Walker Anderson (July 18, 1801 – January 18, 1857) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served on the

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 ...

from 1851 to 1853.

Biography

He was born in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, on July 18, 1801. He studied law at

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

and married Phoebe Hawks. He practiced law and was a professor of English and of history at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

from 1831 to 1832. In 1835, he moved to

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

. He was unsuccessful in a number of business ventures, and opened a law practice. He was a charter member of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial go ...

. Escambia County elected him a delegate to the 1838 St. Joseph constitutional convention. As a delegate, he supported anti bank policies and statehood, and opposed division of the territory. In 1840, he was elected to the

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

House of Representatives. In May 1841, President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

appointed him United States attorney for West Florida. He prosecuted abolitionist Jonathan Walker in 1844. He became a Territorial Senator in 1845. His bid for election to the

Florida State Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

was not successful. In 1847, was appointed West Florida Commissioner of Public Schools. He returned to the Florida Legislature in 1850, where he supported separation of the Florida Supreme Court and popular election of justices. He was chosen in 1851 by the Legislature as Chief Justice to the Florida Supreme Court. In 1853, returned to his legal practice in Pensacola. He died in Pensacola on January 18, 1857. Anderson's grandson, Evelyn C. Maxwell, also served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court.Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder,
A History of the Florida Supreme Court
, ''University of Miami Law Review'' (1981), p. 1044-1046.

References

*Manley, Walter W., Brown, E. Canter. and Rise, Eric W. ''The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917.'' pp 140 – 145. University Press of Florida.

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

. 1997. eBook . . a
Netlbrary
Online. April 23, 2008.

External links

1801 births 1857 deaths Florida lawyers Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Florida 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{Florida-state-judge-stub