Joseph Edison Walker (March 31, 1879 – July 28, 1958) was a leading African American physician, businessman and religious leader.
Walker was born on March 31, 1879[1] (some sources indicate 1880) in Tillman, Mississippi, within rural Claiborne County.
His parents were George and Patsy (Wheeler) Walker, who worked as sharecroppers on a cotton plantation.
At the age of 78, Walker secretly married Louise S. O'Reilly, a 30-year-old school teacher, on September 28, 1957.
[4][5] Walker met other educated black men in the Delta, and looked at developing business opportunities to serve the needs of his people.
Together with A. W. Willis, and Dr. J. T. Wilson,[2] he founded the Universal Life Insurance Company in Memphis, serving as its president until 1952.
The two men were once close friends, but their relationship began to sour after Hamilton was unable to repay a $8,000 loan.
Louise O'Reilly Walker filed a "widow's dissent" with the Probate Court because no provision was made for her in the will.