Octavia Walton Le Vert

Octavia Walton Le Vert
Octavia Walton Le Vert, painted in 1833 by Thomas Sully.
Born	Octavia Celestia Valentine Walton (1811-08-11)August 11, 1811 Belle Vue, Augusta, Georgia
Died	March 12, 1877(1877-03-12) (aged 65) Augusta, Georgia
Resting place	Walker Family Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia
Spouse(s)	Dr. Henry Strachey Le Vert (m. 1836–64)
Children	Octavia Walton Le Vert Claudia Anna Eugenia Le Vert Sally Walker Walton Le Vert Henrietta Caroline Le Vert
Parent(s)	George Walton Jr. Sally Minge Walker
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Octavia Walton Le Vert (August 11, 1811 – March 12, 1877), née Octavia Celestia Valentine Walton was an American socialite and writer born in Augusta, Georgia. She moved with her parents to Mobile, Alabama in 1835, where she married Dr. Henry Strachey Le Vert in 1836. She became one of the first female southern writers to achieve national recognition. Although largely faded from history today, she was a well-known figure during her own time. From the 1830s through the 1850s she was noted for hosting gatherings of prominent politicians, noted literary figures, and professionals of all types. She was friends with a variety of prominent 19th century figures.

During her travels to Europe she was presented at the courts of several countries. She also received an audience with the Pope during her time there. Following her last European tour and return to the United States, she took on a role in the successful national campaign to purchase and restore Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Following the American Civil War, with her husband dead and much of her fortune gone, she returned to her birthplace of Georgia and embarked on an ultimately unsuccessful lecture tour. She was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.

Octavia Walton was born on August 11, 1811 at her maternal grandmother's home, Belle Vue, near Augusta, Georgia. Her parent's first home, Meadow Garden, was nearby. Her parents were George Walton Jr. and Sally Minge Walker. George Walton, Jr. was educated at Princeton University, eventually becoming a prominent lawyer and Georgia state representative. Sally Minge Walker was from a socially prominent Georgia family. Octavia Walton was the oldest of two children. Her younger brother, Robert Watkins Walton, was born in 1812.

Her paternal grandparents were George Walton, Sr. and Dorothy Camber. George Walton, Sr. was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, second Governor of Georgia, and later a United States Senator. Her maternal grandparents were George Walker and Elizabeth Talbot. The Walker family plantation, Belle Vue, is now a part of Augusta University. George Walker served in the Georgia General Assembly during the late 18th century and later in the Georgia House of Representatives before dying at age thirty-eight in 1804.