Walker Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: MC 584

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, property records, newspaper clippings, and other materials pertaining to Judge David Walker and the Walker family. Included are materials related to the service of David Walker and other family members in the Confederate Army during the U. S. Civil War, as well as materials related to David Walker's judicial and legal career, and to Senator James David Walker's legal and political career.

Dates

circa 1778-1980

Creator

Walker family (Family)

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Access Information

Access restrictions apply: Fragile originals from Box 1 were removed and replaced with access photocopies, as indicated in series descriptions

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

David Walker (1806-1879) was a prominent Arkansas lawyer and statesman. Following his 1830 arrival in Fayetteville from his native Kentucky, Walker enjoyed a lengthy career in public service. Among other positions, Walker served as a state senator, Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, and President of the Arkansas Secession Convention in 1861. He also actively promoted the construction of railroads in post-Civil War Arkansas.

Walker married Jane Lewis Washington of Green Ridge, Kentucky, in 1833. Making their home in Fayetteville, the couple had eight children before Jane's death in 1847. Their second son, Charles Whiting Walker, served in the Confederate army and practiced law in Fayetteville following the war. His daughter, Nancy Walker Warren, gathered some of the items in this collection.

Extent

3.05 Linear Feet (5 boxes and 1 oversize folder)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Manuscript essays and articles
Series 3. Genealogy notes
Series 4. Photographs
Series 5. Newspaper clippings
Series 6. Other family papers

Acquisition Information

The Walker Family Papers were donated to Special Collections by James and Muriel Chism of Rogers, Arkansas, March 1, 1986. Additional materials (Boxes 2-5 and OV Folder MC 584) were donated by Jay Walker, a descendant of Judge David Walker, via the Washington County Historical Society in 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by Kim Allen Scott, October 1987. An additional donation of materials (Boxes 2-5 and OV Folder MC 584) was integrated into the collection by Katrina Windon in April 2022; at that time, Series 6 was renamed from "Miscellaneous" to "Other family papers."