Amy Catherine Walton facts for kids

Amy Catherine Walton (born Amy Catherine Deck on August 9, 1849 – died July 5, 1939) was an English author. She was best known as Mrs O. F. Walton. She wrote many Christian books for children, mostly stories. Her father was a Christian priest, and she married his assistant priest. They lived in Jerusalem for four years.

Her Life Story

Amy was the daughter of John Deck (1815–1882), who was the Vicar (a type of priest) at St Stephen's Church in Hull. Her mother, Mary Ann Sanderson Gibson (1813–1903), wrote hymns (church songs).

Amy started writing early. Her book My Mates And I was written in 1870 but came out in 1873. Her first book to be published was My Little Corner in 1872. In 1874, she released one of her most famous books, Christie's Old Organ. This book is still printed today! It tells the story of an orphan boy named Christie and his old friend, Treffy, who plays an organ on the streets.

Christie's Old Organ became popular far away too. It was brought to Japan in 1882 and published there in 1885. It was one of the first Christian children's books to be translated into Japanese. It was translated again in 1903 and 1994.

In 1875, Amy married Octavius Frank Walton. He was her father's assistant priest at the time. She became famous under her married name, Mrs O. F. Walton. In the same year they married, they moved to Jerusalem. Octavius worked as a priest at a church on Mount Zion until 1879. While there, Amy's book A Peep Behind The Scenes was published in 1877. This story is about Rosalie, a child who works in a traveling theater.

Later, the Waltons lived in Cally, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Octavius worked as a chaplain (a priest for a specific group) for English textile workers there. From 1883, Octavius was a priest at St Thomas's church in York. He then moved to St Jude's in Wolverhampton in 1893, and to Leigh, near Tonbridge, Kent, in 1906. In Leigh, Amy became very busy helping with church activities. This meant she had less time for writing. The couple retired in 1918 but soon moved back to Leigh.

Amy Catherine Walton passed away in Tonbridge on July 5, 1939. She died from heart failure after a fall at home.

Books Still Available

Amy Catherine Walton wrote many books. However, A Peep Behind the Scenes and Christie's Old Organ are the ones that are still well-known today. You can still buy these books from the Lutterworth Press. This company took over from her original publisher, the Religious Tract Society.

Her Books

• Most of the information in this article comes from a piece published by the British Library: Mrs O.F. Walton (1849–1939)