Walton, Eliakim P.

Born: 1812-02-17 Vermont

Died: 1890-12-19 Vermont

Born in Montpelier, Vermont, Eliakim P. Walton, who often went by "E. P. Walton," was an editor and publisher, student of law, and U.S. congressman. As a child, Walton's education consisted of his mother teaching him to read and write and read music, sporadic attendance of the local district school, days spent in his father's printing office, and attendance of the Washington County Grammar School. He did not attend college, but studied law under Samuel B. Prentiss. Walton never practiced law, but continued expanding his education as a young man, attending lectures and debates at the Montpelier Lyceum. From 1826 to 1827, he was editor of the Essex County Republican in Essex, New York. In 1833, he partnered with his father in publishing the Vermont Watchman and State Gazette. Their partnership lasted until his father's death in 1853, after which time Walton become sole owner until after the Civil War. During this period he was also editor of Walton's Vermont Register. In June 1836, he married Sarah Sophia. Politically active, he served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1853, and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1857 until 1863, when he declined re-election and returned to the printing and publishing business. By 1860, he owned $5,000 in real estate and another $8,000 in personal property. He served as a delegate to the 1864 Republican National Convention. He died in Montpelier.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 158, 162, 166, 2010; The History of the Town of Montpelier (Montpelier: A. M. Hemenway, 1882), 541-42; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Montpelier, Washington County, VT, 93; Gravestone, Green Mount Cemetery, Montpelier, VT.