Author: Walke, W. D.
Biography:
WALKE, William Dewdney (1807-70: ancestry.co.uk)
The title-page of Raphael (1829), dedicated to Thomas Moore (q.v.), identifies the author as “W. D. Walke.” Only one name in the public records is a match for that title-page. William Dewdney Walke was born on 2 June 1807 and baptised on 1 Nov. at St. Mary’s, Plymouth, the son of William Walke and Sarah (Sally) Dewdney, who had married on 15 Jan. 1806 at St. George’s, East Stonehouse, Devon. Nothing is known of his education. He married Jane Coad Coyte (1805-91) on 3 Mar. 1829, at Modbury, Devon. They went on to have perhaps as many as nine children, with the two eldest sons, William Dewdney and Nicolo, entering the church after attending Worcester College Oxford. The Italian name of his second son is perhaps minor corroboration of an interest in Italian themes. The censuses of 1851 and 1861 record him as a farmer of 88 acres and landowner. He died on 8 May 1870 at The Cottage, Kingston, Devon, leaving an estate of under £450. After his death, his widow, Jane, went to live with her son Nicolo in Wiltshire, where she died in 1891, aged 87 (sic). (ancestry.co.uk 19 July 2023; findmypast.co.uk 19 July 2023; Morning Post 30 Oct. 1829; London Courier 25 Nov. 1829; Devon Heritage Centre, marriage certs.) AA