Thomas Heber Walton

Thomas Heber Walton 1860-1930 Son of Joseph Walton Price and Ann Thompson Married to Mary Eliza Bateman Children            Clarence Heber Walton (1887-1966)           Joseph Franklin Walton (1890-1942)           Benjamin Allen Walton            Ivan R. Walton (1900-1993)           Kenneth Walton (1909-1909)

Thomas Heber Walton Thomas Heber Walton, hereafter "Heber," was born at Alpine, Utah, 1 November 1860, third son of Joseph Walton and Ann Thompson. While his older brothers left home for school and professions in education, Heber remained on the farm to assist his father. His own schooling was limited to that available in Alpine and became proficient in writing and arithmetic.
As a young man, Heber hired out to neighbors to assist with their sheep. The Coveys and Bennions grazed their flocks between Colton, Utah, and Evanston, Wyoming, near Wasatch.
Like his father, Heber would assist the Alpine farmers in marketing their crops. He would take the produce on consignment, haul it to Salt Lake, and sell it to the grocers or in the farmer's markets. He also had his own property on which he grew his own produce. He also received part of his father's crops as payment for assisting with farming Joseph's land. A portion of this land was purchased from his father, and a partial record of the payments is retained in Joseph's "Genealogical Record."
Heber was nearly twenty-five when he married Mary Eliza Bateman, also of Alpine, 17 Jan 1884 at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They became the parents of five sons, all but Kenneth born at Alpine: Clarence Heber (19 June 1887), Joseph Franklin (12 May 1890), Benjamin Allen (7 Apr 1895), Ivan 'R' (7 May 1900) and Kenneth (13 Jan 1909, American Fork). Kenneth died shortly after birth (14 Jan 1909).
Their older boys attended what school was available in Alpine, but as schooling opportunities were greater in American Fork, and farming had become less appealing, Heber and Mary Eliza moved to American Fork about 1906. Heber had begun carrying the mail by horse-drawn carriage between American Fork and the Alpine area, delivering along the route. It is said that Heber's horse knew the route so well that one day when Heber was too ill to drive the buggy, so he lay down, and the horse followed the accustomed route and back home.
Joseph Walton sold his property in Alpine in November 1912, following his wife's death, and joined them.
About 1919, Heber and Mary Eliza moved to Salt Lake City where they purchased a home at 1111 Emerson Avenue. Clarence had moved to Salt Lake a year or two prior; Joe was also married and invested in American Fork, Ben had gone to war, and Ivan was out of high school. Heber began working as a school custodian for Granite School District. The family became members of the Emerson Ward.
He died 24 May 1930 at his home in Salt Lake City. He was buried 26 May at American Fork Cemetery, in a plot along the east side of the cemetery near the road he travelled so often between American Fork and Alpine.
Sources:
Genealogical Record of Joseph Walton, in his own handwriting, possession of David Walton
Conversation between Ivan R Walton and David Walton, 23 April 1976.

Photo of wife Mary Eliza Bateman