Mary Ann Minerva Simms (1845-1926) and Elbert Milam 'Doc' Walker (1843-1892)
Mary Ann was born 4 March 1845 in Rankin Co MS to Capt John Milledge Simms (1806-1888) and Margaret Rhode (1813-1898), married 8 January 1833 in Rankin County. Mary's family was in Hancock Mississippi in 1850, her father was a teacher. The family arrived in Texas in 1856 according to Mary's obituary. John was captain of Simms Company, Texas Home Guards, during the Civil War.
Mary's sister Sarah Annie married Elbert's brother Joseph Walker in Lavaca Co TX 3 Oct 1860. In Sarah's account of Joe's death at the hands of Indians as the newlyweds were riding horseback to Enchanted Rock, reprinted as 'History of Mrs. Walker' in The Llano News 6 October 1932, Sarah writes 'I was born in Rankin county, Miss., May 15, 1843. With my parents I moved to Texas in 1856. My father bought and improved a beautiful home on the Navidad River in Lavaca County.; we were a large, prosperous, happy family.'
Of the encounter with the Native Americans Sarah writes 'We were riding slowly along talking about building and furnishing our new home. Just as we reached the edge of the valley we heard yells one after another, we looked around and saw coming down the side of the mountain six savage looking men riding little shabby ponies and they were dressed so frightfully. Had on buckskin pants and jackets all fringed with great tall caps with feathers in them. Had long bows with strops on their backs stuck full of long arrows. They kept on yelling and advancing pretty fast. I asked "who on earth can they be?" Mr. Walker first thought they were cowboys trying to have some fun out of us then he said they must be Comanche Indians and horse thieves. I asked what they would do, but my God I soon found out.'
Elbert, son of Texas Ranger Joseph Walker (1796-1865), who fought in the Battle at Kickapoo Village, and Rebecca (1802-1884), was born 16 June 1843 in Walker Co TX. Joseph successfully petitioned empresario Lorenzo de Zavala March 1835 for a league or sitio of land (4428.4 acres) in then Coahuila y Tejas, Mexico. Elbert was living with his birth family in Caldwell Co TX in 1850, his father was a farmer. The family was in Llano County by 1860, Joseph was a 'stock raser.'
Allen W Walker and Miss Mary Ann M Sims obtained a marriage license 26 Dec 1862 in Hallettsville, Lavaca, Texas.
Elbert was a Texas Ranger as was his father Joseph who described himself as 'a mounted gunman in the service of Texas' in an oath he swore in 185? regarding compensation for a mule shot 'at Kickapoo fight.' Such terms as minute men, mounted volunteers, and Texas mounted volunteers were used to refer to Texas Rangers in the 19th century.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer Capt James S Bourland, Co. for local defense Llano Co, enlistment Dec 1863 for 6 months, 31st Brigade, TST (Texas State Troops), age 20, 5'5," dark hair and eyes, had rifle and pistol. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
• EM Walker private, commanding officer Capt F Breazeale, enlistment F 1864 in Llano Cty, TST, served 5 days at $2 = $10, age 20. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
The Texas Rangers were organized as the Frontier Regiment in Confederate Texas 1861 to December 1863 when they were mustered into the CSA as the Frontier Organization which existed until the end of the Civil War in 1865, organizations referred to as Texas State Troops.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer F. C. Stewart, Co Q, Minute Men, Llano County, enlistment 1 Aug 1873, discharged 9 Aug 1873, 9 days of service AWOL. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
Elbert may have gone home because he had a seriously ill child. Elbert M. Walker (1871-1873) died two days after his father went AWOL.
According to 'Elbert M. (Doc) Walker' (The Llano News, Thu 4 Jan 1964), 'He was a member of the Home Guard, and was at the scene of the Legion Valley Massacre where the first victims were two small babies. Volunteers were called for to take the babies frozen bodies back to Loyal Valley, but the men all wanted to follow the Indians responsible for the massacre. Walker finally volunteered, and John C. Oatman, about 16 or 18 years old at the time, volunteered to accompany him. They ran into an Indian camp on the way, which led them to take great caution on the remainder of their journey.'
Johnie Lee Reeves writes for the Texas State Historical Association 'The Legion Valley Massacre occurred on February 5, 1868, when a band of about fifteen Comanche Indians raided the home of John S. and Matilda Jane (Jones) Friend near the confluence of Sandy and Legion creeks, about fifteen miles south of Llano in Llano County. Eight related women and children had gathered at the Friend home in the absence of their menfolk.' Taken captive, the two infants and their mothers, Rebecca and Samantha Johnson, were mutilated and killed within miles of the Friend home. These would have been the babies whose bodies Elbert and John volunteered to take back to Loyal Valley.
The obituary for Elbert's son Milledge (San Angelo Standard-Times, 9 Jan 1947) records that he 'was a son of the late E. M. Walker, a well known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days.'
Federal Census
1870 Cove Settlement, Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 26 stockraiser PE 2000, Marry 24 housekeeper, Margarette 7, John 5, Henry 3, Jerry 1.
1880 Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 37 farmer, Mary A 35 keeping house, Margaret 15, John J 14, William 13, Crook 9, James A 7, Robert M 5, Mary 3, Sarah M 2.
1900 Llano Co TX. Walker Mary, born Mar 1845 in MS, 55, widow, mother of 13 children/9 living, farmer, father born in GA, mother born in MS, owns home, no mortgage, farm. Children Margaret A 36 born Oct 1863, John J 35 born Feb 1865 day laborer, Jerry C 30 born Sep 1869 farmer, Robert M 25 born Oct 1874 farmer, Sarah C 21 born Oct 1878, Mattie J 19 born Sep 1880, Elberta L 15 born Aug 1884. All of the children were born in TX and all family members can read, write and speak English.
1910 Llano Co TX (Mason and Round Mountain Road). Walker Robert M head 35 farmer single owns home mortgage free farm, Mary A mother 65 13 children/8 living, Margaret A sister 46 single.
1920 Llano Co TX. Walker Milledge head 45 single farmer, Mary A mother 73, Margaret sister 54 single.
—
Elbert died 20 January 1892 in Llano County. His grave is at Comanche Cemetery across the county line in Blanco County. His stone is inscribed with a verse now worn with time. I can't read the beginning or end in the photo I have but the middle reads:
The summer flowers did bloom
While you the purest and best.
Mary Ann died 10 November 1926. Her obituary was published in the Austin American 24 November: The death of Mrs. Mary A. Walker, 81, which occurred in the Sandy Valley community Thursday, marks the passing of one of Llano County's oldest residents. A native of Mississippi, she came to Texas in 1856. Several years later she moved to Llano and settled in the southeastern part of the county. Her large family have long been connected with the Sandy and Click communities and have done much toward developing that section. Eight of 13 children survive: Miss Margaret Walker, Mrs. Geo. Klipp, Mrs. H. M. Masters and R. M. Walker of Click; J. J. W. H. and J. C. Walker of Llano, and Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Bertram. The Rev. Potts, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, conducted the service at the Sandy Valley church and interment was made in Comanche cemetery.
Royce Chapman writes 'The Comanche Cemetery is located in Northwest Blanco County on Comanche Creek. It is divided into two sections and it is divided by a rock wall. One section belonging to the Harding family and one, known as Comanche West, to the Click/Walker family. One of my uncles always said that those buried in the Click/Walker section had their heads in Llano County and their feet in Blanco County.
'The first grave was that of a Mexican male unknown to anyone in the area. He was passing through the area, became sick and died.
'We are only going to record the Click/Walker section. It is located on the Harding Ranch. Travel south on highway 71 to county road 308. This is an unpaved road known as the Click Route. Turn right on 308 and travel about 5 miles. You will meet a fork in the road. Take the right fork. Take the first ranch road to the right. You are now on the Harding ranch. Travel until you cross the first culvert. Turn right into the road and go until you can turn back to the left. This will take you to the creek. Cross the creek and go up the hill until you come to the cemetery. The Click/Walker section is on the right.'
