Brig. Gen. James Alexander Walker

Brief Life History of James Alexander

When Brig. Gen. James Alexander Walker was born on 31 August 1832, in Newbern, Pulaski, Virginia, United States, his father, Alexander Walker, was 38 and his mother, Hannah Mary Henton, was 33. He married Sarah Ann Poage on 2 November 1858, in Augusta, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Augusta Parish, Augusta, Virginia, United States in 1850 and Pulaski, Virginia, United States in 1860. He registered for military service in 1861. He died on 20 October 1901, in Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United States.

Photos and Memories (5)

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Family Time Line

Brig. Gen. James Alexander Walker
1832–1901
Sarah Ann Poage
1835–1904
Marriage: 2 November 1858
Margaret Henton Walker
1859–1937
Willie Brown Walker
1860–1946
Alexander Ewell Walker
1861–1932
Dr John Frank Walker
1865–1890
James Robert Walker
1868–1890
Allen Poage Walker
1869–1895

Sources (34)

  • James A Walker, "United States Census, 1860"
  • Jas A Walker, "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Records, 1853-1896"
  • Jas A Walker, "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935"

World Events (8)

1836 · Remember the Alamo

Being a monumental event in the Texas Revolution, The Battle of the Alamo was a thirteen-day battle at the Alamo Mission near San Antonio. In the early morning of the final battle, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. Quickly being overrun, the Texian Soldiers quickly withdrew inside the building. The battle has often been overshadowed by events from the Mexican–American War, But the Alamo gradually became known as a national battle site and later named an official Texas State Shrine.

1844 · Lumpkin's Jail

In 1844 when Robert Lumpkin bought land in Virginia, this would be the spot of the Infamous Slave Jail (or Lumpkin’s Jail). The slaves would be brought here during the slave trade until they were sold. Lumpkin had purchased the land for his own slave business.

1861 · The Battle of Manassas

The Battle of Manassas is also referred to as the First Battle of Bull Run. 35,000 Union troops were headed towards Washington D.C. after 20,000 Confederate forces. The McDowell's Union troops fought with General Beauregard's Confederate troops along a little river called Bull Run. 

Name Meaning

English (mainly North and Midlands) and Scottish: occupational name for a fuller, from Middle English walker, Old English wealcere (an agent derivative of wealcan ‘to walk, tread’), ‘one who trampled cloth in a bath of lye or kneaded it, in order to strengthen it’. This was the regular term for the occupation during the Middle Ages in western and northern England. Compare Fuller and Tucker . As a Scottish surname it has also been used as a translation of Gaelic Mac an Fhucadair ‘son of the fuller’. This surname is also very common among African Americans.

History: The name was brought to North America from northern England and Scotland independently by many different bearers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Samuel Walker came to Lynn, MA, c. 1630; Philip Walker was in Rehoboth, MA, in or before 1643. The surname was also established in VA before 1650; a Thomas Walker, born in 1715 in King and Queen County, VA, was a physician, soldier, and explorer.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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