[2] John R. Walker was a large-scale slaveowner who served in the North Carolina General Assembly and then moved to Mississippi alongside his brother (also named Joel P.) in 1836.

[2] In 1858, Walker began attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied law.

[2] After the attack on Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War, Walker returned home to Lauderdale County where he joined the infantry in the Confederate States Army.

[2] He was first sent to Alton, Illinois, then Camp Chase, and finally to Baltimore, where he stayed for four months until a prisoner exchange in Petersburg.

[2] After being released, Walker rejoined his unit in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and served under Generals Frank Crawford Armstrong and Nathan Bedford Forrest until the end of the war.

[2] After his terms in the House ended, Walker was admitted to the bar in February 1867 and began practicing law in Meridian, Mississippi.

[1][2][4] Governor James L. Alcorn appointed Walker to the office of District Attorney.

[2] On January 3, 1898, Walker died at 8 PM at his home in Meridian, after "an illness of several weeks".