Virginia Albertina (Walker) Slocum (1849 - 1884)

Born 22 Aug 1849 in New York City, New York, United States

Wife of Joshua Upham Slocum — married 31 Jan 1871 (to 1884) in Sydney, Australia

Descendants

Died 25 Jul 1884 at age 34 in Buenos Aires Capital, Federal, Argentina

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Biography

Virginia Albertina Walker was born on August 22, 1849 in New York City.^[1]Her father was William Walker, who took his family to California during the gold rush. Next he took his family to New South Wales, and it was in and around Sydney that Virginia grew up.^[2]

Daughter of William & Margaret Walker. She and her family were living in Sydney, Australia, when she caught the eye of Joshua Slocum, sailing captain, and the two were married on 31 Jan 1871. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom died in infancy. Four of the children survived: Victor Joshua Slocum (1872-1949), Benjamin Aymar Slocum (1873-1965), Jessie Helena "Lena" Slocum Joyce (1875-1960), and James Abraham Garfield Slocum (1881-1955).

Virginia went to sea with her husband just after their marriage and spent most of the next 13 years at sea with him, giving birth to all of their children on various different sailing vessels. The numerous adventures and misadventures that befell the family (from mob attacks to attempted mutinies and proximity to natural disasters such as the eruption of Krakatoa) must have taken their toll on her heart, which may have been weakened by rheumatic fever. She died on board the sailing vessel Aquidneck while she was anchored in the outer roads of the Rio De La Plata just off of Buenos Aires.

There was a marker for Virginia in the British Cemetery but if the marker survived it was removed to the Chacarita cemetery between 1891 and 1923. Her body remained in the old cemetery, along with hundreds or thousands of others whose remains were unclaimed at the time. The old British Cemetery was covered over by 1924 and turned into the Plaza Primero de Mayo.

Sources

1. ↑ The Voyages of Joshua Slocum
2. ↑ The Voyages of Joshua Slocum

• Teller, Walter Magnes. The Voyages of Joshua Slocum. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Sheridan House, 1995.
• Find A Grave
• The History Bucket
• Wikipedia

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 03 November 2018), memorial page for Virginia Albertina Walker Slocum (22 Aug 1849–25 Jul 1884), Find A Grave Memorial no. 150215179, citing Plaza Primero de Mayo, Buenos Aires, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina ; Maintained by Chris Mills (contributor 46897617) .

Spencer, Ann. Alone at Sea: The adventures of Joshua Slocum. Doubleday, Canada, 1998.

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