Royce's cemetery listings for Comanche Cemetery, also known as Comanche Creek Cemetery, include:
Second Row
Katherine Walker and son unmarked
Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898
Elbert Milam Walker June 16, 1843- January 20, 1892
Mary Ann Simms Walker March 4, 1845- November 10, 1926
John Mileage Sims January 16, 1806- March 9, 1888
Margaret Rhode Sims March 15, 1813- January 12, 1898
Third Row
Elbert Milam Jr. April 6, 1871- August 11, 1873 son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Paul Walker September 10, 1882- September 10, 1882 (twin) son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker
Fourth Row
Rebecca Nard Walker December 19, 1802- January 17, 1884
Joseph Henry Walker March 26, 1796- January 2, 1865
Martha Nayrd May 8, 1802- April 28, 1866
—
A hand-drawn map of Comanche Creek Cemetery notes: 'Comanche Creek (seasonal) runs through a ravine about 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The road across the creek bed is paved with concrete, but the banks are dirt, rough and steep. If the ground is dry, a two-wheel vehicle is OK. If wet, 4-wheel drive is necessary. Wet or dry, a pickup truck or other high-clearance vehicle is required; don't try this in a normal passenger car!
Comanche Creek Cemetery Association
President: Robert Crownover'
A note in the bottom right hand corner reads:
not to scale
3/13/09 jhc
According to the Texas State Historical Association general entry for Comanche Creek (Blanco County), 'Comanche Creek rises in rugged Hill Country terrain two miles south of Blowout in far northwestern Blanco County and runs north for 11.5 miles to its mouth on Sandy Creek in southeastern Llano County. It runs over the southeastern edges of the Llano Uplift. The area is characterized by large outcroppings of exposed granite and numerous boulders interspersed with live oak, post oak, and short wild grasses. For long stretches the creekbed runs over bare rock and tumbled stones that form many small waterfalls. For thousands of years this area has been inhabited-in more recent centuries by Coahuiltecan, Tonkawas, Apaches, and Comanches (for whom the creek is named).'
The Billion Graves website places Comanche Cemetery in Round Mountain, Blanco, Texas.
Click, Texas
Click is on Barnett Branch near Sandy Creek in Sandy Valley, fifteen miles southeast of Llano in Llano County. It was granted a post office in 1880 with Benjamin F. Lowe as postmaster. The community was named for the large family descended from Malachi Click, an early settler. At one time it had a church, a school, and a store, but the post office was closed after 1940, and the population had declined to twenty by 1966. (James B. Heckert-Greene, TSHA)
The Children
• Margaret A Walker (1863-1942)
Margaret continued living with her brother Robert Milledge, who tended to go by his middle name, after Mary died. Neither married and the two share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Miss Walker Succumbs (The Llano News, 5 Nov 1943)
Funeral services were conducted yesterday afternoon for Margaret A. Walker, who died in Llano on Tuesday of this week.
Miss Walker was born in Click, Texas, on October 27, 1863 and had just passed her 79th birthday one week at the time of her death.
The deceased is survived by three sisters, Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Kingsland; Mrs. George Klipp, of Kingsland and Mrs. H. L. Masters, of Llano and four brothers, John Walker and Milege Walker, both of Llano and William Walker, of Austin and Crook Walker, of the Baby Head community.
The deceased joined the Baptist church at an early age and later joined the Presbyterian denomination.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. N. A. Sanders, pastor of the Llano Baptist church and interment was under the direction of Miles Buttery, local undertaker.
• John Joseph Walker (1865-1950)
John married Nina L Tarter (1884-1951) 1 May 1905 in Pueblo, Colorado. A death notice printed in the Austin American 4 Aug 1951 for Nina records that the Rev. Jim Maher conducted a rosary and a funeral mass for her and that she had lived in Llano since her marriage to the late John Walker. John and Nina share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
• William Henry Walker (1867-1958)
William married Ida Elizabeth Reams (1870-1961) 4 Oct 1891 in Llano County.
William Henry Walker, 91, of 4814 Avenue H, died at his home Wednesday. He was a longtime resident and farmer and rancher in Llano County. . . . Interment will be in Austin Memorial Park. (Austin American-Statesman, 9 Oct 1858)
• Jerry Crook Walker (1869-1946)
Jerry married Nancy B. Masters (1871-1949) 17 October 1900 in Llano County. His death certificate lists his occupation as farmer. Jerry and Nancy share a double stone inscribed with their dates at the Llano City Cemetery.
Jerry C. Walker Buried in Llano (The San Angelo Weekly-Standard, 8 February 1946) Mr. Walker died at his home in the Wrights Creek Community. He was a life-long resident of Llano County, having been born in the Sandy Gap section where his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Walker, were early settlers. He is survived by the widow and several children.
• Elbert M Walker (1871-1873)
Elbert's stone at Comanche Cemetery is inscribed In Memory of Elbert M. Walker Born April 6, 1871; Died Aug. 11, 1873; Aged 2 yrs & 4 mos. Of such is the Kingdom of God.
• Robert Milledge Walker (1874-1947)
Milledge registered for the draft 12 September 1918. His occupation is recorded as farmer, his nearest relative is Mrs. M. A. Walker, Click, Llano, Texas and he signs Robert Milledge Walker. He is of medium height and build and has grey eyes and black hair. His shared stone with his sister Margaret at the Llano City Cemetery is inscribed with his relationship to his sister, Brother, his name, Millage, and the Masonic symbol.
Milledge Walker (San Angelo Standard-Times, Thu 9 Jan 1947)
Llano, Jan. 8. (SC) - Funeral services were held here Sunday for Milledge Walker, 72, an old-time resident of Llano and member of one of the earliest families in this section.
He was a native and life-long resident of Llano County and was son of the late E. M. Walker, a well-known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days. He never married.
• Mary Mittie Walker (1877-1901)
Mittie and William 'Will' R Giles (1866-1926) married 25 November 1897 in Llano County, Texas. They had a son, Oscar William, in 1898 and a daughter, Mittie, in 1900. Mittie Walker Giles died the following year and was buried in the Giles Cemetery in Union County, New Mexico.
Will married 2) Lula Flora Johnson (1895-1967). Her stone is inscribed The Sergeant. A note on Family Search for William Giles (L7NL-MDJ) reads 'William Giles (Will) was a gambler and drinker. He died of serosis of the liver. As a middle age widower, he married a teenager (my mother) who didn't know any better. She probably thought the Giles were rich! She said that he was good to her and always called her "girl." She spoke well of all the Giles family. As I recall, the ranch was a short distance further down the ranch road and out of view from the cemetery.' Bill (via email, Oct 1 2003).
• James A Walker (1873- )
The 1880 census for Llano County, Texas records James A Walker, son of Elbert Walker, as seven years old, placing his birth at about 1873. The 1890 census is not available, most of them having been destroyed by fire in 1921.
Comanche Cemetery has a granite gravestone for an Oscar James Walker inscribed (1873-1883) matching those of twins Ida Walker (1882-1883) and Paul Walker (1882-1882). These three children, buried with Elbert and Mary, appear to be their children.
Granite and matching, the stones were likely placed some time after the deaths of the children and were probably placed at the same time by a person or persons who wanted to commemorate these family members. Granite gravestones became popular in the 20th century. Sometimes the dates on stones placed years after the death are not quite right.
Mary is recorded in the 1910 census as having 13 children, eight of them living. Including Paul and Ida brings the number to thirteen. Note that Royce Chapman's Comanche Cemetery listings include Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898, Paul Walker September 10, 1882 to September 10, 1882 and Ida Walker September 10, 1882 to October 28, 1883. I do not know the source for these dates.
I have not been to the cemetery so I don't know what stones are extant or what the inscriptions are. I have only seen the photos of stones circulating the genealogy sites. There may be stones at the cemetery for these three children that are older than the granite ones. Sometimes a new stone exists by an older one commemorating the same person. There also may be or may have been a family Bible with the dates of all of the children.
• Sarah 'Sallie' Cecilia Walker (1878-1966)
Sallie married Monroe Calhoun 'Cal' Barnett (1876-1955), son of a Presbyterian minister, 7 December 1902 in Llano County. His obituary (The San Angelo Standard, Fri 2 Dec 1955) records that he was a native of Llano County and that he worked for 20 years as a postmaster and storekeeper in Kingsland. Masonic and Woodmen of the World symbols are inscribed on the double marker for Monroe C and Sarah C Barnett at the Llano City Cemetery.
