Pioneer Voices

Henry Walker, one of the early members of the church in Great Britain, was born December 6, 1806 at Upper Bullingham, Herefordshire, England, the son of Thomas Walker and Elizabeth Nokes. On October 17, 1824, he married Ann Preece, the daughter of Thomas Preece and Ann Arnold. Henry was a cooper and ship carpenter by trade and also conducted a small farm.

On April 15, 1841, Henry and Ann were baptized by Willard Richards. Henry was ordained an elder and presided over the Akenbury branch of the church for a few years. Along with a group of Saints which included his daughter Ann and her husband Thomas Wheeler, Henry and his family emigrated to America 1853, sailing from Liverpool in the ship International on February 28, 1853, landing in New Orleans April 23. From New Orleans, they traveled up the Mississippi River to Keokuk, whence he crossed the plains in Claudius V. Spencer’s independent train, which arrived in Salt Lake City in September 1853.

Henry helped bring about twenty Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. After a short stay in the Sixteenth Ward, Henry and his family located permanently in Union. Henry took part in the Walker Indian War and, along with his son Thomas Wheeler, participated in the Echo Canyon campaign from 1857−58. During that time, his family temporarily moved south to Beaver.

Soon after his arrival in Utah, Henry was ordained a High Priest, which office he held the remainder of his life. He died March 22, 1879, in Union.