Walker, William

Born: 1822-09-01 Dearborn County, Indiana

Died: 1900-XX-XX Lexington, Missouri

William Walker was a lawyer and judge. In 1836, Walker moved with his family from Indiana to Mason County, Illinois. His father was James Walker, after whom Walker's Grove was named. He began the study of law in Springfield, Illinois, in 1842, in the office of Edward D. Baker. Admitted to the bar in 1844, Walker began a law practice in Havana, Illinois. During his long and successful practice, Walker was involved in numerous cases involving Abraham Lincoln, including serving as co-defense counsel with Lincoln in People v. Armstrong. A Whig in politics, Walker was a delegate to the Illinois State Whig Convention in 1852. He moved into the Republican Party after the demise of the Whig Party. Walker was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in 1858, and was an alternate delegate to the 1860 Illinois Republican Convention. In 1860, he owned real estate valued at $10,000 and personal property worth $1,000. In 1865, Walker moved to Lexington, Missouri, where he continued to practice law. He served as judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1867 to 1872, after which he returned to the practice of law. Walker married three times: in 1844, to Catherine Wheeler, who died in 1863; in 1865, to Rachel Wilson, who died in 1871; and in 1872, to Mrs. Maggie L. Downing. Walker fathered ten children.

The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois (Chicago: O. L. Baskin, 1879), 517; History of Lafayette County, Mo. (St. Louis: Missouri Historical, 1881), 622; William Young, Young's History of Lafayette County Missouri (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen, 1910), 1:268; For Walker's cases involving Lincoln, search "Walker, William," The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 9 July 1852, 2:2; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 3 November 1858, 2:2; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 18 November 1858, 2:7; Illinois Daily State Journal (Springfield), 23 April 1860, 2:2; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Mason County, IL, 137; Gravestone, Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, MO.