Notes for: Benjamin "Naw-Kay-O-Say" Walker
In the 1880 Census of Charlevoix, Michigan, both of his parents were born in Michigan. I have seen unofficial records of him having the middle initial "N" and "J." I'm not sure which one is correct.
One person from this family thinks the surname Walker might be a translation of the original Native American name of one of their ancestors. So maybe Benjamin's Indian name "Naw-Kay-O-Say" means something like that. That is not certain, though. It needs more study.
At this point, it is unclear where the last name Walker came from, but family names for Native Americans have various origins. It could be a translation of a Native American name, an adaptation from another person, a surname of a prominent person in the community, etc. One article on this topic is from 1945 and is called "The Acquistion of Surnames by the Chippewa Indians" by Robert Ritzenthaler from the Milwaukee Public Museum. This has to do with the Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin, but the ideas apply in many other places. Last names were needed by Native Americans due to the economic system of the white man. The white man demanded a first and a last name for things like payrolls and timekeeping. Since names for Native Americans were difficult to write, the Indians solved this in several different ways. One might just translate his last name and become John Frog or John Crow or Charley Wolf or Vernon Elk. Another man whose last name meant "to shave" became John Barber. Some Indians shortened the names of prominent Indian men in the community. So the name Gakaikebe became Kaigebe and Oshogikiwezi became Oshoge. One man changed Lynx to Link and one of the Martens became Martin. One Native American who had a rare beard and mustache became Charley Mustache. Another man became Billy Grant because he wore a hat that looked like the one worn by General Grant. So surnames came in many ways.
All the following comes from notes at Find-A-Grave:
- Employed as a farmer with $800 real estate in 1870
- The Charlevoix Journal, Tuesday December 6th, 1886, Page 6
.....Mr. Benjamin Walker, an Indian local preacher of Influence died at his home in Hays Township, last Saturday and was buried on Tuesday.
.....Cause of Death: Congestion of Lungs - Probably Consumption/Tuberculosis in Hays Twp, Charlevoix County.