Funeral Held For Mrs. Cal Barnett (The Llano News, 7 July 1966) Funeral services for Mrs. Cal Barnett, 87, were held Wednesday morning, July 6, at the Waldrope Funeral Home with the Rev. Hugh Walter Sanders officiating. Burial was in the Llano Cemetery.
Mrs. Barnett died Monday night, July 4, in a Llano nursing home.
The former Miss Sarah (Sallie) Cecelia Walker, she was born at Click in Llano County October 25, 1878, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Milam Walker. She was married Dec. 7, 1902, to Cal Barnett who died Nov. 25, 1955. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a life-long resident of Llano County.
• Mattie Josephine Walker (1880-1977)
Mattie married 1) Joseph Stotts (1881-1929) 8 January 1903. The marriage ended in divorce and Joe married Grace Moss 5 February 1910. Divorced and working as a seamstress, Mattie was living with her sister Sallie Walker Barnett and her family in 1920. George Carl Klipp (1886-1978) and Miss Mattie Walker married 14 October 1925 in Llano County.
Klipp, Mrs. Mattie Josephine, 97, of Llano, died Friday. Graveside services 4 p.m. Sunday in Llano Cemetery in Llano. Survivors: husband, George Klipp of Llano; sister, Mrs. Henry Masters of Llano. (Austin American-Statesman, 27 February 1977)
George C. Klipp (The Odessa American, 5 February 1978) Klipp died Thursday in the Veteran's Hospital in Kerville. He was born Oct. 11, 1886, in Bastrop and served in the Army during World War I. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
• Paul Walker (birth and death 10 September 1882)
Twins Paul and Ida have granite gravestones that match that of Oscar James Walker (1873-1883) who is likely the seven year old James A Walker who appeared as the son of Elbert Walker in the 1880 census. These three children with matching stones buried at Comanche Cemetery very much appear to be the children of Elbert Walker and Mary Ann Simms, also buried at Comanche Cemetery.
• Ida Walker (1882-1883)
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker - Royce Chapman's listings for the Comanche Cemetery http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/blanco/cemetery/comanche.txt
• Elberta 'Bertie' Lillian Walker (1884-1978)
Bertie married Henry Lee Masters 22 October 1902 in Llano County. Henry was the brother of Nancy Masters, whom Bertie's brother Jerry had married in 1900. Henry, a farmer of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair, and his wife Mrs. Elberta Masters were living in Henderson, Rusk, Texas when he registered for the draft 12 September 1918. Bertie and Henry share a stone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Henry Lee Masters Funeral Held Sunday (The Llano News, 4 August 1960) The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Masters, he was born in Blanco County on July 19, 1878. He was married to Mrs. Elbertie Walker at Click in October, 1902. He came to Llano as a small child and had lived here since. He joined the Methodist Church at an early age.
Bertie's death certificate records that she was a 94 year old widow at the time of her death at Llano Memorial Hospital, she was born to Elbert Walker and Mary Simms in Click, Texas, she was a housewife/homemaker, her usual address was 800 West Haynie in Llano and the informant was her daughter Mrs. Estelle Hendrix.
lili li née Loretta McKay Masters
2nd great granddaughter of Elbert Milam Walker and Mary Ann Simms
20 August 2023
Mary Ann was born 4 March 1845 in Rankin Co MS to Capt John Milledge Simms (1806-1888) and Margaret Rhode (1813-1898), married 8 January 1833 in Rankin County. Mary's family was in Hancock Mississippi in 1850, her father was a teacher. The family arrived in Texas in 1856 according to Mary's obituary. John was captain of Simms Company, Texas Home Guards, during the Civil War.
Mary's sister Sarah Annie married Elbert's brother Joseph Walker in Lavaca Co TX 3 Oct 1860. In Sarah's account of Joe's death at the hands of Indians as the newlyweds were riding horseback to Enchanted Rock, reprinted as 'History of Mrs. Walker' in The Llano News 6 October 1932, Sarah writes 'I was born in Rankin county, Miss., May 15, 1843. With my parents I moved to Texas in 1856. My father bought and improved a beautiful home on the Navidad River in Lavaca County.; we were a large, prosperous, happy family.'
Of the encounter with the Native Americans Sarah writes 'We were riding slowly along talking about building and furnishing our new home. Just as we reached the edge of the valley we heard yells one after another, we looked around and saw coming down the side of the mountain six savage looking men riding little shabby ponies and they were dressed so frightfully. Had on buckskin pants and jackets all fringed with great tall caps with feathers in them. Had long bows with strops on their backs stuck full of long arrows. They kept on yelling and advancing pretty fast. I asked "who on earth can they be?" Mr. Walker first thought they were cowboys trying to have some fun out of us then he said they must be Comanche Indians and horse thieves. I asked what they would do, but my God I soon found out.'
Elbert, son of Texas Ranger Joseph Walker (1796-1865), who fought in the Battle at Kickapoo Village, and Rebecca (1802-1884), was born 16 June 1843 in Walker Co TX. Joseph successfully petitioned empresario Lorenzo de Zavala March 1835 for a league or sitio of land (4428.4 acres) in then Coahuila y Tejas, Mexico. Elbert was living with his birth family in Caldwell Co TX in 1850, his father was a farmer. The family was in Llano County by 1860, Joseph was a 'stock raser.'
Allen W Walker and Miss Mary Ann M Sims obtained a marriage license 26 Dec 1862 in Hallettsville, Lavaca, Texas.
Elbert was a Texas Ranger as was his father Joseph who described himself as 'a mounted gunman in the service of Texas' in an oath he swore in 185? regarding compensation for a mule shot 'at Kickapoo fight.' Such terms as minute men, mounted volunteers, and Texas mounted volunteers were used to refer to Texas Rangers in the 19th century.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer Capt James S Bourland, Co. for local defense Llano Co, enlistment Dec 1863 for 6 months, 31st Brigade, TST (Texas State Troops), age 20, 5'5," dark hair and eyes, had rifle and pistol. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
• EM Walker private, commanding officer Capt F Breazeale, enlistment F 1864 in Llano Cty, TST, served 5 days at $2 = $10, age 20. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
The Texas Rangers were organized as the Frontier Regiment in Confederate Texas 1861 to December 1863 when they were mustered into the CSA as the Frontier Organization which existed until the end of the Civil War in 1865, organizations referred to as Texas State Troops.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer F. C. Stewart, Co Q, Minute Men, Llano County, enlistment 1 Aug 1873, discharged 9 Aug 1873, 9 days of service AWOL. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
Elbert may have gone home because he had a seriously ill child. Elbert M. Walker (1871-1873) died two days after his father went AWOL.
According to 'Elbert M. (Doc) Walker' (The Llano News, Thu 4 Jan 1964), 'He was a member of the Home Guard, and was at the scene of the Legion Valley Massacre where the first victims were two small babies. Volunteers were called for to take the babies frozen bodies back to Loyal Valley, but the men all wanted to follow the Indians responsible for the massacre. Walker finally volunteered, and John C. Oatman, about 16 or 18 years old at the time, volunteered to accompany him. They ran into an Indian camp on the way, which led them to take great caution on the remainder of their journey.'
Johnie Lee Reeves writes for the Texas State Historical Association 'The Legion Valley Massacre occurred on February 5, 1868, when a band of about fifteen Comanche Indians raided the home of John S. and Matilda Jane (Jones) Friend near the confluence of Sandy and Legion creeks, about fifteen miles south of Llano in Llano County. Eight related women and children had gathered at the Friend home in the absence of their menfolk.' Taken captive, the two infants and their mothers, Rebecca and Samantha Johnson, were mutilated and killed within miles of the Friend home. These would have been the babies whose bodies Elbert and John volunteered to take back to Loyal Valley.
The obituary for Elbert's son Milledge (San Angelo Standard-Times, 9 Jan 1947) records that he 'was a son of the late E. M. Walker, a well known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days.'
Federal Census
1870 Cove Settlement, Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 26 stockraiser PE 2000, Marry 24 housekeeper, Margarette 7, John 5, Henry 3, Jerry 1.
