David Davis "D. D." Walker (January 19, 1840 – October 4, 1918) was an American businessman. He started his career as a dry goods wholesaler in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He was the co-founder of Ely & Walker, which remains a clothing brand to this day.

Early life

David Davis Walker was born on January 19, 1840 on a farm near

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

to George E. Walker (1797–1864) and Harriet Mercer (1802–1869). His paternal grandfather, Thomas Walker, was an English slave trader. Walker was a first cousin of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...

David Davis. At age fourteen, he was sent to the Beloit Preparatory Academy, part of

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Business career

In 1857, Walker went to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

for business training with the merchandiser Crow, McCreery & Co., then the largest wholesale dry goods house in the city. He worked his way up from office boy, and became a partner after just eight years with the firm. He became ill as a result of his

workaholic A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no generally accepted ...

habits, quitting in 1878, and spent the next two years recovering. In 1880, he went back to work, forming Ely, Walker & Co. with Frank Ely and others. The business was a huge success, and in 1883 it was incorporated as the Ely & Walker Dry Goods Company. He remained President of the company until 1892, and thereafter retained the largest interest in the firm. In 1896, the company built a massive warehouse on Washington Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, which became known as

Ely Walker Lofts Ely Walker Lofts (originally known as the Ely and Walker Dry Goods Company Building) is a building located at 1520 Washington Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1857, David Davis Walker, a member of the Bush family, arrived in St. Louis from Illi ...

. His sons David Davis, Jr., Joseph Sidney and

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

all had involvement with the Ely & Walker firm, which continued as a major clothing manufacturer until it was acquired by

Burlington Industries Burlington Industries, formerly Burlington Mills, is a diversified American fabric maker based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded by J. Spencer Love in Burlington, North Carolina in 1923, the company has operations in the United States, Mexico ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but George went into banking.

Personal life

Walker married Martha Adela Beaky. They had 6 children

Death and legacy

Walker died in 1918 at Walker's Point, his son George's seaside property in

Kennebunkport Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area. The town center, the area ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, the modern-day

Bush compound Walker's Point Estate (or the Bush compound) is the summer retreat of the Bush family, in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine. It lies along the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast United States, on Walker's Point. The estate served as the Summer ...

. His great-grandson,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

, and his great-great-grandson,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, both served as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

References

External links

*
Ely & Walker Dry Goods Company building
now lofts and a gym {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, David Davis 1840 births 1918 deaths People from Bloomington, Illinois Businesspeople from St. Louis American company founders Businesspeople from Illinois Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis) American people of English descent Bush family 19th-century American politicians