Wyllys S. Walkley, M. D. The noble profession of medicine affords to thestudent, in that science a never-ending source for investigation andexperiments. New remedies are constantly being discovered, steady progress isbeing made in surgery, and new diseases are presenting themselves under varyingforms of civilization. Whatever may be said of the discoveries in other fieldsof knowledge and certainly they are astonishing, it can truthfully be said ofthis science that not one can equal it in the great strides it is making towardsa comprehensive grasp of the whole subject of man in relation to health anddisease – the prevention and care of ills that flesh is heir to. In the noblearmy of workers in this great field, Dr. Wyllys S. Walkley takes a prominentplace. He is a native of Hillsdale County, Mich., born near the village ofHillsdale January 17, 1846, to the union of Oliver and Parthenia (Smith) Walkley,both natives ot the Nutmeg state. The father, who has followed agriculturalpursuits all his life, is still living and is in his eighty-fifth year. Oursubject’s maternal grandfather, Joel Smith, was of Scotch descent, his fatherhaving been a native of Scotland.

The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood and youth in Hillsdale andMuskegon Counties, and remained under the parental roof until eighteen years ofage. In 1864 he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-third Army Corps of Ohio. He tookpart in a number of engagements, the most prominent being Lost Mountain, PumpkinVine Creek, Peach Tree Creek and all the engagements around Atlanta, Jonesboro,Columbia (Tenn.), Nashville and Franklin, besides numerous skirmishes. He wasacting Superintendent of the Freedman’s Bureau, the Eastern District, in NorthCarolina for months. In 1865 he was transferred to the Twenty-eighth Infantry,commanded by Col. Wheeler, and was discharged on the 10^th of June,1866. After leaving the army he came to Michigan, and shortly afterwardcommenced the study of medicine with Dr. Sinsz, of Newaygo, but in the mean timetaught school. Later he entered the medical department of the University ofMichigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated from that well-known institution in1876. He subsequently began practicing in Hudsonville, Ottawa County, Mich., andthere remained until 1879, when he located in Spring Lake, and in 1885 at GrandHaven, where he has carried on a general practice since.

The Doctor has met with good success in his chosen calling and gives abundantevidence of the ability which qualifies him for a high place in the medicalprofession. He was appointed Marine Surgeon, and has held that position sinceFebruary, 1887. On the 6^th of February, 1864, he was married to MissIda Skinner, of Casenovia Township, Muskegon County, Mich., and the daughter ofL. F. Skinner. The fruits of this union were three children: Emile, wife ofPeter J. Danhoff, a prominent attorney of Grand Haven; Adaline, wife of BertHatch, of this county; and Charlotte, wife of A. E. Ewing, a prominent attorney,residing in Grand Rapids. In politics Dr. Walkley is a Republican, and he hasshown his appreciation of secret organizations by becoming a member of LakeLodge, I. O. O. F., at Spring Lake. He is also a member of Weatherwax Post,G.A.R. Mrs. Walkley died in the year 1873, and subsequently the Doctor took forhis second wife Miss Olive McDonald, of Grand Rapids, and the daughter of HughMcDonald. Mrs. Walkley is a native of Vermont, but in 1858 came to Grand Rapids,where she was a teacher in the schools for several years. She is an accomplishedand cultured lady.