The Walker family cemetery, where Robert was laid to rest upon his death, is located in what is now Bleckley County (created from Pulaski in 1912). He is memorialized on a stone largely dedicated to his parents.
While searching for an obituary for Robert, I came across a "Tribute of Respect" published in the 4 December 1875 edition of the Georgia Grange. This weekly newspaper, whose first edition was on 1 November 1873, was "devoted to the farming & industrial interests of the country." By 1878, the Grange merged with the Southern Planter and was eventually absorbed by the Southern Cultivator in the early 1880s.
In the 1870s, powerful railroad monopolies and grain elevator companies often charged rural farmers exorbitant prices to transport and store crops. The Grange organized a massive lobbying effort that led to the passage of the Granger Laws in several Midwestern states, some of the first laws in U.S. history to place a ceiling on what private companies could charge for services.
The Grange continues its work to this day, with a mission "to strengthen individuals, families and communities through service, education, nonpartisan grassroots advocacy and agricultural awareness."
The Georgia Grange (Atlanta, GA)
4 December 1875
"TRIBUTE OF RESPECT.
LONGSTREET GRANGE, NO. 19, P. OF H;
LONGSTREE[T], Nov. 20, 1875.
At a regular meeting of Longstreet Grange, this day held, a committee was appointed to express the heartfelt sorrow of this Grange, at the sad bereavement we have sustained in the loss of our worthy brother, Robert L. Walker, who died at Longstreet on the night of the 9th inst., in the twenty-third year of his age.
Since our organization [began] on June 7th, 1873, this is the first time we have been called upon to mourn the death of one of our members, and we may, with all sincerity, say, Providence could not have chosen from our fraternity one more highly esteemed, or better prepared to cross over the river, than our departed brother. If he had faults, they were the faults of a nature instinctively noble; too noble and ingenous [sic] to stoop to any deed unworthy a Christian gentleman. Loving obedience to the Supreme will, and earnest devotion to duty ruled his every act in his association with his fellow-men.
The laws of kindness and love seemed deeply engraved upon his heart, making him an obedient, dutiful and affectionate son to his widowed, and now anguished mother.
Why one so young, so useful, with such hopes of future happiness, should have been singled out as a target for the shaft of death, appears strange, yet such is the decree of Him who holdeth all lives in the hollow of His hand, and answereth not vain and idle questioning; therefore be it
1. Resolved, That while we bow with submission to the will of Him who doeth all things well, being satisfied that our dear brother has safely crossed over the river for the better rest, we do most sincerely mourn our loss, but rejoice in his eternal gain.
2. That in the death of our brother, our Order has lost a worthy Patron; the community, an honorable, faithful and valuable citizen; the Baptist church, one of its most zealous and devoted members.
3. That we tender to his mother and family, our sincere condolence [sic] in their severe affliction.
4. That we wear the usual badge of mourning for the space of thirty days; also, that a blank page be left in the Secretary's book, to be dedicated to his memory, and that this preamble and resolution be spread upon the minutes, as a permanent record of the Grange, and that a copy be furnished his family, and for publication in the Hawkinsville Dispatch and GEORGIA GRANGE.
T. N. MASON,
L. B. JORDAN,
B. B. DYKES,
G. W. JORDAN,
- Com.
Unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the Grange.
A true extract from the minutes.
H. E. WIMBERLY, Secretary."
The "usual badge of mourning" was likely a black silk ribbon worn on the left lapel or a specific sash used during meetings.
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