JAMES WALKER JR., a farmer, came to Texas with his five children on April 1, 1835, after the death of his wife. James Jr. was born in Wayne County, Ky on Oct. 20, 1793, son of James Walker, Sr. and Catherine Miller. He married Abrilla Collett on March 25, 1816, in Wayne County, KY, daughter of Samuel Collett and Elizabeth Whitaker.
James Jr. and Abrilla's children were: Miranda Eleanor married John M. Stephen; Elizabeth Catherine married William H. Miller; Sarah married James R. Stephen, after his death Lorenzo D. Sterling; Abrilla married Joseph V. Guyton and William Collett married Rebecca Briscoe Cobbs.
Their journey to Texas was on the Mississippi to New Orleans, where they obtained passage on a sailing vessel bound for Galveston. This vessel wrecked in a storm; they securued passage on another vessel, and finally arrived at the home of his parents on New Year's Creek.
James and William Collett served in the Texas Army. James fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. Receiving land grants for their services, they built the first brick home in McLennan County in 1851. The home still stands in Waco, and bears a Texas Historical Marker. James died in McLennan County on Feb. 24, 1873. He never remarried and is buried in the Cobbs-Walker Cemetery in Waco, Texas.
