Darius N. Walker Biography
DariusN. Walker
DARIUS N. WALKER, ex-Judgeof Cass county, Illinois, and a resident of Virginia, is a native of theOld Dominion, born in Fauquier county, February 16, 1834. Of his life andancestry we record the following facts:Solomon Walker, junior andsenior, father and grandfather of the Judge, were also Virginians by birth,and the former was a native of Fauquier county. The latter suffered privationsand hardships in the various campaigns of the Revolutionary war, beingin the service seven years, and never fully recovered his health afterward.He spent his last years in Culpeper county, Virginia. The maiden name ofGrandmother Walker was Frances Taylor. Her father was a native of England,and when but a small boy was kidnapped by sailors, brought to America andbound out until twenty-one years of age. He spent his last years in theState of Virginia. Solomon Walker, Jr., learned the trade of tanner, andfollowed his trade in connection with farming in Fauquier county, remaininga resident of that place until 1855. Then he sold his interests there andcame to Illinois, locating in Virginia precinct, Cass county, on a farmhe purchased a mile and a half east of the present courthouse site. Heengaged in agriculture and remained a resident there till after the deathof his wife. He spent his last years at the home of his son, Judge Walker,where he died, in 1889, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. His wife,Emma Wilkins, was born in Prince William county, Virginia, daughter ofThomas Wilkins. She died on the home farm in 1879. Nine of her childrenreached adult years.
Judge Walker was reared andeducated in his native State, and when a mere boy he commenced to assisthis father in the tanyard and on the farm. He is a natural mechanic, andwhile a resident of Virginia worked a portion of the time at the millwrighttrade. He came to Cass county with his parents in 1855, and lived at homeuntil he was twenty-three years old; was then employed at farming and carpenterwork. April 15, l862, he started with others for Oregon. They went by railto St. Joseph, at that time the terminus of the railroad, and thence byboat to Sonora, Missouri. There they equipped themselves with ox teamsand provisions, and on the 12th of May started on their journey acrossthe plains, arriving at the present site of Baker City, Oregon, August23. He remained at Auburn, near Baker City, till February, when he wentto Placerville, Idaho Territory, and engaged in mining, remaining thereuntil the fall of 1864. Then he went to San Francisco, and from there wentto New York, via Panama; thence to Cass county, Illinois. Soon afterwardhe bought a farm in Virginia precinct, which he sold the following fall,came to Virginia and engaged in work at the carpenter’s trade. In the fallof 1868 he purchased a tin and stove store, and carried on that businessuntil 1873, when he was elected Police Magistrate of Virginia, and devotedhis attention to the duties of that office. In 1880 he visited the Rockymountains. He went as far as Western on the railroad and thence by stageto Leadville, Colorado. Five months later he returned to Virginia and hassince resided there.
Judge Walker was marriedin the fall of 1861, to Elizabeth Adams, who was born in Morgan county,Illinois, daughter of William and Mildred (Bryant) Adams. She died in 1873.In January, 1876, he married Martha E. Clark, a native of Schuyler county,Illinois, her parents being Thomas and Annie Clark. He has two childrenliving by his first marriage: Emma E. and John L.
Politically, the Judge hasalways affiliated with the Democratic party. He served as Police Magistratefrom 1873 to 1882; has also served as Alderman and Mayor. In 1882 he waselected County Judge, was reelected in 1886, and served two full terms.He is a member of Saxon Lodge, No. 68, I. O. O. F., and Washington Lodgeof Mutual Aid. Mrs. Walker is a member of the Presbyterian Church, whilethe Judge is a Baptist.
Biographical Review ofCass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois, Biographical Review PublishingCo., Chicago, 1892, pages 265-266.
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