Walter William Ackroyd

Life Story of Walter Ackroyd (1846-1924)

Walter was born on the 7th of August 1846, the eldest child of Thomas and Susannah Ackroyd. He immigrated to the United States with his mother and his brother Charles in 1851. His father, Thomas Ackroyd, had immigrated a year earlier in 1850.

Upon the death of his parents, who died of cholera in August of 1854, Walter went to live with a man by the name of Smiley Shepard. Here he was encouraged to study since Walter was yet a young lad unable to do a lot of physical work. He stayed with the Shepard’s for four years. One day Mrs. Shepard scolded him without any cause so he left and went to live with a man by the name of Addison Powers. He stayed with Powers until the fall of 1862 when Walter and another young man left in the middle of the night to join the Union army. He enlisted on the first day of November in 1862, spending most of three years fighting in the civil war. He was discharged on the 18th of July 1865.

Walter married Lucinda Cooley on May 10, 1868 in Calfex, Sullivan County, Missouri. To this union was born 4 children: Nellie Demeris, Grant, Linclon, and Rose Morton. This marriage however ended in 1881.

In 1884 Walter remarried, this time to a lady by the name of Isabell Jane Welker. To this union was born 6 children: James Walter, Smith, Susan Isabel, Rachel, Marion Charles and Norah. All of these children were born in Bloomington, Bear Lake Idaho.

In 1899, in answer to a church calling, Walter moved his family from Idaho to Magrath, Alberta Canada. Putting all their earthly possessions in two wagons the family left on the 17th of July 1899, driving 28 head of cattle along with 5 extra horses. They arrived in Canada on the 5th of September 1899. While in Canada Walter tried his hand at farming and also worked for periods of time in the logging industry. He spent the last 25 years of his life in Southern Alberta passing away on the 5th of February 1924. He is buried in the Magrath, Alberta cemetery. His headstone bears the word “Scholar”, which aptly describes his life and character. He was a self-taught man, a man who, over his lifetime, gathered together a fine of library of books on many different subjects. He was knowledgeable and frequently delivered public lectures on a variety of topics.

Copyright © Beverley Kent Ackroyd 2003