Date of Death: May 4, 1911
Interment source:
Bay View Cemetery Association, Corpus Christi, Texas. Record of Interments
NO HEADSTONE
Speculation
While there is no stone or obituary available to indicate who this person is, the burial is noted in the interment records of the Bayview Cemetery Association. That record only notes that the person died May 4, 1911 and was buried on the following day. It also notes that this person is a member of the African-American community. The name seems to be evidence that this person is a male, but that is not conclusive since "Walker" and "Reed" are both family names related to two of the large African-American families that were a part of early Corpus Christi after the Civil War. One of the earliest references to the Reed family is found in the marriage records of Nueces County immediately after the Civil War. Henry Reade (sic) married Alice Brown on 22 December 1868 (volume C). There are actually multiple persons that bear the name of Henry Reed. There is Henry Reed who was a coach man for Capt. M. Kenedy and who was killed accidentally while cleaning a gun at the Kenedy home. He was found by Mr. Gay who was working in the front yard and heard the shot. This Henry Reed had a wife and children at the time of his death (Caller of 12 Feb. 1892 on p. 6 col. 1). He is possibly the Henry Reed who is found in the 1880 census of Nueces County on page 17A. He is listed as mulatto, 46 years old, a native of Virginia. Among his children is James Reed who subsequently married (Mrs.) Texana Hicks. In 1910 (p. 9B of ED 173) "Annie Reid" is listed as widowed and among her children are two sons by Mr. Hicks (presumably her husband prior to James H. Reed) and a daughter who is reported as Alice Walker (with children). It may be that Walker Reed is a relative of this family and may have died in infancy (since there is no listing of a "Walker Reed" in the 1910 census of Nueces County). Certainly with this family the "Reed" and "Walker" names did cross. Another Henry Reed is 81 years old when he dies at the home of Dave Pruitt who had been caring for him. This gentleman had been a barber in the city for over 35 years and was buried in the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery after his death in 1922 (Caller of 31 January 1922 page 8 col. 4). Mary Reed died at her home on Winnebago in her 60s (Corpus Christi Times of 23 March 1936 p. 5 col. 5). She was survived by 2 sons, 2 brothers, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren as well as numerous nephews and nieces. She is found in the 1900 census of Nueces County on page 160B. Blanche Reed is listed as a widow of one of these Henrys in the 1907-8 city directory of Corpus Christi. She resides on William Street and is also working as a barber with Mr. Hardaway. The family name is sometimes spelled "Reade" or even "Reid".
The Walker family is itself another large family from the African-American community. Some of them are clearly buried in Old Bayview, including Lige Walker and his wife Ira Bass Walker. There are numerous entries in volume F of Nueces County Marriage Records that report the weddings of members of this family: Samuel Walker to Annie Jackson, Mrs. Lavinia Walker to E. M. Mack, Elijah Walker to Mrs. Ira Bass Cook, Cortland (sic) Walker to Azelee Walton. Volume G also records the marriages of Elijah Walker and Alice Hicks as well as Courtland Walker and Maria Green. Most of these were before elder Chandler Johnson. In the 1900 census of Nueces County (ED 130 sheet 7B) Jackson and Winnie Walker have a large family that includes a daughter Washington Carrie Reed. It is also possible that Walker Reed is related to this family since again the names "Walker" and "Reed" cross. Possibly Walker Reed was an infant son of Washington Carrie Reed that died young and consequently was buried with Walker family members in Old Bayview Cemetery. However, since there is no actual mention of a "Walker Reed" in the 1910 census of Nueces County, no definitive conclusion can be reached at present.
Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell (20 October 2007)