1880 Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 37 farmer, Mary A 35 keeping house, Margaret 15, John J 14, William 13, Crook 9, James A 7, Robert M 5, Mary 3, Sarah M 2.
1900 Llano Co TX. Walker Mary, born Mar 1845 in MS, 55, widow, mother of 13 children/9 living, farmer, father born in GA, mother born in MS, owns home, no mortgage, farm. Children Margaret A 36 born Oct 1863, John J 35 born Feb 1865 day laborer, Jerry C 30 born Sep 1869 farmer, Robert M 25 born Oct 1874 farmer, Sarah C 21 born Oct 1878, Mattie J 19 born Sep 1880, Elberta L 15 born Aug 1884. All of the children were born in TX and all family members can read, write and speak English.
1910 Llano Co TX (Mason and Round Mountain Road). Walker Robert M head 35 farmer single owns home mortgage free farm, Mary A mother 65 13 children/8 living, Margaret A sister 46 single.
1920 Llano Co TX. Walker Milledge head 45 single farmer, Mary A mother 73, Margaret sister 54 single.
—
Elbert died 20 January 1892 in Llano County. His grave is at Comanche Cemetery across the county line in Blanco County. His stone is inscribed with a verse now worn with time. I can't read the beginning or end in the photo I have but the middle reads:
The summer flowers did bloom
While you the purest and best.
Mary Ann died 10 November 1926. Her obituary was published in the Austin American 24 November: The death of Mrs. Mary A. Walker, 81, which occurred in the Sandy Valley community Thursday, marks the passing of one of Llano County's oldest residents. A native of Mississippi, she came to Texas in 1856. Several years later she moved to Llano and settled in the southeastern part of the county. Her large family have long been connected with the Sandy and Click communities and have done much toward developing that section. Eight of 13 children survive: Miss Margaret Walker, Mrs. Geo. Klipp, Mrs. H. M. Masters and R. M. Walker of Click; J. J. W. H. and J. C. Walker of Llano, and Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Bertram. The Rev. Potts, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, conducted the service at the Sandy Valley church and interment was made in Comanche cemetery.
Royce Chapman writes 'The Comanche Cemetery is located in Northwest Blanco County on Comanche Creek. It is divided into two sections and it is divided by a rock wall. One section belonging to the Harding family and one, known as Comanche West, to the Click/Walker family. One of my uncles always said that those buried in the Click/Walker section had their heads in Llano County and their feet in Blanco County.
'The first grave was that of a Mexican male unknown to anyone in the area. He was passing through the area, became sick and died.
'We are only going to record the Click/Walker section. It is located on the Harding Ranch. Travel south on highway 71 to county road 308. This is an unpaved road known as the Click Route. Turn right on 308 and travel about 5 miles. You will meet a fork in the road. Take the right fork. Take the first ranch road to the right. You are now on the Harding ranch. Travel until you cross the first culvert. Turn right into the road and go until you can turn back to the left. This will take you to the creek. Cross the creek and go up the hill until you come to the cemetery. The Click/Walker section is on the right.'
Royce's cemetery listings for Comanche Cemetery, also known as Comanche Creek Cemetery, include:
Second Row
Katherine Walker and son unmarked
Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898
Elbert Milam Walker June 16, 1843- January 20, 1892
Mary Ann Simms Walker March 4, 1845- November 10, 1926
John Mileage Sims January 16, 1806- March 9, 1888
Margaret Rhode Sims March 15, 1813- January 12, 1898
Third Row
Elbert Milam Jr. April 6, 1871- August 11, 1873 son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Paul Walker September 10, 1882- September 10, 1882 (twin) son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker
Fourth Row
Rebecca Nard Walker December 19, 1802- January 17, 1884
Joseph Henry Walker March 26, 1796- January 2, 1865
Martha Nayrd May 8, 1802- April 28, 1866
—
A hand-drawn map of Comanche Creek Cemetery notes: 'Comanche Creek (seasonal) runs through a ravine about 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The road across the creek bed is paved with concrete, but the banks are dirt, rough and steep. If the ground is dry, a two-wheel vehicle is OK. If wet, 4-wheel drive is necessary. Wet or dry, a pickup truck or other high-clearance vehicle is required; don't try this in a normal passenger car!
Comanche Creek Cemetery Association
President: Robert Crownover'
A note in the bottom right hand corner reads:
not to scale
3/13/09 jhc
According to the Texas State Historical Association general entry for Comanche Creek (Blanco County), 'Comanche Creek rises in rugged Hill Country terrain two miles south of Blowout in far northwestern Blanco County and runs north for 11.5 miles to its mouth on Sandy Creek in southeastern Llano County. It runs over the southeastern edges of the Llano Uplift. The area is characterized by large outcroppings of exposed granite and numerous boulders interspersed with live oak, post oak, and short wild grasses. For long stretches the creekbed runs over bare rock and tumbled stones that form many small waterfalls. For thousands of years this area has been inhabited-in more recent centuries by Coahuiltecan, Tonkawas, Apaches, and Comanches (for whom the creek is named).'
The Billion Graves website places Comanche Cemetery in Round Mountain, Blanco, Texas.
Click, Texas
Click is on Barnett Branch near Sandy Creek in Sandy Valley, fifteen miles southeast of Llano in Llano County. It was granted a post office in 1880 with Benjamin F. Lowe as postmaster. The community was named for the large family descended from Malachi Click, an early settler. At one time it had a church, a school, and a store, but the post office was closed after 1940, and the population had declined to twenty by 1966. (James B. Heckert-Greene, TSHA)
The Children
• Margaret A Walker (1863-1942)
Margaret continued living with her brother Robert Milledge, who tended to go by his middle name, after Mary died. Neither married and the two share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Miss Walker Succumbs (The Llano News, 5 Nov 1943)
Funeral services were conducted yesterday afternoon for Margaret A. Walker, who died in Llano on Tuesday of this week.
Miss Walker was born in Click, Texas, on October 27, 1863 and had just passed her 79th birthday one week at the time of her death.
The deceased is survived by three sisters, Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Kingsland; Mrs. George Klipp, of Kingsland and Mrs. H. L. Masters, of Llano and four brothers, John Walker and Milege Walker, both of Llano and William Walker, of Austin and Crook Walker, of the Baby Head community.
The deceased joined the Baptist church at an early age and later joined the Presbyterian denomination.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. N. A. Sanders, pastor of the Llano Baptist church and interment was under the direction of Miles Buttery, local undertaker.
• John Joseph Walker (1865-1950)
John married Nina L Tarter (1884-1951) 1 May 1905 in Pueblo, Colorado. A death notice printed in the Austin American 4 Aug 1951 for Nina records that the Rev. Jim Maher conducted a rosary and a funeral mass for her and that she had lived in Llano since her marriage to the late John Walker. John and Nina share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
• William Henry Walker (1867-1958)
William married Ida Elizabeth Reams (1870-1961) 4 Oct 1891 in Llano County.
William Henry Walker, 91, of 4814 Avenue H, died at his home Wednesday. He was a longtime resident and farmer and rancher in Llano County. . . . Interment will be in Austin Memorial Park. (Austin American-Statesman, 9 Oct 1858)
• Jerry Crook Walker (1869-1946)
Jerry married Nancy B. Masters (1871-1949) 17 October 1900 in Llano County. His death certificate lists his occupation as farmer. Jerry and Nancy share a double stone inscribed with their dates at the Llano City Cemetery.
Jerry C. Walker Buried in Llano (The San Angelo Weekly-Standard, 8 February 1946) Mr. Walker died at his home in the Wrights Creek Community. He was a life-long resident of Llano County, having been born in the Sandy Gap section where his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Walker, were early settlers. He is survived by the widow and several children.
• Elbert M Walker (1871-1873)
Elbert's stone at Comanche Cemetery is inscribed In Memory of Elbert M. Walker Born April 6, 1871; Died Aug. 11, 1873; Aged 2 yrs & 4 mos. Of such is the Kingdom of God.
