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Robert F. Walker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Franklin Walker
Walker, c. 1917
Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court[1]
In office
October, 1919[1] – December, 1922[1]
In office
March, 1927[1] – August, 1928[1]
Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court
In office
January 1, 1913 – November 19, 1930
22nd Attorney General of Missouri
In office
1893–1897
Preceded byJohn M. Wood
Succeeded byEdward C. Crow
Assistant Attorney General of Missouri
In office
1885–1889
Appointed byBanton G. Boone[2]
Prosecuting Attorney for Morgan County[2]
In office
1877–1885
Personal details
BornNovember 29, 1850
Florence, Missouri[3]
DiedNovember 19, 1930[4]
Jefferson City, Missouri
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Nannie A. Wright
Geneva C. Percy
Alma materUniversity of Missouri[2]

Robert Franklin Walker (November 29, 1850 – November 19, 1930) was an American lawyer, jurist, and professor of law who served as Missouri Attorney General from 1893 to 1897, and as a Missouri Supreme Court justice from 1913 until his death in 1930, and twice as Chief Justice, from 1919 until 1922 and 1927 until 1928.[4][5][6]

Early life

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Robert F. Walker was born in Florence, Morgan County, Missouri, in 1850 to Belford Stevenson Walker and Abigail Lewis Walker (née Evans). Walker spent the first 12 years of his life in and around Florence.[3] In August 1862, his father, a captain, volunteered as company commander of the Forty-third Enrolled Missouri Militia, Company K.[7] A short time later, he resigned and moved his family to Versailles, Missouri. His mother died in 1864, shortly before Walker's 14th birthday.

Education and career

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Walker graduated from University of Missouri in 1873 and from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1875.[5][2][8] Walker was admitted to the Missouri State Bar in Versailles, Missouri later that same year, and commenced the practice of law.

In 1876 he was elected as the Morgan County prosecutor. Walker held that position until 1885, when he was appointed Assistant Attorney General of Missouri by Attorney General Banton G. Boone.[2] In 1892, Walker ran for on the Democratic ticket for Missouri Attorney General and was elected with 49.5% of the vote.[9][10]

Walker did not seek reelection in 1896, and moved to St. Louis where he worked as a judge and attorney. During this time he was counsel of the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange,[4] in 1907 he was elected President of the Missouri Bar Association,[4] and he traveled and spoke at different events and universities. One such event was an address to the Current Topics Club in St. Louis, at which Walker criticized then president Theodore Roosevelt, for inviting Booker T. Washington to the White House. Walker commented, "Teach the negro honesty and industry, but do not try to take a companion of him, or lead him to think that he is worthy of a white man's table or a white man's bed."[11] He also claimed, "[The President was] an enemy to individual liberty and a disgrace to his own race."[12] The same year, Walker spoke at the Old Settler's Association of Morgan County, his address was transcribed and filed in the Library of Congress.[3]

Supreme Court

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In 1912 Walker received the Democratic nomination for a seat on the Missouri Supreme Court.[8] He was elected to a ten-year term, and was elected to a second term in 1922.[4][5] As a justice, Walker was "known on the bench for his liberal views and frequent opinions dissenting from the majority".[5]

Personal life, illness and death

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Walker was married twice, first on September 20, 1877, to Nannie A. Wright, until her death in 1892, and then on September 28, 1896, to Geneva C. Percy until her death in 1929.[5]

At the time Walker died, newspapers reported he had been in poor health the previous two years and had undergone a major operation the year before and was hospitalized the last ten days of his life.[4][5] His death certificate states the cause of death was due to Interstitial nephritis, an inflammation of the area of the kidney, an issue he had dealt with for about six months.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ashcroft, John. "Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1929 - 1930". Missouri Secretary of State. State of Missouri.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Missouri Political Pointers". No. 364. St. Joseph Daily Herald. December 30, 1889. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Walker, Robert Franklin (1904). A Sheaf of Memories: At a Meeting of the Old Settlers Association of Morgan County, Missouri. Old Settlers Association of Morgan County, Missouri. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Robert F. Walker, Veteran Supreme Judge, Dies At 79". Vol. 83, no. 75. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 20, 1930. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Supreme Court Judge Died in Jefferson City", The Sedalia Democrat (November 20, 1930), p. 1, 10.
  6. ^ "Former Judges of the Supreme Court". www.courts.mo.gov.
  7. ^ History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage Counties, Missouri. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1889. p. 421. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Missouri's Corrected Official Returns". No. 26. Albany Ledger. December 30, 1892. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. ^ "Missouri State News: The Correct Vote", The Van Buren, Missouri, Current Local (December 24, 1892), p. 2.
  10. ^ "Negroes' Friend America's Enemy". Vol. 56, no. 165. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 2, 1904. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  11. ^ "No Title". No. 7. Morgan County Democrat. February 12, 1904. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  12. ^ Ashcroft, John. "Missouri Digital Heritage" (PDF). Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court
1913–1930
Succeeded by