David Shelby Walker (May 2, 1815 – July 20, 1891) was the eighth Governor of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, serving from 1865 to 1868. He served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

and as Mayor of Tallahassee. He also served as a judge. He was a Whig before shifting parties.

Early life and career

Walker was born near Russellville in

Logan County, Kentucky Logan County is a county in the southwest Pennyroyal Plateau area of Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,432. Its county seat is Russellville. History The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who had been s ...

. He attended private schools in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and studied law. He moved to Florida in 1837, settling in Leon County. His father was David Walker, a prominent early Kentucky politician who served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. David S. Walker was a cousin and close business and political confidante of Florida territorial governor Richard K. Call. He was also related to Florida Senator

Wilkinson Call Wilkinson Call (January 9, 1834August 24, 1910) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1879 to 1897. Biography Wilkinson Call, nephew of Territorial Governor of Florida Richard K. Call an ...

, who was Walker's law partner for several years in the 1850s and 1860s in Tallahassee. Walker entered politics as a Whig and was elected to the first session of the Florida State Legislature in 1845, serving Wakulla and Leon Counties as a senator. In 1848, he was elected by Leon County to the

. In 1849, he was appointed Register of Public Lands and was ''ex officio'' State Superintendent of Public Instruction, positions he held until 1854. He advocated and promoted interest in public schools. His efforts resulted in creating public schools in Tallahassee. He served as Mayor of Tallahassee. He was the

Know Nothing The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock Americans, Old Stock Nativism in United States politics, nativist political movem ...

gubernatorial candidate in 1856 but lost to Democrat Madison S. Perry by 2.6 points. In 1859, he became a

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

Justice. Walker is also known for establishing Tallahassee's first library in the mid-1800s through his private funds in a time where money was not allocated to libraries outside of urban areas, especially in a "rural" state.

Governorship

Before the American Civil War, Walker was a Constitutional Unionist and so had opposed secession. However, when Florida declared secession from the

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in 1861, he supported his state. Following the war, on November 29, 1865, Walker was elected governor unopposed in an election in which newly freed slaves were not allowed to participate. He was inaugurated on December 20 and took office January 18, 1866. During his governorship, Florida transitioned from the federal oversight and military occupation of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

to readmission into the Union. Walker was a conservative who attempted to minimize changes to the antebellum social, political, and economic system. He protested the election of the 1868 Constitutional Convention, which was convened to adopt a new government that the Republican

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

would approve. He ultimately supported the 1868 Constitution when it turned out to be less protective of blacks than initially anticipated. He did not run for reelection in the 1868 election, the first in which African American men could vote. He returned to practicing law after leaving the governor's office on July 4, 1868. In 1878, he was appointed circuit court judge, a position he held until his death on July 20, 1891.

Legacy

Tallahassee's first public library is the David S. Walker Library.

References

Sources

Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
*Morris, Allen and Joan Perry Morris, compilers. ''The Florida Handbook 2007–2008'' 31st Biennial Edition. Page 310
Peninsula Publishing
Tallahassee. 2007. Softcover Hardcover

External links