lawyer, politician, U.S. Senator, b. Lynchburg, Va. He moved with his parents to Danville, Ill., about 1825, where he studied law, was admitted to the bar (1834), practiced law for a time in Springfield, and held local political offices. In 1841 he moved to Wisconsin, settling in Milwaukee, where his older brother, George H. Walker (q.v.), was already prominent as a real estate promoter. There, Walker continued his law practice and soon became active in politics. A Democrat, he was a member of the lower house of the territorial legislature (1847-1848), and in 1848, when Wisconsin was admitted to statehood, Walker was chosen U.S. Senator, drew the short term (June 1848-Mar. 1849), was re-elected by the Wisconsin legislature in 1849, and served from June, 1848, to Mar., 1855. In the Senate, Walker proved to be an independent and sometimes controversial figure. He was particularly concerned with homestead legislation, and the status of New Mexico and California. Walker incurred the wrath of the Wisconsin legislature, when he disregarded its joint resolution of Feb. 8, 1849, calling upon the state's representatives in Congress to oppose measures for the government of New Mexico and California unless such measures contained provisions excluding slavery. Nevertheless, Walker introduced legislation (Feb. 20, 1849) calling for temporary organization of these areas without such provisions, and, despite the legislature's resolution of censure (Mar. 1849; rescinded, 1851), continued to vote for his proposal. He refused to resign, and defended his actions in a letter to the Milwaukee Sentinel (Oct. 9, 1849). Thereafter, Walker usually voted against the extension of slavery. A liberal (Van Buren) Democrat, Walker was for a time the hero of land-reform groups, and in 1850 was nominated for the presidency by the New Jersey Land Reformers, but was not supported by Democratic party leaders. With Democratic party strength waning in Wisconsin, Walker retired from active political life after completing his term in the Senate (1855). He farmed for a number of years near Eagle, Waukesha County, and in 1864 returned to his law practice in Milwaukee, where he died in relative obscurity. Biog. Dir. Amer. Cong. (1928); Wis. Mag. Hist., 34; WPA MS.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]