Russell E.T. Walker

Russell spent time training as an officer at Fort Wayne in Detroit

NPS Photo/Maggie L. Walker NHS

Quick Facts

Significance:

Oldest son of Maggie Lena Walker

Place of Birth:

Richmond, Virginia

Date of Birth:

December 9, 1890

Place of Death:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date of Death:

November 23, 1923

Place of Burial:

Richmond, Virginia

Cemetery Name:

Evergreen Cemetery

Russell E.T. Walker was the oldest son of Maggie Lena Walker and Armstead Walker Jr. He would follow in his mother's footsteps by working for the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, Independent Order of St. Luke and other Black institutions throughout the country, but would tragically pass away at the age of 32 in 1923.

Russell Eccles Talmadge Walker was born in Richmond, Virginia on December 9th, 1890 to Maggie Lena Walker and Armstead Walker Jr. Growing up, Russell attended the segregated Richmond Public Schools finishing with Richmond Colored Normal School, the same school both of his parents graduated from. After graduating, he took additional accounting classes and would put his education to work by working for his mother's bank, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and her fraternal organization, the Independent Order of St. Luke. Russell would also marry Hattie Naomi Frazier, a family friend's daughter, in 1912 living together at the Walker family home at 110 1/2 E. Leigh Street.

Tragedy struck Russell and the Walker family in 1915 when he accidentally killed his father, Armstead Walker Jr., when he believed he was an intruder on their balcony porch. In the aftermath of the shooting, police arrested Russell and tried him for murder but after a stressful trial the jury declared Russell not guilty. The family would still feel the loss of Armstead, with Russell and Melvin without their father, and Maggie L. Walker without her husband of almost 30 years.

Joy would be brought into the Walker family by Russell and his wife Hattie N.F. Walker with the birth of their daughter, Maggie Laura Walker, on February 16th, 1918. Russell modernized the insurance tables to change the payments on a better cost-benefit analysis based on age and health, helping to increase the success of the Independent Order of St. Luke's insurance policies.

Russell left Richmond at the beginning of June 1918 to go to the Officer Training Camp at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan. Russell never saw active combat however, as World War I ended before he deployed. Russell spent over a year away from Richmond working in New York City until July 1920, he accepted a job to work in the auditor's office at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee Alabama. He spent only six months working there until he returned to Richmond to again work for the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. He continued working for the St. Luke's on and off for the next few years while also spending time in New York and Philadelphia.  Unfortunately, Russell's health took a turn for the worse in 1923 and he would pass away in Philadelphia on November 23, 1923 at the age of 32.

While Russell would pass away at a very young age, he would be honored for all of his work with the Independent Order of St. Luke during the 1925 Conference in New York. A eulogy was given in his honor at the event and members passed around a memorial card to sign for his family. Although he only spent a couple of years working for the IOSL and the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, he stands as an example of how someone can leave a lasting impact in a short amount of time.