Sarah Jane Delany

Sarah Jane Delany, eight child of William and Catherine (Sell) Delany was born August 11, 1870 at Quakertown, Pennsylvania. She died September 16, 1932 from cancer and is buried in Saltese Cemetery, 15 miles from Spokane, Washington.

She married Frank Daniel Walker, who was born July 8, 1868 at Beloit, Wisconsin. He was killed by a car hitting him while walking on a road Labor Day in September of 1942 at Yakima, Washington. He is buried beside his wife Sarah in the Saltese Cemetery.

The following information was told by Vera Buckley and contributed for the family history by Margie Hinkle.

Sarah, with her parents and family came west in a wagon train, they had a cow, chickens, and horses. The oldest of the children homesteaded in south Dakota and Nebraska. Sarah and her sister, Kate taught school. There were 12 living children in her parents, William and Catharine (Sell) Delany’s family at that time, three children had passed away. Nine boys and three girls.

Frank Daniel Walker, Vera’s father, was one of a family of eight full brothers and sisters, and they know of four had brothers and sisters. Frank’s mother died when he was seven or eight years old. When her granddad Jonathan Walker arrived, married the hired girl, the oldest children left home.

When Frank Walker was in his 20’s he came west on the railroad train from Beloit, Wisconsin, with supplies for the settlers. He stayed, homesteaded and married Sarah. They had a store and post office at Baker, Nebraska. Later they moved to a farm two and one-had miles north of Herrick, South Dakota. Here they had a dairy and sold bottled milk in town, also had a large herd of sheep and other cattle, hogs and grain.

In about 1912 Frank went to Canada. He landed in Pontiex, Saskatchewan, that was at the end of the railway. He leased large Hudson Bay lease for one hundred years, thirty miles south of Pontiex, Coriander and also filed for a homestead on land joining the lease. According to the family history book of 1984, “we still have the lease, Betty (Virginia) Walker Grant had it in 1981.”

Frank came back to South Dakota and bought up good mares and other work and saddle horses to ship to Saskatchewan, They were still using oxen up there then, according to Vera, and he kept some mares and raised some beautiful horses, both work and saddle stock, also grew grain and sheep, cattle and hogs.

There was no way to keep meat so they would butcher a beef each week and go the rounds, each settle getting fresh meat. Also they put up ice in a shed filled with straw so they had ice most of the summer. The older boys had homesteads. Ray went back with hi father when they delivered the horses. He was about 18 years old and Ural, the second boy, went a year later, because he had rheumatic fever when Ray left. According to Vera, “The rest of us went up on the train.”