A. P. WALKER,
one of the well known farmers of Jackson County, resides on section 31, Elkville
Township. He claims Michigan as the state of his nativity, his birth having
occurred in Grass Lake, in 1838. He traces his ancestry back to 1620, and the
family numbers among its members some of the most noted people of Ohio and
Illinois. In his native state he grew to manhood, and there received a liberal
education, which was completed by a course of study in the Kalamazoo Baptist
College. For five years he taught school, and proved an able instructor. With
the capital which he had thereby acquired, he then embarked in the drug business
at Grass Lake, where for eight years he enjoyed a good trade and the prosperity
it brought to him.
In 1862, in his native town, Mr. Walker was joined in wedlock with Miss Malissa
Babbitt, a daughter of Levi Babbitt, but the lady died of consumption shortly
after her marriage. In 1866, he married Miss Katie Smith, of Schoolcraft, Mich.
She was a most estimable lady and possessed superior talent in vocal music. Her
death, which occurred in 1872, was widely and deeply mourned. On the 3d of June,
1879, Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Mrs. L. E. Kugler, a relative of J.
H. Kugler, who is widely known as a steamboat pilot. Her father, Mahlon Van
Pelt, was a noted stock-raiser of Highland, Ohio, and married Elizabeth Arthur,
a relative of the late President Arthur. Mrs. Walker is possessed of unusual
force of character and intelligence, and as a newspaper correspondent has won an
enviable reputation by her sharp, clear sarcasm and her humor. The children of
Mrs. Walker by her former marriage are two in number, Fannie, who married Robert
Rutherford, an artist residing in Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Dudley, who resides
on the old homestead.
About 1878, Mr. Walker removed from his old home in Grass Lake, Mich., and came
to Jackson County, Ill. He settled on section 31, Elkville Township, where he
purchased one hundred and sixty-five acres of valuable land, which constitutes
one of the finest farms in the community. It is neat and thrifty in appearance,
and the many improvements upon the place stand as monuments to his thrift and
enterprise. The greater part of his time and attention are now devoted to its
further cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are people of intelligence and worth,
and are well informed on the questions of the day. They take a deep interest in
old-time mementos and relics, and as the years have passed, have collected a
number of very interesting and valuable souvenirs. They have in their possession
a copy of the Boston Gazette which was published in 1770, and a Vicksburg paper
which was published during the war and printed on wall paper.
Extracted from Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois, published in 1894, page 224.