Felix Walker (July 19, 1753 – 1828) was aDemocratic-RepublicanU.S. Congressman fromNorth Carolina between 1817 and 1823.
Walker was born near thePotomac River in what was thenHampshire County, Virginia, now part ofWest Virginia. His family moved to nearColumbia, South Carolina, and then toLincoln County, North Carolina, and finally to present-dayRutherford County, North Carolina.
In 1769, he was hired as a merchant's clerk inCharleston, South Carolina. He worked as a farmer briefly and later joinedDaniel Boone's company, which established the settlement ofBoonesborough, Kentucky, in 1775. He was named clerk of the court of Washington district ofNorth Carolina in 1775 and held that post until 1778 (Washington district lay mostly within the boundaries of contemporaryTennessee and was organized as a county in 1777.
Walker fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War, then returned to Rutherford County, North Carolina, where he was clerk of the county court there from 1779 to 1787. He was sent to theNorth Carolina House of Commons on several occasions—in 1792 from 1799 to 1802, and 1806. He worked as a trader and land speculator inHaywood County before being elected to Congress.
In 1816, Walker was elected to the15th United States Congress as aDemocratic-Republican. He was re-elected twice and failed in a bid for the fourth term in 1822. In 1824, Walker moved toMississippi and died inClinton in 1828.
In 1820 Felix Walker, who representedBuncombe County, North Carolina, in the U.S. House of Representatives, rose to address thequestion of admitting Missouri as a free or slave state. This was his first attempt to speak on this subject after nearly a month of solid debate and right before the vote was to be called. Allegedly, to the exasperation of his colleagues, Walker insisted on delivering a long and wearisome "speech for Buncombe."[1] He was shouted down by his colleagues.[2] His persistent effort made "buncombe" (later respelled "bunkum") a synonym for meaningless politicalclaptrap and later for any kind of nonsense.[1][3] Although he was unable to make the speech in front of Congress it was still published in a Washington newspaper.[4]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 12th congressional district 1817–1823 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
