Memorials › John Young Walker

John Young Walker

27 Apr 1858 – 8 Apr 1922

Birth27 Apr 1858
Death8 Apr 1922
CemeteryPleasant Grove City Cemetery
Pleasant Grove , Utah County , Utah , USA
Added byBrenda on 17 Jul 2011
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86961

Bio

Son of Henson Walker Jr., and Elizabeth Foutz Husband of Chastina Holman, 8 December 1881 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah History. John Young Walker, son of Henson Walker Jr. and Elizabeth Foutz, was born Apr. 27, 1858, in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah. He was the fifth child in a family of seven, five sons and two daughters. From his early childhood "Johnny", as he was called was trained in habits of industry, fragility, and dependability. Early in his life, he began to assume responsibility for helping to provide for the family. He gathered roots, greens, wild berries, and fruits. He helped with the chores, driving the cattle to water and to the herd, the oxen to the farms, and to the mountain for logs. For years all the fuel they had was brought from the mountains. These logs were cut in length and split for firewood. As a boy, he waded over the farm barefooted with his duck pants rolled up to his knees to help with the irrigating. He loved to hunt and fish. His education was meager, only going to school for a short time in the winter when there wasn't much else to do. He took part in church and social activities. On the 13th of April, 1868 his brother Lewis was killed by a horse throwing him while driving the cattle to water. The shock and grief of his passing nearly killed his mother. She was never well afterward. The family always manifested the tenderest feelings for her in her affliction. In later years John worked on the railroad, at the sawmill, and hauling produce to Bingham and Salt Lake. He also did anything he could find to help support the family. President Brigham Young with others often stopped there. It was his father's duty as well as a privilege to take care of their carriages and teams. One time he thought the President's outfit was extra nice, he couldn't resist driving them around a few blocks before putting them up. Henson Walker Jr and John Greenleaf Holman were both Pioneers of 1847, and both lived at Pleasant Grove. John courted Chastina, the second daughter of the Holmans, they grew up together. They were married on Dec. 8th, 1881 in the endowment House in Salt Lake City. They, with his brother Ezra and his bride Laura Brown, made the trip to Salt Lake City in a covered wagon. Their first home was in Pleasant Grove in the home of his wife's sister Marinda Halliday, who was a widow with two small children. Chastina took care of them while their mother worked at tailoring and dressmaking. On the 5th of October 1882, a son was born. They named him John Holman Walker, during the warm summer days of the next year he became ill and on the 20th of August, he passed away. During this time John bought twenty acres of land in the basin, as it was called, now Lindon. He planted some grain, corn, potatoes, and a garden and also made preparations to build a home. He brought logs from the mountains to make fences, sheds, corrals, and pens. One large room was built of lumber. Chastina had dried and canned some fruit so they had something to eat. Water had to be hauled from the canal and when it stood in a barrel on a hot summer day, it was wet and that was about all. John would go away to work for short periods to earn money to pay taxes and assessments, and to make more improvements. The Walker brothers bought a thrashing machine. It was run by horsepower. They did custom work and would be gone all week. When Saturday night came the children would wait anxiously for their father's coming. What busy times we had when they thrashed at home, carrying water to the men, pushing the grain back in the bins, and helping to prepare the meals. John attended his Church and quorum meetings having to go three miles until the Pleasant Grove Ward was divided in 1890. He helped to make the North Union Canal and was a water master for many years. He acted as constable of the precinct for several years and also managed the amusement hall. He worked in the Temples doing baptismal and endowment work for the dead. He was called to serve as a second counselor to Bishop A. L. Cullimore in the Lindon Ward. He served in this position until the spring of 1917 when he moved to Pleasant Grove. John & Chastina attended the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple in April 1903. They were called in the spring of 1909 to go to the temple and have their second endowments. In March of 1910, he was appointed to fill the unexpired term as County Commissioner of his brother, Benjamin Walker, who had passed away in February. He served on the school board for two years in the Pleasant Grove District. Electric lights were installed in the home in the fall of 1910. He had the first automobile in Lindon, purchased in the spring of 1913. It was only a Model T, but that was something in those days. At first, when driving it he would occasionally catch himself saying "Whoa", instead of braking it. John & Chastina loved to spend a little time each summer camping in the canyon on the river where he could fish. Many family gatherings were held at the old Geneva Resort on Utah Lake and in American Fork and Provo Canyons. In the spring of 1917, they moved to Pleasant Grove, having purchased a home from Guy Robinson. In the fall of 1918, he and Chastina went to Elsinore where he worked in the sugar factory that winter. They lived with their daughter, Ethel Fenton, and family. the returned to Pleasant Grove in the spring of 1919. He went into the chicken business in a small way on his half-acre plot, which was planted with small fruits and a fine garden. He kept busy in the Church, serving as a ward teacher and home missionary and priesthood activities. He also helped some on the farm and did a lot of Temple work. For some time his lungs and heart had not been very strong. In the latter part of February 1922, he contracted a severe cold, which gradually grew worse. He was sick only a little more than a month. Everything that human skill, faith, and prayers could do, was done, but he gradually became weaker and on the evening of April 8th, 1922, he passed away. His family were all there but one son who lived in Vernal, Utah. The funeral was held in the Pleasant Grove Tabernacle Apr. 12th, 1922. Friends and relatives had gathered from many parts of the state. He was buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. John's life was not long, being a little less than sixty-four years old. His experiences and labors were many. He shunned evil and his word was his bond. He prized his work in the Church and his family, above all else. May the memory of his life of integrity and faith, be a guiding light to his family. At the time of this writing (March 1961) the posterity of John Y. Walker was five living children and 352 of their descendants- twenty-two have passed on. By Estella Walker Gillman (Eldest daughter)

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