John Robert Walker ~ Index
Little is known about this man since he died at an early age. John Robert Walker was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on the 4th of May 1855, the son of George and Mary Hopkins Walker. His parents were early pioneers to Utah and helped build up the state and little town of Mendon, Utah. John Robert was the only surviving son of a family of five sisters, two brothers, William and George preceded him in death; also a sister Hannah, these children were buried in England.
He grew into a handsome man about six feet in height with intelligent blue eyes, regular features, a high forehead and light brown hair. John had a sunny disposition and was well liked by his friends and neighbors. In later years he wore a full beard and mustache.
In early manhood he met Hellen Bigler, an attractive girl, the daughter of Andrew and Loretta Smith Bigler. After a brief courtship and when Hellen was seventeen and John Robert twenty-seven they journeyed to the Logan Temple and were married for time and all eternity on the 11th of April, 1882. I was told an incident of their early courtship, Hellen was picking apples in her fathers orchard when she saw John Robert coming. In her haste to get out of the tree, she caught her long skirt on a limb, pulling her clothes over her head, exposing her underthings. She couldn't free herself and John arrived on the scene and rescued his bride to be. That was indeed embarrassing to both of them, when only the ankles and arms were to be exposed. John never forgot to tease Hellen about the incident.
John Robert was a lover of horses. He always drove a well matched team. They were always clean and well cared for. He owned some of the finest pure-bred Clydesdale horses in the state. He also had racing horses of the Monarch breed. One of the men who knew him said that many times, he had seen him with his father-in-law, also a lover of horses, racing their teams at a race track which was located near the Mervin Willie farms.
To them were born nine children, four of them died in infancy. The children were all born in Mendon. Winter was over and his son George, then sixteen years of age, left home to go to some property in Seventeen pasture. Little did they know what was to happen on that day. On the way home near the grove of trees which still stands was a large rock. The man and boy were enjoying the singing of the birds and the greening of the fields. The horses pranced and pulled on the bits, full of life from the long winter's rest. For some unknown reason they became frightened and ran out of control with the swaying light buggy behind them. Down the road they came as fast as they could run. The wheel struck the large rock throwing John out of the buggy, against it. George was not injured and ran for help. Imagine the sorrow of his Hellen and frightened children.
Jesse was just seven years old and barely remembers, Isaac Sorensen and others carrying his father into the house. Then he ran to tell his grandmother, (Mary Hopkins Walker) who lived a few blocks away. Everything was done for the injured man but life was short and he soon passed into Eternity, at the age of forty-five years on March 30th, 1900. The entire town joined the bereaved family in mourning his loss.
But what of the family left with only a mother and five children from sixteen years to the youngest, eleven months old? Aunt Hellen, as she was called was a small woman with the courage of a giant, she gathered her children about her and picked up the reigns of life. She was a nurse and a mid-wife and worked hard to support her family. She paid off a $300.00 loan which was a fortune in those days. All the children became honorable men and women. She died on December 25th, 1944 and is buried at Mendon.