Gilbert Carlton Walker

Who was Gilbert Carlton Walker?

Gilbert Carlton Walker was a United States political figure. He served as the 36th Governor of Virginia, first as a Republican provisional governor between 1869 and 1870, and again as a Democratic elected governor from 1870 to 1874.

Walker was born in South Gibson, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He studied law in 1854 and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He practiced in Owego, Broome County, New York, from 1855 to 1859 and in Chicago from 1859 to 1864. He moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in 1864 and practiced law and banking. He served as Governor of Virginia from 1869 to 1874. He also served as a Democrat in the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses. In the Forty-fourth Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. He did not stand for reelection in 1878. Walker settled in Binghamton, New York, in 1879 to practice law. He moved to New York City in 1881 and served as president of the New York Underground Railroad Company. He died in New York City and is buried in Spring Forest Cemetery, Binghamton.