• Robert Milledge Walker (1874-1947)
Milledge registered for the draft 12 September 1918. His occupation is recorded as farmer, his nearest relative is Mrs. M. A. Walker, Click, Llano, Texas and he signs Robert Milledge Walker. He is of medium height and build and has grey eyes and black hair. His shared stone with his sister Margaret at the Llano City Cemetery is inscribed with his relationship to his sister, Brother, his name, Millage, and the Masonic symbol.
Milledge Walker (San Angelo Standard-Times, Thu 9 Jan 1947)
Llano, Jan. 8. (SC) - Funeral services were held here Sunday for Milledge Walker, 72, an old-time resident of Llano and member of one of the earliest families in this section.
He was a native and life-long resident of Llano County and was son of the late E. M. Walker, a well-known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days. He never married.
• Mary Mittie Walker (1877-1901)
Mittie and William 'Will' R Giles (1866-1926) married 25 November 1897 in Llano County, Texas. They had a son, Oscar William, in 1898 and a daughter, Mittie, in 1900. Mittie Walker Giles died the following year and was buried in the Giles Cemetery in Union County, New Mexico.
Will married 2) Lula Flora Johnson (1895-1967). Her stone is inscribed The Sergeant. A note on Family Search for William Giles (L7NL-MDJ) reads 'William Giles (Will) was a gambler and drinker. He died of serosis of the liver. As a middle age widower, he married a teenager (my mother) who didn't know any better. She probably thought the Giles were rich! She said that he was good to her and always called her "girl." She spoke well of all the Giles family. As I recall, the ranch was a short distance further down the ranch road and out of view from the cemetery.' Bill (via email, Oct 1 2003).
• James A Walker (1873- )
The 1880 census for Llano County, Texas records James A Walker, son of Elbert Walker, as seven years old, placing his birth at about 1873. The 1890 census is not available, most of them having been destroyed by fire in 1921.
Comanche Cemetery has a granite gravestone for an Oscar James Walker inscribed (1873-1883) matching those of twins Ida Walker (1882-1883) and Paul Walker (1882-1882). These three children, buried with Elbert and Mary, appear to be their children.
Granite and matching, the stones were likely placed some time after the deaths of the children and were probably placed at the same time by a person or persons who wanted to commemorate these family members. Granite gravestones became popular in the 20th century. Sometimes the dates on stones placed years after the death are not quite right.
Mary is recorded in the 1910 census as having 13 children, eight of them living. Including Paul and Ida brings the number to thirteen. Note that Royce Chapman's Comanche Cemetery listings include Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898, Paul Walker September 10, 1882 to September 10, 1882 and Ida Walker September 10, 1882 to October 28, 1883. I do not know the source for these dates.
I have not been to the cemetery so I don't know what stones are extant or what the inscriptions are. I have only seen the photos of stones circulating the genealogy sites. There may be stones at the cemetery for these three children that are older than the granite ones. Sometimes a new stone exists by an older one commemorating the same person. There also may be or may have been a family Bible with the dates of all of the children.
• Sarah 'Sallie' Cecilia Walker (1878-1966)
Sallie married Monroe Calhoun 'Cal' Barnett (1876-1955), son of a Presbyterian minister, 7 December 1902 in Llano County. His obituary (The San Angelo Standard, Fri 2 Dec 1955) records that he was a native of Llano County and that he worked for 20 years as a postmaster and storekeeper in Kingsland. Masonic and Woodmen of the World symbols are inscribed on the double marker for Monroe C and Sarah C Barnett at the Llano City Cemetery.
Funeral Held For Mrs. Cal Barnett (The Llano News, 7 July 1966) Funeral services for Mrs. Cal Barnett, 87, were held Wednesday morning, July 6, at the Waldrope Funeral Home with the Rev. Hugh Walter Sanders officiating. Burial was in the Llano Cemetery.
Mrs. Barnett died Monday night, July 4, in a Llano nursing home.
The former Miss Sarah (Sallie) Cecelia Walker, she was born at Click in Llano County October 25, 1878, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Milam Walker. She was married Dec. 7, 1902, to Cal Barnett who died Nov. 25, 1955. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a life-long resident of Llano County.
• Mattie Josephine Walker (1880-1977)
Mattie married 1) Joseph Stotts (1881-1929) 8 January 1903. The marriage ended in divorce and Joe married Grace Moss 5 February 1910. Divorced and working as a seamstress, Mattie was living with her sister Sallie Walker Barnett and her family in 1920. George Carl Klipp (1886-1978) and Miss Mattie Walker married 14 October 1925 in Llano County.
Klipp, Mrs. Mattie Josephine, 97, of Llano, died Friday. Graveside services 4 p.m. Sunday in Llano Cemetery in Llano. Survivors: husband, George Klipp of Llano; sister, Mrs. Henry Masters of Llano. (Austin American-Statesman, 27 February 1977)
George C. Klipp (The Odessa American, 5 February 1978) Klipp died Thursday in the Veteran's Hospital in Kerville. He was born Oct. 11, 1886, in Bastrop and served in the Army during World War I. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
• Paul Walker (birth and death 10 September 1882)
Twins Paul and Ida have granite gravestones that match that of Oscar James Walker (1873-1883) who is likely the seven year old James A Walker who appeared as the son of Elbert Walker in the 1880 census. These three children with matching stones buried at Comanche Cemetery very much appear to be the children of Elbert Walker and Mary Ann Simms, also buried at Comanche Cemetery.
• Ida Walker (1882-1883)
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker - Royce Chapman's listings for the Comanche Cemetery http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/blanco/cemetery/comanche.txt
• Elberta 'Bertie' Lillian Walker (1884-1978)
Bertie married Henry Lee Masters 22 October 1902 in Llano County. Henry was the brother of Nancy Masters, whom Bertie's brother Jerry had married in 1900. Henry, a farmer of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair, and his wife Mrs. Elberta Masters were living in Henderson, Rusk, Texas when he registered for the draft 12 September 1918. Bertie and Henry share a stone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Henry Lee Masters Funeral Held Sunday (The Llano News, 4 August 1960) The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Masters, he was born in Blanco County on July 19, 1878. He was married to Mrs. Elbertie Walker at Click in October, 1902. He came to Llano as a small child and had lived here since. He joined the Methodist Church at an early age.
Bertie's death certificate records that she was a 94 year old widow at the time of her death at Llano Memorial Hospital, she was born to Elbert Walker and Mary Simms in Click, Texas, she was a housewife/homemaker, her usual address was 800 West Haynie in Llano and the informant was her daughter Mrs. Estelle Hendrix.
lili li née Loretta McKay Masters
2nd great granddaughter of Elbert Milam Walker and Mary Ann Simms
20 August 2023
Mary Ann Minerva Simms (1845-1926) and Elbert Milam 'Doc' Walker (1843-1892)
Mary Ann was born 4 March 1845 in Rankin Co MS to Capt John Milledge Simms (1806-1888) and Margaret Rhode (1813-1898), married 8 January 1833 in Rankin County. Mary's family was in Hancock Mississippi in 1850, her father was a teacher. The family arrived in Texas in 1856 according to Mary's obituary. John was captain of Simms Company, Texas Home Guards, during the Civil War.
Mary's sister Sarah Annie married Elbert's brother Joseph Walker in Lavaca Co TX 3 Oct 1860. In Sarah's account of Joe's death at the hands of Indians as the newlyweds were riding horseback to Enchanted Rock, reprinted as 'History of Mrs. Walker' in The Llano News 6 October 1932, Sarah writes 'I was born in Rankin county, Miss., May 15, 1843. With my parents I moved to Texas in 1856. My father bought and improved a beautiful home on the Navidad River in Lavaca County.; we were a large, prosperous, happy family.'
Of the encounter with the Native Americans Sarah writes 'We were riding slowly along talking about building and furnishing our new home. Just as we reached the edge of the valley we heard yells one after another, we looked around and saw coming down the side of the mountain six savage looking men riding little shabby ponies and they were dressed so frightfully. Had on buckskin pants and jackets all fringed with great tall caps with feathers in them. Had long bows with strops on their backs stuck full of long arrows. They kept on yelling and advancing pretty fast. I asked "who on earth can they be?" Mr. Walker first thought they were cowboys trying to have some fun out of us then he said they must be Comanche Indians and horse thieves. I asked what they would do, but my God I soon found out.'
