The Honorable David Walker | |
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 | |
| Chief Justice of theArkansas Supreme Court | |
| In office 1866–1868[1] | |
| Preceded by | Thomas D. W. Yonley[1] |
| Succeeded by | W.W. Wilshire[1] |
| Associate Justice of theArkansas Supreme Court | |
| In office 1849–1855[2] | |
| Preceded by | William Conway[2] |
| Succeeded by | Thomas B. Hanly[2] |
| Member of theArkansas Senate from the Washington County district | |
| In office November 2, 1840[3] – November 4, 1844[4] Serving with O. Evans and Mark Bean | |
| Preceded by | redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Robert McCamy[4] |
| Member of theTerritorial General Assembly | |
| In office October 5, 1835 – November 16, 1835[5] | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1806-02-19)February 19, 1806 |
| Died | September 30, 1879(1879-09-30) (aged 73) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Jacob Wythe Walker Charles Whiting Walker Mary Walker |
| Relatives | James D. Walker (cousin) |
| Occupation | Lawyer, judge, politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1863-1864 |
| Rank | Colonel |
David Walker (February 19, 1806 – September 30, 1879) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge and notable early settler ofFayetteville, Arkansas. Walker served on theArkansas Supreme Court for a total of eight years, including two years as chief justice.
Walker was born nearElkton, Kentucky on February 19, 1806, to Jacob Wythe Walker and Nancy Hawkins Walker, members of a prominent family in theSouthern United States. He grew up with little formal schooling andread law by himself. In 1830, Walker moved toArkansas, where he was examined to become a lawyer byBen Johnson andEdward Cross before moving toFayetteville, Arkansas, a small settlement in northwestern Arkansas,[6] with $2.75 ($30 in today's dollars) in his pocket.[7]
He became active inWhig politics and was elected to a two-year term asprosecuting attorney for the Third Circuit Court ofArkansas Territory beginning September 13, 1833.[8] He was re-elected in 1834, but resigned following election to the9th Arkansas Territorial General Assembly. Walker was elected to the stateconstitutional convention which authored the1836 Arkansas Constitution. Walker also engaged inland speculation and other business withArchibald Yell, another prominent early settler of Fayetteville. Together Walker, Yell, and William Haile founded the town ofOzark, Arkansas in theArkansas River Valley, and later using political power to establish the Ozark Turnpike Company, which built a road between Fayetteville and Ozark which was subsequently designated asArkansas Highway 23 and known as thePig Trail Scenic Byway.[9]
Walker won election to theArkansas Senate in 1839, representing Washington County alongside two other men, and served in the3rd Arkansas General Assembly and the4th Arkansas General Assembly. Walker resigned from the General Assembly to run forArkansas's at-large congressional district in the1844 election as the Whig party candidate. Yell sought the seat for the Democrats, having held the seat as aArkansas's first congressman after statehood in 1836, now seeking a return following two terms asGovernor of Arkansas. The bumptious Yell defeated a restrained, Whiggish Walker, though the two avoided personal attacks during the campaign.[10]
Having become one of the most wealthy citizens in the region, in addition to his law practice, Walker raised cattle and grew grains and fruit on a 1,000 acres (400 ha) farm on the West Fork of theWhite River with twenty-three slaves.[6] In 1845, he also built a home in Fayetteville, preserved today as theWalker-Stone House. Walker retired from politics to practice law and manage his agricultural interests in Fayetteville during theWhig Party's decline.[11] Though he detested the largely corruptDemocrats, he also vehemently opposed the nationalRepublican platform toward slavery, which was impotent in Arkansas. Walker, along with other former Whigs, began to support theConstitutional Union Party as secession grew in prominence.[12]
Following the election ofAbraham Lincoln and subsequentSouth Carolina Declaration of Secession, secession became an important issue in Arkansas. Voters approved convening a Secession Convention to discuss the matter; Walker was nominated as aunionist delegate to the meeting. Upon convening on March 5, 1861, the slim unionist majority elected Walker as president of the body by a 40–35 vote. Walker and other northwestern Arkansas unionists lodged together inLittle Rock and strategized together in the evenings to resist the calls for secession by the southeast Arkansas delegates.[13] Ultimately, the convention decided to put the question of secession to the voters, setting an election for August 5, 1861, and adjourned subject to recall by the president of the convention.[14] AfterConfederate guns fired on Fort Sumter and President Lincoln issued a call for support from the states, many advocated for recalling the convention, but others were opposed. Convention President Walker issued a proclamation calling for the convention to reconvene on May 6. Walker was vilified asfaithless byWashington County voters, and the press for reconvening the "Secession Convention" despite being elected as a unionist. Walker published an address acknowledging his awkward position and explaining his decision to reconvene the session.[15]
Some Unionists still wanted a vote of the people on the issue of secession, but that was rejected by a 55–15 margin by the convention.[16] In the final vote, the delegates approved theArkansas Ordinance of Secession in a vote of 69 to 1.[17] Walker had requested a re-vote to produce a unanimous decision to present a unified front, butIsaac Murphy remained opposed.[11]
After closing the convention with Arkansas's secession decided and entry into theConfederate States of America underway, Walker returned to his home and resumed farming. Over time, Union troops and roving marauders ravaged his property and radicalized the former Whig into a supporter of theConfederate States of America.[7] Walker left the area shortly after theBattle of Prairie Grove forLewisburg in theArkansas River Valley. In 1863, he accepted a commission as a colonel, serving as a judge for a military court.[18] Walker's court made death-sentence decisions that had repercussions into the Reconstruction era.[6]
Walker was a major booster in early Fayetteville. In the 1840s, Walker donated land near his home to theFayetteville Female Seminary[19] and helped establish the non-sectarian and apoliticalFar West Seminary withIsaac Murphy,Cephas Washburn,Jesse Bushyhead, andJohn S. Phelps. The seminary's charter was approved by the state despite heavy Democratic opposition, but the building burned shortly before the school opened.[20] After the Civil War, Walker worked with fellow Fayetteville boosterLafayette Gregg to help secure Fayetteville as home of the new Arkansas Industrial University (now theUniversity of Arkansas).[21]
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