Jeremiah Wilson Walker was born on December 25, either in 1835 or 1836, in Albemarle County, Virginia. He and his parents moved to Ohio during his childhood, and he worked as a day laborer and farmer in Pike County. He married Edith A. Tanner in nearby Ross County on December 17, 1862, and they had at least thirteen children together: Charles O., born September 21, 1863; Henry J., born around 1866; Sarah E., born November 7, 1868; Alice C., born October 15, 1870; Norman E., born September 9, 1872; William C., born October 18, 1874; Eliza E., born November 27, 1876; Hattie J., born January 5, 1879; Albert O., born March 13, 1881; Gertie A., born April 5, 1883; Delary D., born May 28, 1886; Edith, whose birth date is unknown; and Willie H., born around March 1891.
Walker enlisted in the Union army on February 7, 1865, in Richmondale, Ohio, and mustered in as a private in Battery F of the 5th USCT Heavy Artillery Regiment. His enlistment records describe him as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion. His battery performed garrison duty in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Walker served as a clerk. He mustered out in Vicksburg on February 6, 1866.
Walker returned to Pike County after mustering out. He earned a reputation as a successful fruit farmer, and by 1880, he owned 100 acres valued at $600. He also felt a calling to join the clergy. He served as an ordained Baptist minister for six years, primarily preaching at Bethel Baptist Church in Ross County. He probably joined the local integrated Joseph Climer Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. According to a local writer, he was "quite well known and widely respected among colored circles." He applied for a pension in 1890, and the government awarded him $12 per month. On July 7, 1900, while buying a train ticket, he died suddenly of a stroke or heart attack. According to his obituary, he received an "impressive" funeral, which was a "testimony to the love and esteem in which the venerable minister was held." Edith secured a widow's pension, which amounted to $36 per month by the time she died on July 4, 1914.
Documents:
Jeremiah Walker Dies While at Train Station
| Name: | Walker, Jeremiah Wilson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gender: | M | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Branch of service: | Army | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Residence at enlistment: | Ohio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank In: | Private | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank Out: | Private | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest rank achieved: | Private | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth date: | 1836-12-25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth date certainty: | About | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth place: | Albemarle County, VA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death date: | 1900-07-07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death place: | Chillicothe, OH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Causes of death: | disease: apoplexy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupations: | Farmer, Laborer, Pastor, Preacher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Compiled Service Records for Jeremiah W. Walker, RG94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C.; Pension Records for Jeremiah W. Walker, RG15, NARA, Washington, D.C.; United States Federal Census, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900; Veterans Schedule, 1890; Agricultural Schedule, 1880; Marriage Record for Jeremiah W. Walker, accessed through Ancestry.com; Grave Registration Card for Jeremiah W. Walker, accessed through Fold3.com; Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio), July 7, 9, and 12, 1900; Frederick A. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol. 3 (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908).
