Eliakim "E. P. Walton" Persons Walton (February 17, 1812 – December 19, 1890) was an American journalist, editor and politician. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Biography

Walton was born in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

to Ezekiel Parker Walton and Prussia Persons. He attended the common schools and the

Washington County, Vermont Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. Named after George Washington, its county seat is the city of Montpelier (the least populous state capital in the United States) and the most populous municipality is the cit ...

grammar school. He was

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to a

printer (publishing) In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. Printers can include: *Newspaper printers, often owned by newspaper publishers *Magazine printers, usually independ ...

. He studied law under United States Senator

Samuel Prentiss Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782January 15, 1857) was an associate justice and chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distric ...

, a distant relative. Walton was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, but did not engage in the practice of law. He was involved in journalism and was the editor of ''"Walton's Vermont Register"''. He lived in

Essex, New York Essex is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 621 at the 2020 census. The town is named after locations in England. The town is on the eastern edge of the county. It is south-southwest of ...

from 1826 until 1827, and edited and printed his first newspaper in Essex, titled ''"The Essex County Republican"''. Walton was the organizer and first president of the Editors and Publishers' Association, holding the office of president for more than twenty years. After the retirement of his father, Eliakim Parker Walton, in 1853, he was sole proprietor of the ''"Vermont Watchman"'' until 1868. Walton was elected to the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

as a Whig in 1853. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate to the Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1857 until March 3, 1863. He declined to be a candidate for reelection and returned to his editorial and literary labors. In 1864, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, and served as a member of the State constitutional convention in 1870. He served in the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

from 1874 and 1878, and was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

and of the Vermont State Agricultural College from 1875 until 1887. He served as president of the

Vermont Historical Society The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) was founded in 1838 to preserve and record the cultural history of the US state of Vermont. Headquartered in the old Spaulding School Building in Barre, the Vermont History Center is home to the Vermont His ...

from 1876 until 1890. He edited Volume II of the ''"Collections of the Vermont Historical Society"'', including the

Haldimand Negotiations The Haldimand Affair (also called the Haldimand or Vermont Negotiations) was a series of negotiations conducted in the early 1780s (late in the American Revolutionary War) between Frederick Haldimand, the British governor of the Province of Quebe ...

papers, and edited eight volumes of ''"Records of the Governor and Council."''

Personal life

Walton married Sarah Sophia Howes. Following Sarah's death, he married Clara P. Snell Field.

Death

Walton died on December 19, 1890 in Montpelier, Vermont. He is interred in

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...

in Montpelier.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Govtrack.us

*
Vermont Civil War

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Eliakim Persons 1812 births 1890 deaths People from Montpelier, Vermont Vermont Whigs Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century American politicians Burials at Green Mount Cemetery (Montpelier, Vermont)