City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

William Walton (1706–1768) was the son of Captain William and Mary (Santford) Walton. He followed his father into the shipping and mercantile business and became a prominent figure in the colony of New York, serving as a member of the New York General Assembly (1751–58) and of the Governor's Council (1758–68). He was one of the founders and a trustee of the New York Society Library and a member of the Board of Trade from 1758 until his death in 1768.

The family of William Walton acquired its fortune in part through an advantageous contract to furnish provisions and supplies to the Spaniards at St. Augustine, Florida. His father, the captain, was an enterprising builder of vessels, as well as a shipper of goods; and appears also to have sailed his own vessels on trading voyages to the West Indies and to the Spanish Main.

William the son married Cornelia, daughter of Dr. William Beekman and Catharine Peters de la Noy, on January 27, 1731. His brother Jacob had, five years previously, married Maria, the sister of Dr. William Beekman, and daughter of Gerard Beekman and Magdalen Abeel. The two brothers were in partnership until the death of Jacob, in 1749.

A son of the latter, whose name was William also, became the favorite and heir of the uncle. It was he, the younger William Walton, who in 1757, married the daughter of Lt. Governor De Lancey, whose fortune was equal to his own. William Walton (the elder) was genial and a brilliant conversationalist. Dining was his principal pleasure, and he entertained many important personages from Europe when they visited New York. He was regarded as the first merchant of his time, and as a prominent legislator and an honored counselor. He died childless in 1768.