Profiles from a tour of the Old Baptist Church Cemetery In Monroe, Georgia
Conducted, Written and provided courtesy Nowell Briscoe ( [email protected] )
GOVERNOR CLIFFORD MITCHELL WALKER
At the far end of this section we come to No. 11, the grave of one of the
most prominent and illustrious of our citizens, former
Governor Clifford Mitchell Walker. Gov. Walker was another child of
Billington Sanders and Alice Mitchell Walker, being born in Monroe on July 4,
1877.
He received his early education at Johnston Institute under Mr. John
Gibson and at Georgia Military Institute.
He later graduated from the University of Georgia with an A.B. Degree
along with many awards for scholarship.
He read law for a year in the office of the late R. L. Cox and was
admitted to the bar in 1898. On April 20, 1902, Mr. Walker married Rosa
Mathewson of Anderson County, SC and two sons were born from this union: Sanders
and Harold M. Walker.
He began active practice in Monroe and in recognition for his ability was named as a referee in bankruptcy under the Federal Law, serving this area in that capacity for ten years. For three years following his graduation from the university, Mr. Walker served Monroe as Mayor being recognized for his qualifications as a director of public affairs. In 1906 he formed a partnership with the late Orrin Roberts and the firm of Walker & Roberts enjoyed a distinguished reputation in the practice of law until he moved to the governor’s mansion in Atlanta. In 1909 he was elected solicitor general of the Western Circuit, holding this post until 1912 when he voluntarily retired. Retiring from public office was not easy for Mr. Walker but pleas from his friends and associates to return to work was of such magnitude, he announced his candidacy for the office of attorney general. He won by a landslide and served three terms in that office. He ran for the governor’s office in 1920 but lost by four votes. Two years later he defeated Thomas Hardwick for the position and held this high office until 1927.
He was, at the time, Georgia’s last chief executive who became governor
without opposition.
In 1937 Mr. Walker and Joseph Kilbride founded the Woodrow Wilson College
of Law in Atlanta with Mr. Walker as president.
Under his guidance the school achieved national recognition. In 1937 he
was named as general counsel for the labor department which he held until his
retirement in 1953. Mr. Walker’s role as president of the school as well as
his role as a vice president and a director of the National Bank of Monroe
continued until his death.
In 1950, Gov. & Mrs. Walker’s generosity made possible the park
across the street from the Baptist Church and was dedicated to the memory of
their son, Sanders, who died in 1944.
Monroe was stunned when word spread on Tuesday morning, November 9, 1954
that Clifford Walker died suddenly from a heart attack at his home on McDaniel
Street at the age of 77. Largely attended funeral services for this gallant and
beloved political figure were held at the First Baptist Church on Nov. 11th
with burial here among his ancestors. Monroe holds the distinction as being home
to two distinguished governors of the state of Georgia.
Another unknown bit of history about the Walkers is that besides Gov.
Walker, there are five other former Georgia governors with ties to the Walker
family.
(Click HERE for a photo of the home of Clifford M. Walker, taken in 1919)