Elbert, son of Texas Ranger Joseph Walker (1796-1865), who fought in the Battle at Kickapoo Village, and Rebecca (1802-1884), was born 16 June 1843 in Walker Co TX. Joseph successfully petitioned empresario Lorenzo de Zavala March 1835 for a league or sitio of land (4428.4 acres) in then Coahuila y Tejas, Mexico. Elbert was living with his birth family in Caldwell Co TX in 1850, his father was a farmer. The family was in Llano County by 1860, Joseph was a 'stock raser.'
Allen W Walker and Miss Mary Ann M Sims obtained a marriage license 26 Dec 1862 in Hallettsville, Lavaca, Texas.
Elbert was a Texas Ranger as was his father Joseph who described himself as 'a mounted gunman in the service of Texas' in an oath he swore in 185? regarding compensation for a mule shot 'at Kickapoo fight.' Such terms as minute men, mounted volunteers, and Texas mounted volunteers were used to refer to Texas Rangers in the 19th century.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer Capt James S Bourland, Co. for local defense Llano Co, enlistment Dec 1863 for 6 months, 31st Brigade, TST (Texas State Troops), age 20, 5'5," dark hair and eyes, had rifle and pistol. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
• EM Walker private, commanding officer Capt F Breazeale, enlistment F 1864 in Llano Cty, TST, served 5 days at $2 = $10, age 20. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
The Texas Rangers were organized as the Frontier Regiment in Confederate Texas 1861 to December 1863 when they were mustered into the CSA as the Frontier Organization which existed until the end of the Civil War in 1865, organizations referred to as Texas State Troops.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer F. C. Stewart, Co Q, Minute Men, Llano County, enlistment 1 Aug 1873, discharged 9 Aug 1873, 9 days of service AWOL. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
Elbert may have gone home because he had a seriously ill child. Elbert M. Walker (1871-1873) died two days after his father went AWOL.
According to 'Elbert M. (Doc) Walker' (The Llano News, Thu 4 Jan 1964), 'He was a member of the Home Guard, and was at the scene of the Legion Valley Massacre where the first victims were two small babies. Volunteers were called for to take the babies frozen bodies back to Loyal Valley, but the men all wanted to follow the Indians responsible for the massacre. Walker finally volunteered, and John C. Oatman, about 16 or 18 years old at the time, volunteered to accompany him. They ran into an Indian camp on the way, which led them to take great caution on the remainder of their journey.'
Johnie Lee Reeves writes for the Texas State Historical Association 'The Legion Valley Massacre occurred on February 5, 1868, when a band of about fifteen Comanche Indians raided the home of John S. and Matilda Jane (Jones) Friend near the confluence of Sandy and Legion creeks, about fifteen miles south of Llano in Llano County. Eight related women and children had gathered at the Friend home in the absence of their menfolk.' Taken captive, the two infants and their mothers, Rebecca and Samantha Johnson, were mutilated and killed within miles of the Friend home. These would have been the babies whose bodies Elbert and John volunteered to take back to Loyal Valley.
The obituary for Elbert's son Milledge (San Angelo Standard-Times, 9 Jan 1947) records that he 'was a son of the late E. M. Walker, a well known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days.'
Federal Census
1870 Cove Settlement, Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 26 stockraiser PE 2000, Marry 24 housekeeper, Margarette 7, John 5, Henry 3, Jerry 1.
1880 Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 37 farmer, Mary A 35 keeping house, Margaret 15, John J 14, William 13, Crook 9, James A 7, Robert M 5, Mary 3, Sarah M 2.
1900 Llano Co TX. Walker Mary, born Mar 1845 in MS, 55, widow, mother of 13 children/9 living, farmer, father born in GA, mother born in MS, owns home, no mortgage, farm. Children Margaret A 36 born Oct 1863, John J 35 born Feb 1865 day laborer, Jerry C 30 born Sep 1869 farmer, Robert M 25 born Oct 1874 farmer, Sarah C 21 born Oct 1878, Mattie J 19 born Sep 1880, Elberta L 15 born Aug 1884. All of the children were born in TX and all family members can read, write and speak English.
1910 Llano Co TX (Mason and Round Mountain Road). Walker Robert M head 35 farmer single owns home mortgage free farm, Mary A mother 65 13 children/8 living, Margaret A sister 46 single.
1920 Llano Co TX. Walker Milledge head 45 single farmer, Mary A mother 73, Margaret sister 54 single.
—
Elbert died 20 January 1892 in Llano County. His grave is at Comanche Cemetery across the county line in Blanco County. His stone is inscribed with a verse now worn with time. I can't read the beginning or end in the photo I have but the middle reads:
The summer flowers did bloom
While you the purest and best.
Mary Ann died 10 November 1926. Her obituary was published in the Austin American 24 November: The death of Mrs. Mary A. Walker, 81, which occurred in the Sandy Valley community Thursday, marks the passing of one of Llano County's oldest residents. A native of Mississippi, she came to Texas in 1856. Several years later she moved to Llano and settled in the southeastern part of the county. Her large family have long been connected with the Sandy and Click communities and have done much toward developing that section. Eight of 13 children survive: Miss Margaret Walker, Mrs. Geo. Klipp, Mrs. H. M. Masters and R. M. Walker of Click; J. J. W. H. and J. C. Walker of Llano, and Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Bertram. The Rev. Potts, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, conducted the service at the Sandy Valley church and interment was made in Comanche cemetery.
Royce Chapman writes 'The Comanche Cemetery is located in Northwest Blanco County on Comanche Creek. It is divided into two sections and it is divided by a rock wall. One section belonging to the Harding family and one, known as Comanche West, to the Click/Walker family. One of my uncles always said that those buried in the Click/Walker section had their heads in Llano County and their feet in Blanco County.
'The first grave was that of a Mexican male unknown to anyone in the area. He was passing through the area, became sick and died.
'We are only going to record the Click/Walker section. It is located on the Harding Ranch. Travel south on highway 71 to county road 308. This is an unpaved road known as the Click Route. Turn right on 308 and travel about 5 miles. You will meet a fork in the road. Take the right fork. Take the first ranch road to the right. You are now on the Harding ranch. Travel until you cross the first culvert. Turn right into the road and go until you can turn back to the left. This will take you to the creek. Cross the creek and go up the hill until you come to the cemetery. The Click/Walker section is on the right.'
Royce's cemetery listings for Comanche Cemetery, also known as Comanche Creek Cemetery, include:
Second Row
Katherine Walker and son unmarked
Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898
Elbert Milam Walker June 16, 1843- January 20, 1892
Mary Ann Simms Walker March 4, 1845- November 10, 1926
John Mileage Sims January 16, 1806- March 9, 1888
Margaret Rhode Sims March 15, 1813- January 12, 1898
Third Row
Elbert Milam Jr. April 6, 1871- August 11, 1873 son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Paul Walker September 10, 1882- September 10, 1882 (twin) son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker
Fourth Row
Rebecca Nard Walker December 19, 1802- January 17, 1884
Joseph Henry Walker March 26, 1796- January 2, 1865
Martha Nayrd May 8, 1802- April 28, 1866
—
A hand-drawn map of Comanche Creek Cemetery notes: 'Comanche Creek (seasonal) runs through a ravine about 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The road across the creek bed is paved with concrete, but the banks are dirt, rough and steep. If the ground is dry, a two-wheel vehicle is OK. If wet, 4-wheel drive is necessary. Wet or dry, a pickup truck or other high-clearance vehicle is required; don't try this in a normal passenger car!
Comanche Creek Cemetery Association
President: Robert Crownover'
A note in the bottom right hand corner reads:
not to scale
3/13/09 jhc
According to the Texas State Historical Association general entry for Comanche Creek (Blanco County), 'Comanche Creek rises in rugged Hill Country terrain two miles south of Blowout in far northwestern Blanco County and runs north for 11.5 miles to its mouth on Sandy Creek in southeastern Llano County. It runs over the southeastern edges of the Llano Uplift. The area is characterized by large outcroppings of exposed granite and numerous boulders interspersed with live oak, post oak, and short wild grasses. For long stretches the creekbed runs over bare rock and tumbled stones that form many small waterfalls. For thousands of years this area has been inhabited-in more recent centuries by Coahuiltecan, Tonkawas, Apaches, and Comanches (for whom the creek is named).'
