.  Espousing the cause of American 
independence, he experienced considerable annoyance at the hands of his Tory 
neighbors.
  Philip Walker, son of Jacob and grandfather of Philip H., was a native of 
Frederick, and grew to manhood in this county.  He was a prosperous farmer in 
Summit, where he became prominent in local affairs, and was a Justice of the 
Peace.  His death occurred in 1833.  He married a Miss Colunan, and had a family 
of six children - Elizabeth, George, John, Frederick, Peter P. H., and Susan.
  Peter P. H. Walker was born in Summit in 1803.  A stirring farmer and an able 
business man, he enjoyed the sincere esteem of his fellow-townsmen.  In politics 
he was a Democrat.  Like his father and grandfather, he was an active member of 
the Lutheran church.  His wife, Sarah, who was a daughter of Daniel Will, of 
Berks County, became the mother of eleven children - Mary A., Herman D., Aaron 
S., Elijah, Harriet, Hiram P., Silas, Philip H., Jacob, Caroline, and Peter.  Of 
these there are five survivors - Aaron S., Hiram P., Silas, Philip H., and 
Jacob.  Mary A. at the time of her death was a widow of Levi Saylor and the 
mother of three children: Harriet, wife of Charles Hoover, of Brother's Valley; 
Hiram; and Henry Saylor.  Aaron S. Walker has been twice married, and by is 
first wife, Rebecca Barkly, he has two children - Diana and Herman.  Hiram P. 
Walker married Elizabeth Walker, a cousin, and has four children.  Silas, who 
married his cousin Eliza Walker, has five children.  Jacob married Louise Hay, 
and has five children - Nettie, Oliver, Edith, Annie, and Grace.  Peter P. H. 
Walker died May 11, 1884.  His wife, surviving him five years, passed away May 
10, 1889, aged eighty-seven years and seven months.
  Philip H. Walker was reared and educated in Summit.  After leaving school he 
lived in Garrett for a time.  Then, coming to Somerset in 1862, he bought his 
present farm of two hundred and sixty acres, later purchasing two hundred acres 
in Jefferson.  He is now one of the most prosperous agriculturists in Somerset 
County.
  On October 6, 1859, Mr. Walker married Mary Fritz, daughter of William and 
Eliza (Weller) Fritz and the third-born of eleven children.  She has been the 
mother of ten children, of whom eight are living, namely; Austin, Minerva, 
Alice, Binnie, Edward, Annie, Gertrude, and Peter.  Austin, who is an engineer 
on the Canadian Pacific Road, married Emma Shaullis, and has four children - 
Bertha, Harry, Robert, and Ethel; Minerva is the wife of Joseph Auman, and the 
mother of three children - Jennie, Cora, and Binnie; Alice, who married Peter 
Auman, a brother of Joseph, has three children - Edmund, Stella, and Ross; 
Binnie, wife of William Stahll, has one daughter, Anna; Edward married Emma 
Shaullis, and has four children - Willard, Clark, Earl, and Franklin.  Mr. 
Walker is widely known throughout this section as a citizen of ability and 
worth.  He has served as a Justice of the Peace for the past ten years.  In 
politics he is independent.  Actively interested in religious welfare of the 
community, both he and Mrs. Walker are members of the Lutheran church.