SALINE CO, AR - DR. JAMES WYATT WALTON - Bio Submitted by: John T. Hull [johnthull@aol.com] ====================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation. ====================================================================== DR. JAMES WYATT WALTON Dr. James Wyatt Walton, physician and surgeon, was born in Traskwood Township, Saline Co., Arkansas, January 23, 1863. He was the son of James W. Walton and Amey Angelina Poe, natives of Mississippi and Alabama, respectively. James Walton came to the Saline County area at about the age of 22 in 1858 and married Amey Angelina Poe in Saline County in November of that year. He practiced the trade of carpentry for one year, but afterward engaged in farming. In July 1861, he enlisted as a private in Co. A, 11th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (the "Saline Tornadoes"). He served with several other units as the war progressed and ultimately rose to the rank of 1st Sergeant. He was killed at or near Atlanta, Georgia, in July 1864. His body, like those of many others, fills an unknown grave. Mrs. Walton was a daughter of Simon B. Poe, a farmer and native of North Carolina, and his wife, Martha Lucy (Hardin/Harton) Poe, also of North Carolina. Mrs. Walton died in 1865, her death, according to family tradition, resulting from a "broken heart" following the loss of her husband in the Civil War. At her death, she left behind two small sons, Newton J. Walton, age 4, and James W. Walton, age 2. The boys were raised by their maternal grandparents, Simon B. and Martha Lucy Poe. Simon B. Poe died in 1874 and the Walton boys, then ages 13 and 11, were left with the responsibility for providing support for Mrs. Poe and one of her daughters that lasted over a period of eight years, until the daughter's marriage. James W. Walton attended school in Little Rock from age six through eleven. After that time, he worked to support his grandmother. During the years 1882 through 1884, he worked at farming and stock trading, but in the Spring of 1885 entered the Redfield School at Redfield, Jefferson Co., Arkansas. In 1886 and 1887, he attended the Benton graded school. Long before this time, however, young James W. Walton had decided he should study medicine, so from the latter part of 1887 until the Fall of 1888 he studied faithfully, and in 1889 took a course in the medical department of the Arkansas Industrial University at Little Rock. In April 1889, he became the partner of Dr. Daniel N. Fisher. In 1896, Dr. Walton did postgraduate work in surgery at the Chicago Polyclinic, which later became the University of Chicago. He received an honorary degree from St. Luke's Hospital in Niles, Michigan, and continued the study of medicine for the rest of his life. On May 18, 1890, he married the daughter of Dr. Daniel N. and Mary (Graham) Fisher, Ada Angelina Fisher. To this union was born six children: Angelina Walton, b. 1892, married Hardin T. Gillihan - they had a son that died in infancy and two daughters; Dr. Charles R. Walton, b. 1894, married Adele Brady - he was a graduate of the Tulane University School of Medicine and worked for the Veteran's Administration as a psychiatrist for 42 years before retiring in Montgomery, Alabama; James W. Walton, Jr., b.1896, married Ruby Richardson - he operated a business in Little Rock- they were the parents of two sons; Ralph W. Walton, b. 1898, married Ernestine Sellers - he was a mortician and businessman in Benton; William I. (Bill) Walton, b. 1900, married Josephine Thach - he was a career football coach and was head football coach at Ouachita Baptist College from 1934-1942 - they were the parents of two daughters; and J. Fred Walton, b. 1903, married Opal Harrison - he was a business owner and investor in many Saline Co. businesses and had one son. In 1905, Ada A. Walton died. On October 1, 1908, Dr. Walton married Sarah Alma Poe, daughter of William Elkin Poe and Sarah Elizabeth Holiman. To this union was born four children: Doris Elizabeth Walton, b. 1909, married Col. Robert S. Bower, a career U.S. Air Force officer - they had two sons; Maurine Walton, b. 1912, married James Kenneth Chambers of Bauxite, Arkansas, who made a career with Alcoa Aluminum Co. as a purchasing officer - they had two daughters and a son; Winfred Poe Walton, b. 1914, married Jane Ross - he owned a office supply and stationery store in Benton - they had two daughters and a son; and Dr. Dan (Michael) Walton, b. 1918 - he was a college professor. Dr. James W. Walton was a very successful physician in the Benton community and the surrounding area. His work often required his driving to remote parts of the county to treat his patients. Both his first and second wives accompanied Dr. Walton on these trips to serve as his nurse and assistant. The Walton home, as family members recall, was always open to the sick and needy. Many times Dr. Walton brought sick people home from the country so that he could take better care of them. Also, many young people lived at the Walton home to enable them to finish high school. Dr. Walton was instrumental in organizing the Saline County Medical Society and was the first County Health Officer. As Saline County Health Officer, Dr. Walton stressed sanitation with an emphasis on typhoid and malaria control. Dr. Walton supported the Democratic Party. He was public spirited and progressive, giving his support to schools, churches and any enterprise designed for the public good. He was the owner of farms and extensive real estate and was considered a good trader and businessman in his day. Dr. Walton died April 18, 1928, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and he was laid to rest among many of his family members in the Rosemont Cemetery in Benton. The home of Dr. Walton, built in Benton, circa 1903, has subsequently been designated as a National Historical Landmark. ======================================================================