The Billion Graves website places Comanche Cemetery in Round Mountain, Blanco, Texas.
Click, Texas
Click is on Barnett Branch near Sandy Creek in Sandy Valley, fifteen miles southeast of Llano in Llano County. It was granted a post office in 1880 with Benjamin F. Lowe as postmaster. The community was named for the large family descended from Malachi Click, an early settler. At one time it had a church, a school, and a store, but the post office was closed after 1940, and the population had declined to twenty by 1966. (James B. Heckert-Greene, TSHA)
The Children
• Margaret A Walker (1863-1942)
Margaret continued living with her brother Robert Milledge, who tended to go by his middle name, after Mary died. Neither married and the two share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Miss Walker Succumbs (The Llano News, 5 Nov 1943)
Funeral services were conducted yesterday afternoon for Margaret A. Walker, who died in Llano on Tuesday of this week.
Miss Walker was born in Click, Texas, on October 27, 1863 and had just passed her 79th birthday one week at the time of her death.
The deceased is survived by three sisters, Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Kingsland; Mrs. George Klipp, of Kingsland and Mrs. H. L. Masters, of Llano and four brothers, John Walker and Milege Walker, both of Llano and William Walker, of Austin and Crook Walker, of the Baby Head community.
The deceased joined the Baptist church at an early age and later joined the Presbyterian denomination.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. N. A. Sanders, pastor of the Llano Baptist church and interment was under the direction of Miles Buttery, local undertaker.
• John Joseph Walker (1865-1950)
John married Nina L Tarter (1884-1951) 1 May 1905 in Pueblo, Colorado. A death notice printed in the Austin American 4 Aug 1951 for Nina records that the Rev. Jim Maher conducted a rosary and a funeral mass for her and that she had lived in Llano since her marriage to the late John Walker. John and Nina share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
• William Henry Walker (1867-1958)
William married Ida Elizabeth Reams (1870-1961) 4 Oct 1891 in Llano County.
William Henry Walker, 91, of 4814 Avenue H, died at his home Wednesday. He was a longtime resident and farmer and rancher in Llano County. . . . Interment will be in Austin Memorial Park. (Austin American-Statesman, 9 Oct 1858)
• Jerry Crook Walker (1869-1946)
Jerry married Nancy B. Masters (1871-1949) 17 October 1900 in Llano County. His death certificate lists his occupation as farmer. Jerry and Nancy share a double stone inscribed with their dates at the Llano City Cemetery.
Jerry C. Walker Buried in Llano (The San Angelo Weekly-Standard, 8 February 1946) Mr. Walker died at his home in the Wrights Creek Community. He was a life-long resident of Llano County, having been born in the Sandy Gap section where his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Walker, were early settlers. He is survived by the widow and several children.
• Elbert M Walker (1871-1873)
Elbert's stone at Comanche Cemetery is inscribed In Memory of Elbert M. Walker Born April 6, 1871; Died Aug. 11, 1873; Aged 2 yrs & 4 mos. Of such is the Kingdom of God.
• Robert Milledge Walker (1874-1947)
Milledge registered for the draft 12 September 1918. His occupation is recorded as farmer, his nearest relative is Mrs. M. A. Walker, Click, Llano, Texas and he signs Robert Milledge Walker. He is of medium height and build and has grey eyes and black hair. His shared stone with his sister Margaret at the Llano City Cemetery is inscribed with his relationship to his sister, Brother, his name, Millage, and the Masonic symbol.
Milledge Walker (San Angelo Standard-Times, Thu 9 Jan 1947)
Llano, Jan. 8. (SC) - Funeral services were held here Sunday for Milledge Walker, 72, an old-time resident of Llano and member of one of the earliest families in this section.
He was a native and life-long resident of Llano County and was son of the late E. M. Walker, a well-known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days. He never married.
• Mary Mittie Walker (1877-1901)
Mittie and William 'Will' R Giles (1866-1926) married 25 November 1897 in Llano County, Texas. They had a son, Oscar William, in 1898 and a daughter, Mittie, in 1900. Mittie Walker Giles died the following year and was buried in the Giles Cemetery in Union County, New Mexico.
Will married 2) Lula Flora Johnson (1895-1967). Her stone is inscribed The Sergeant. A note on Family Search for William Giles (L7NL-MDJ) reads 'William Giles (Will) was a gambler and drinker. He died of serosis of the liver. As a middle age widower, he married a teenager (my mother) who didn't know any better. She probably thought the Giles were rich! She said that he was good to her and always called her "girl." She spoke well of all the Giles family. As I recall, the ranch was a short distance further down the ranch road and out of view from the cemetery.' Bill (via email, Oct 1 2003).
• James A Walker (1873- )
The 1880 census for Llano County, Texas records James A Walker, son of Elbert Walker, as seven years old, placing his birth at about 1873. The 1890 census is not available, most of them having been destroyed by fire in 1921.
Comanche Cemetery has a granite gravestone for an Oscar James Walker inscribed (1873-1883) matching those of twins Ida Walker (1882-1883) and Paul Walker (1882-1882). These three children, buried with Elbert and Mary, appear to be their children.
Granite and matching, the stones were likely placed some time after the deaths of the children and were probably placed at the same time by a person or persons who wanted to commemorate these family members. Granite gravestones became popular in the 20th century. Sometimes the dates on stones placed years after the death are not quite right.
Mary is recorded in the 1910 census as having 13 children, eight of them living. Including Paul and Ida brings the number to thirteen. Note that Royce Chapman's Comanche Cemetery listings include Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898, Paul Walker September 10, 1882 to September 10, 1882 and Ida Walker September 10, 1882 to October 28, 1883. I do not know the source for these dates.
I have not been to the cemetery so I don't know what stones are extant or what the inscriptions are. I have only seen the photos of stones circulating the genealogy sites. There may be stones at the cemetery for these three children that are older than the granite ones. Sometimes a new stone exists by an older one commemorating the same person. There also may be or may have been a family Bible with the dates of all of the children.
• Sarah 'Sallie' Cecilia Walker (1878-1966)
Sallie married Monroe Calhoun 'Cal' Barnett (1876-1955), son of a Presbyterian minister, 7 December 1902 in Llano County. His obituary (The San Angelo Standard, Fri 2 Dec 1955) records that he was a native of Llano County and that he worked for 20 years as a postmaster and storekeeper in Kingsland. Masonic and Woodmen of the World symbols are inscribed on the double marker for Monroe C and Sarah C Barnett at the Llano City Cemetery.
Funeral Held For Mrs. Cal Barnett (The Llano News, 7 July 1966) Funeral services for Mrs. Cal Barnett, 87, were held Wednesday morning, July 6, at the Waldrope Funeral Home with the Rev. Hugh Walter Sanders officiating. Burial was in the Llano Cemetery.
Mrs. Barnett died Monday night, July 4, in a Llano nursing home.
The former Miss Sarah (Sallie) Cecelia Walker, she was born at Click in Llano County October 25, 1878, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Milam Walker. She was married Dec. 7, 1902, to Cal Barnett who died Nov. 25, 1955. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a life-long resident of Llano County.
• Mattie Josephine Walker (1880-1977)
Mattie married 1) Joseph Stotts (1881-1929) 8 January 1903. The marriage ended in divorce and Joe married Grace Moss 5 February 1910. Divorced and working as a seamstress, Mattie was living with her sister Sallie Walker Barnett and her family in 1920. George Carl Klipp (1886-1978) and Miss Mattie Walker married 14 October 1925 in Llano County.
