Editing David S. Walker (section)

==Early life and career==
Walker was born near [[Russellville, Kentucky|Russellville]] in [[Logan County, Kentucky]]. He attended private schools in [[Kentucky]] and [[Tennessee]] and studied law. He moved to Florida in 1837, settling in [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]]. His father was [[David Walker (Kentucky politician)|David Walker]], a prominent early Kentucky politician who served in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. David S. Walker was a cousin and close business and political confidante of Florida territorial governor [[Richard K. Call]]. He was also related to Florida Senator [[Wilkinson Call]], who was Walker's law partner for several years in the 1850s and 1860s in Tallahassee.

Walker entered politics as a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] and was elected to the first session of the [[Florida Legislature|Florida State Legislature]] in 1845, serving [[Wakulla County, Florida|Wakulla]] and Leon Counties as a senator. In 1848, he was elected by Leon County to the [[Florida House of Representatives]]. In 1849, he was appointed Register of Public Lands and was ''ex officio'' State Superintendent of Public Instruction, positions he held until 1854. He advocated and promoted interest in public schools. His efforts resulted in creating public schools in [[Tallahassee]]. He served as Mayor of Tallahassee. He was the [[Know Nothing]] gubernatorial candidate in 1856 but lost to Democrat [[Madison S. Perry]] by 2.6 points.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/best-governors-race-sidney-catts/2035564|title=Best governor's race since Sidney Catts?|last=Bender|first=Michael|date=November 2, 2010|work=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405073605/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/best-governors-race-sidney-catts/2035564|archive-date=April 5, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1859, he became a [[Florida Supreme Court]] Justice.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qqxh8RuXElUC|title=Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida's Loyalist Reconstruction Governor|last=Brown Jr.|first=Canter|publisher=LSU Press|year=1997|isbn=9780807141717|pages=171}}</ref> Walker is also known for establishing Tallahassee's first library in the mid-1800s through his private funds in a time where money was not allocated to libraries outside of urban areas, especially in a "rural" state.<ref>Springtime Tallahassee, "About Us," http://www.springtimetallahassee.com.</ref><ref>Pearia, A. A. (2007). Preserving the past: Library development in Florida and the New Deal, 1933-1942. Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 2058. Florida State University.</ref>