Wirt Dexter Walker (September 1, 1860 – April 24, 1899) was a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

lawyer. He was the son of successful Chicago attorney James M. Walker and Eliza M. Walker,Yale University Obituary
/ref> and was named after Wirt Dexter, the junior partner at his father's firm, Walter VanArman & Dexter.

Biography

Wirt Dexter Walker was born in Chicago on September 1, 1860. After his graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

he inherited a large sum of money upon his father's death. He began his own practice in 1883, and was secretary of the University Club of Chicago in 1887. He had health problems and became blind, at which point he retired from office work to travel. He married Marie Winston in 1894. He died at the

Waldorf Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...

in New York City on April 24, 1899. He was buried at

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park R ...

in Chicago.

Blythewood Farms summer cottage

He purchased land in the

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in 1888 and hired local architect H. Neill Wilson to design a large summer cottage retreat in 1890, hoping a residence in the area would help his health improve. Blythewood was constructed, but Walker died a year laterCarole Owens
''Pittsfield: Gem City in the Gilded Age''
page 32-33 leaving no children. Wilson went on to design several other mansions for wealthy persons establishing summer retreats in the area, including Shadowbrook. His wife was left with a $15,000 annual

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

and the Blythewood "cottage" on after his death. Speculation on whether she would lose the income was reported in newspapers as she prepared to marry another lawyer, Victor Elting. She did not lose her income, but the property went to Wirt D. Dexter Art Gallery in Chicago whose trustees "sold it in 1905 to a Chicago tycoon, John Alden Spoor"."The $15,000 Misunderstanding"
Headline from the ''Chicago American'' (hosted by the Belver-Helting Family Association) Spoor was chairman of the board of the Union Stockyards and Transit Company in Chicago, and sold Blythewood to a group of local investors two years before his death in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Wirt Dexter 1860 births 1899 deaths 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Illinois lawyers Yale University alumni Lawyers from Chicago