Background
She was the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Richardson of West Baldwin, Maine.
She was the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Richardson of West Baldwin, Maine.
She attended Maine Wesleyan Seminary.
Mary wanted to be a missionary and applied at the American Board of Missionaries, but she was turned down, because she was not married. After a 48-hour courtship, Elkanah proposed to Mary. The Walkers departed her home at North Yarmouth, Maine on March 7, 1838 for Boston, Massachusetts and then to Independence, Missouri for the long trip across the continent with three other couples: Cushing and Myra Eells, Asa and Sarah Smith, and William and Mary Gray.
Mary Walker became pregnant and traveled side-saddle for most of the 1900 miles.
The missionaries arrived at the Whitman Mission on August 29, 1838. On March 20, 1838, the Walker and Eells family arrived at Tshimakain and began setting up their new homes among the Spokane people.
The Walkers lived at the Tshimakain Mission for ten years. The Walkers moved to Forest Grove, Oregon in October, 1849.
While living at Forest Grove, the Walkers helped establish Tualatin Academy (now Pacific University) When the Tualatin Academy became Pacific University in 1866, the Walkers donated land for the new campus and Elkanah served as a university trustee until his death.
Cushing Eells became the first principal of Tualatin Academy and later founded Whitman College as a memorial to the martyred Whitman"son Elkanah Walker"s name is on the charter of both Whitman Seminary and Whitman College. On December 5, 1897, Mary Richardson Walker died at Forest Grove.
Cyrus Hamlin Walker, born December 7, 1838 at Waiilatpu, first white male born in the Oregon Territory.
At Tshimakain:
Abigail Boutwell Walker, born May 24, 1840
Marcus Whitman Walker, born March 16, 1842
Joseph Elkanah Walker, born February 10, 1844
Jeremiah Walker, born March 7, 1846
John Richardson Walker, born December 31, 1847
At Forest Grove, Oregon:
Levi Chamberlain Walker, February 8, 1850
Samuel Thompson Walker, May 2, 1852
The Mary Walker School District and Mary Walker High School in Springdale, Washington are named for her.
Six months, after the Whitman Massacre, 60 members of the Oregon Volunteers traveled up to the mission and brought the Walkers and Eells families to the Willamette Valley, Oregon Country. She was the last surviving member of the original thirteen members of the Old Oregon Mission.