ALEXANDER WALKER banker, was born in the parish of Rafford, Morayshire, Scotland, June 25, 1852. His father, James Walker, was a farmer; his mother ‘s maiden name was Helen Smith. He was educated in the Parish School of Rafford and served his apprenticeship as a stone cutter in the town of Forres. In 1871, Mr. Walker came to the United States, following his trade as journeyman stone cutter and attending evening high school for several sessions, and then became a contractor in the stone business under the firm name of Gillie & Walker, in which concern he continued for several years. He afterward engaged in real estate and building as Walker & Lawson, and in recent years has been interested in real estate under the name of Alexander Walker.

Mr. Walker was one of the organizers of the Colonial Bank, New York City, in 1902, and has been its President since 1905. This was the first bank in the city to take advantage of the law permitting state banks to have branches. The Colonial Bank now operates seven branch banks and has had a most successful business career. Mr. Walker is also a director in the Greenwich Bank and a trustee of the Harlem Savings Bank, and associated with various other business enterprises. His rise to this high position in the financial world is due not alone to his far-sighted ability but is an illustration of what honesty, tact and perseverance is able to accomplish.

Mr. Walker is a member of a number of social and business organizations. He is a life member and a member of the Board of Managers of the St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York, a life member of the New York Historical Society and of the American Museum of Natural History, ex-President of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, and a member of the New York Scottish Society, New York Chamber of Commerce and West End Association. He also takes a deep interest in the Caledonian Hospital, to which he contributed liberally.

Mr. Walker married in New York City, December 6, 1878, Miss Annie Cameron, of Nairn, Scotland. The issue was Annie Henrietta Walker and Alexander Cameron Walker. Some years after her decease, on April 15, 1891, he married in New York City, Miss Margaret Helen Farquharson, of Edinburgh, Scotland, who bore him two children, James F. Walker and William F. Walker.