My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

Jo W. Walker, one of the leading cotton-growers of Jefferson County, was born on the banks of the Arkansas River, about six miles from Pine Bluff, on August 18, 1852, and is a son of Robert Woods and Eulalie (Taylor) Walker. The father was a native of Virginia, but reared near Nashville, Tenn., and moved to Arkansas in 1836. He was born in the year 1810. The mother was born in Jefferson County, Ark., on March 3, 1825, and has resided in Arkansas all her life. The father was a very prominent citizen and large land owner in this county, possessing about 2,000 acres in the river bottom. He was deputy clerk for five years, and for an additional five years was clerk. He was a Mason of high standing, and had taken a number of the higher degrees. In politics he was a Democrat, and one of the leaders of that party in his county. When the elder Walker first came to Pine Bluff it was but a village. Since that time it has grown up into a large and prosperous city, owing to the efforts of enterprising citizens, of whom Mr. Walker was one of the foremost. Seven children were born to the parents, of whom six are yet living: Creed T. (a cashier of the Bank of Little Rock), Maggie (wife of Capt. B. E. Benton, the popular agent of the Cotton-Seed Oil Mills at Little Rock), John M. (a farmer on the old homestead), J. W. (the principal of this sketch), Agnes (wife of Orlando Haliburton, a well-known commercial traveler for Meyer Bros., St. Louis, Mo.), and Robert W. (a prosperous grain and feed dealer at Little Rock). The one deceased is James N., who died in his twenty-first year. Jo W. Walker was educated at St. Vincent College, Cape Girardeau, Mo., and upon reaching his maturity, left that institution to manage his mother’s plantation. Since then he has given his entire attention to planting, and has become one of the most successful in the county. On October 16, 1878, he was married to Miss Beulah Burton, a daughter of Robert Burton, of Jefferson County. This marriage gave them one daughter, Mary V. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are both members of the Catholic Church, and the former belongs to the Catholic Knights of America. In politics he is a stanch Democrat. Mr. Walker’s mother was born March 3, 1825, and married January 27, 1842. She was a great-granddaughter of Don Joseph Vallier, who was at one time governor-general of the Territory of Louisiana under the Spanish Government. Her father, Col. Creed Taylor, was one of the most prominent men in public life during the early history of Arkansas as a Territory and State. He was born in Mercer County, Ky., on January 1, 1800, and moved to Arkansas in 1817, locating at what is now Lewisburg. One year later he returned to Kentucky, but again moved to Arkansas and settled at Pine Bluff, and in October, 1822, performed the feat of swimming the Arkansas River. He was sheriff of Jefferson County at one time, and when the Indians were moved to the Indian Territory he was appointed a colonel. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and in religious faith a Catholic. He died in Jefferson County, January 8. 1887.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 136 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Jefferson County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Jefferson County, Arkansas family biographies, click here

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.