American politician
John Williams Walker
(August 12, 1783 – April 23, 1823) was an American politician, who served as the
Democratic-Republican
United States senator
from the
state
of
Alabama
, the first senator elected by that state.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Walker was born August 12, 1783, in
Amelia County, Virginia
, of
Scots-Irish
heritage, the son of Rev. Jeremiah Walker and Mary Jane Graves. He was educated at the prestigious Willington Academy of Dr.
Moses Waddel
near
Petersburg, Georgia
, and received degrees in 1806 and 1809 from
Princeton University
. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at Petersburg.
[1]
In 1808, Walker married Matilda Pope, daughter of
LeRoy Pope
and Judith Sale, and in 1810, he followed his father-in-law to settle in the new town of
Huntsville
,
Mississippi Territory
(now
Alabama
), and there began the practice of law.
[2]
Upon the formation of the
Alabama Territory
in 1817, Walker served as a representative from
Madison County
to the first territorial legislature in 1818. In the second session, he served as
speaker
. In 1819, he was president of the
convention
that framed Alabama's
first constitution
, which enabled Alabama's admission to the
United States
.
[3]
On October 28, 1819, Walker was elected by an almost unanimous vote of the state legislature as the first United States senator from Alabama. He served from December 14, 1819, until his resignation on December 12, 1822, on account of his failing health. He died in Huntsville on April 23, 1823, and is buried in
Maple Hill Cemetery
.
Walker County, Alabama
, established December 20, 1824, is named in his honor.
[4]
Walker was the father of
LeRoy Pope Walker
,
Confederate
secretary of war and
brigadier general
;
Richard Wilde Walker
,
Confederate States senator
;
Percy Walker
,
United States representative
; and several other children.
[5]
He was also the grandfather of
Richard Wilde Walker, Jr.
,
Alabama Supreme Court
Justice and a judge in the
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
, and American diplomat
John Walker Fearn
, who served as Minister of Serbia, Romania and Greece from 1885 to 1889.
[6]
Notes
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Owen, Thomas McAdory
,
History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography
. Vol. IV. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1921. Reprinted with an introduction by Milo B. Howard, Jr. Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1978.
- Alabama Territory.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Alabama Territory
, First Session, First General Assembly, February 1818
. St. Stephens, Alabama Territory: Thomas Eastin, 1818. Full text online at website of
Alabama Legislature
.
- Alabama Territory.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Alabama Territory
, Second Session, First General Assembly, November 1818
. St. Stephens, Alabama Territory: Thomas Eastin, 1818. Full text online at website of
Alabama Legislature
.
- State of Alabama.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Alabama
, First Annual Session, 1819
. Cahawba, Alabama: State Press, 1820. Full text online at website of
Alabama Legislature
.
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