Ware County GaArchives Biographies.....Walker, Laura Singleton unknown - unknown
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 4, 2004, 12:21 pm

Author: John W. Greer
THE AUTHOR, MRS. J. L. WALKER BY JOHN W. GREER

   By right of achievement as well as fitness, Mrs. John L. Walker of Waycross
was selected by the authorities of Ware to write the history of the county.

   Since a history of Ware county, without mention of Mrs. Walker would be as a
flower without its fragrance, it must needs that one of her numerous friends
have the honor to contribute this brief sketch, and owing to my .long
acquaintance with her and family, the privilege has been granted me. I glory in
paying this tribute to her, the author of this work, a free service to her
beloved home and people, perhaps the last public service, she -says, she will
attempt—the crowning glory of her life.

   By temperament Mrs. Walker is a natural born writer and by self-determination
she has achieved a reputation and fame that extends not only over the State of
Georgia, but over the South where her ancestors-have been prominent since the
inception of the nation.

   Especially has she won great favor over South Georgia where her radiant
personality has been so identified and her historical work, so valuable in
bringing to life the dead records of this section, that her name will live
throughout the ages as a brilliant and charming part of this territory, much of
whose history lay dormant and forgotten until her supreme devotion and untiring
energy began to unearth the dead cities and overgrown trails of the early part
of this nation.

   A large part of the population of this territory little dreamed how rich in
history is this coastal plain section of the state, and only those who have
followed her throughout the rehabilitation of its annals know her real worth to
this country and how the future will look upon her as a pioneer of our best
selves—the things our children will

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p. xvi

most prize when we have ceased to strive for the common elements of life.

   Mrs. Walker is a born aristocrat as well as a born writer, although that is
the last thing she would have wished me to insert in these annals. Her greatest
ambition is to be known and remembered as a herald of real democracy—a member of
society who loved and worked with the masses.

   When I asked her who her ancestors were, she replied without apologies or
further explanation, "I was a victim of the reconstruction days along with
others of Milledgeville."

   That was all she volunteered to say until I asked her about her father and
his work. "He was my teacher,” she said, "and a man of rare intelligence and
education.” And then I got the key to her rich mind and her predilection as a
writer.

   Mrs. Walker's paternal ancestors were the Singletons of South Carolina and
her mother's people the Christians of Virginia and the Wests of Maryland, either
side of which would establish her blue blood, while her nobility of heart, the
rich quality of mind and her gentleness of manner fixes her true claim to
aristocracy.

   Her disposition is so quiet and smooth one would never suspect that beneath
it all is a burning enthusiasm that carries her through long periods of
persistent effort and nervous strain. And at times, I have seen the flash of
that burning energy that completely captivated her hearers either with humor or
sarcasm. She knows how to use both with success. It required close association
with her to know what a vast store of knowledge she carries with her concerning
people and events. She is so modest in the use of her richly stored mind that
her friends learned more from her by direction than she would dare profess,
unless the situation appealed to her benevolence, to use it for the good of
others. She loves her friends without reservation and her greatest joy is to let
them know that she loves them and appreciates the best that is in them.

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p. xvii

   Mrs. Walker has written promiscuously on historical subjects, mostly in
relation to the Southern section of Georgia. She is the author of "Dead Towns of
Georgia," "Story of John Floyd," "Georgia's Trails and Roads," "Stories of Some
Old Church Yards in Georgia," and a pamphlet entitled "Frederica."

   Her husband, Dr. John L. Walker, deceased, was one of the leading physicians
of Georgia and practically his whole professional career was spent in Waycross
where he was honored and loved as few men. Their union was honored by three fine
sons and one beautiful daughter. Doctor Robert Walker is the natural successor
of his honored sire, and is almost his image in appearance and manner.

   It is fortunate for Ware county that she has among her own citizens one so
well qualified to do this work which the other counties of the state are
doing—preserving the records of people and achievement. Georgians probably have
started too late to preserve all the elements that go to make up a full report,
but Ware, at least, can rest in the assurance that hers is first or among the
first in quality and completeness.



Additional Comments:
From:

HISTORY OF WARE COUNTY GEORGIA
BY
LAURA SINGLETON WALKER

Sponsored by
The Waycross Woman's Club, 
Mrs. Ellen Goodrich Townsend, President



1934
MACON, GA.
THE J. W. BURKE CO.
PUBLISHERS



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