Klipp, Mrs. Mattie Josephine, 97, of Llano, died Friday. Graveside services 4 p.m. Sunday in Llano Cemetery in Llano. Survivors: husband, George Klipp of Llano; sister, Mrs. Henry Masters of Llano. (Austin American-Statesman, 27 February 1977)
George C. Klipp (The Odessa American, 5 February 1978) Klipp died Thursday in the Veteran's Hospital in Kerville. He was born Oct. 11, 1886, in Bastrop and served in the Army during World War I. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
• Paul Walker (birth and death 10 September 1882)
Twins Paul and Ida have granite gravestones that match that of Oscar James Walker (1873-1883) who is likely the seven year old James A Walker who appeared as the son of Elbert Walker in the 1880 census. These three children with matching stones buried at Comanche Cemetery very much appear to be the children of Elbert Walker and Mary Ann Simms, also buried at Comanche Cemetery.
• Ida Walker (1882-1883)
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker - Royce Chapman's listings for the Comanche Cemetery http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/blanco/cemetery/comanche.txt
• Elberta 'Bertie' Lillian Walker (1884-1978)
Bertie married Henry Lee Masters 22 October 1902 in Llano County. Henry was the brother of Nancy Masters, whom Bertie's brother Jerry had married in 1900. Henry, a farmer of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair, and his wife Mrs. Elberta Masters were living in Henderson, Rusk, Texas when he registered for the draft 12 September 1918. Bertie and Henry share a stone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Henry Lee Masters Funeral Held Sunday (The Llano News, 4 August 1960) The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Masters, he was born in Blanco County on July 19, 1878. He was married to Mrs. Elbertie Walker at Click in October, 1902. He came to Llano as a small child and had lived here since. He joined the Methodist Church at an early age.
Bertie's death certificate records that she was a 94 year old widow at the time of her death at Llano Memorial Hospital, she was born to Elbert Walker and Mary Simms in Click, Texas, she was a housewife/homemaker, her usual address was 800 West Haynie in Llano and the informant was her daughter Mrs. Estelle Hendrix.
lili li née Loretta McKay Masters
2nd great granddaughter of Elbert Milam Walker and Mary Ann Simms
20 August 2023
Mary Ann was born 4 March 1845 in Rankin Co MS to Capt John Milledge Simms (1806-1888) and Margaret Rhode (1813-1898), married 8 January 1833 in Rankin County. Mary's family was in Hancock Mississippi in 1850, her father was a teacher. The family arrived in Texas in 1856 according to Mary's obituary. John was captain of Simms Company, Texas Home Guards, during the Civil War.
Mary's sister Sarah Annie married Elbert's brother Joseph Walker in Lavaca Co TX 3 Oct 1860. In Sarah's account of Joe's death at the hands of Indians as the newlyweds were riding horseback to Enchanted Rock, reprinted as 'History of Mrs. Walker' in The Llano News 6 October 1932, Sarah writes 'I was born in Rankin county, Miss., May 15, 1843. With my parents I moved to Texas in 1856. My father bought and improved a beautiful home on the Navidad River in Lavaca County.; we were a large, prosperous, happy family.'
Of the encounter with the Native Americans Sarah writes 'We were riding slowly along talking about building and furnishing our new home. Just as we reached the edge of the valley we heard yells one after another, we looked around and saw coming down the side of the mountain six savage looking men riding little shabby ponies and they were dressed so frightfully. Had on buckskin pants and jackets all fringed with great tall caps with feathers in them. Had long bows with strops on their backs stuck full of long arrows. They kept on yelling and advancing pretty fast. I asked "who on earth can they be?" Mr. Walker first thought they were cowboys trying to have some fun out of us then he said they must be Comanche Indians and horse thieves. I asked what they would do, but my God I soon found out.'
Elbert, son of Texas Ranger Joseph Walker (1796-1865), who fought in the Battle at Kickapoo Village, and Rebecca (1802-1884), was born 16 June 1843 in Walker Co TX. Joseph successfully petitioned empresario Lorenzo de Zavala March 1835 for a league or sitio of land (4428.4 acres) in then Coahuila y Tejas, Mexico. Elbert was living with his birth family in Caldwell Co TX in 1850, his father was a farmer. The family was in Llano County by 1860, Joseph was a 'stock raser.'
Allen W Walker and Miss Mary Ann M Sims obtained a marriage license 26 Dec 1862 in Hallettsville, Lavaca, Texas.
Elbert was a Texas Ranger as was his father Joseph who described himself as 'a mounted gunman in the service of Texas' in an oath he swore in 185? regarding compensation for a mule shot 'at Kickapoo fight.' Such terms as minute men, mounted volunteers, and Texas mounted volunteers were used to refer to Texas Rangers in the 19th century.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer Capt James S Bourland, Co. for local defense Llano Co, enlistment Dec 1863 for 6 months, 31st Brigade, TST (Texas State Troops), age 20, 5'5," dark hair and eyes, had rifle and pistol. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
• EM Walker private, commanding officer Capt F Breazeale, enlistment F 1864 in Llano Cty, TST, served 5 days at $2 = $10, age 20. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
The Texas Rangers were organized as the Frontier Regiment in Confederate Texas 1861 to December 1863 when they were mustered into the CSA as the Frontier Organization which existed until the end of the Civil War in 1865, organizations referred to as Texas State Troops.
• Pvt EM Walker, commanding officer F. C. Stewart, Co Q, Minute Men, Llano County, enlistment 1 Aug 1873, discharged 9 Aug 1873, 9 days of service AWOL. (Texas, U.S. Muster Roll Index Cards, 1883-1900)
Elbert may have gone home because he had a seriously ill child. Elbert M. Walker (1871-1873) died two days after his father went AWOL.
According to 'Elbert M. (Doc) Walker' (The Llano News, Thu 4 Jan 1964), 'He was a member of the Home Guard, and was at the scene of the Legion Valley Massacre where the first victims were two small babies. Volunteers were called for to take the babies frozen bodies back to Loyal Valley, but the men all wanted to follow the Indians responsible for the massacre. Walker finally volunteered, and John C. Oatman, about 16 or 18 years old at the time, volunteered to accompany him. They ran into an Indian camp on the way, which led them to take great caution on the remainder of their journey.'
Johnie Lee Reeves writes for the Texas State Historical Association 'The Legion Valley Massacre occurred on February 5, 1868, when a band of about fifteen Comanche Indians raided the home of John S. and Matilda Jane (Jones) Friend near the confluence of Sandy and Legion creeks, about fifteen miles south of Llano in Llano County. Eight related women and children had gathered at the Friend home in the absence of their menfolk.' Taken captive, the two infants and their mothers, Rebecca and Samantha Johnson, were mutilated and killed within miles of the Friend home. These would have been the babies whose bodies Elbert and John volunteered to take back to Loyal Valley.
The obituary for Elbert's son Milledge (San Angelo Standard-Times, 9 Jan 1947) records that he 'was a son of the late E. M. Walker, a well known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days.'
Federal Census
1870 Cove Settlement, Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 26 stockraiser PE 2000, Marry 24 housekeeper, Margarette 7, John 5, Henry 3, Jerry 1.
1880 Llano Co TX. Walker Elbert 37 farmer, Mary A 35 keeping house, Margaret 15, John J 14, William 13, Crook 9, James A 7, Robert M 5, Mary 3, Sarah M 2.
1900 Llano Co TX. Walker Mary, born Mar 1845 in MS, 55, widow, mother of 13 children/9 living, farmer, father born in GA, mother born in MS, owns home, no mortgage, farm. Children Margaret A 36 born Oct 1863, John J 35 born Feb 1865 day laborer, Jerry C 30 born Sep 1869 farmer, Robert M 25 born Oct 1874 farmer, Sarah C 21 born Oct 1878, Mattie J 19 born Sep 1880, Elberta L 15 born Aug 1884. All of the children were born in TX and all family members can read, write and speak English.
1910 Llano Co TX (Mason and Round Mountain Road). Walker Robert M head 35 farmer single owns home mortgage free farm, Mary A mother 65 13 children/8 living, Margaret A sister 46 single.
1920 Llano Co TX. Walker Milledge head 45 single farmer, Mary A mother 73, Margaret sister 54 single.
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Elbert died 20 January 1892 in Llano County. His grave is at Comanche Cemetery across the county line in Blanco County. His stone is inscribed with a verse now worn with time. I can't read the beginning or end in the photo I have but the middle reads:
The summer flowers did bloom
While you the purest and best.
Mary Ann died 10 November 1926. Her obituary was published in the Austin American 24 November: The death of Mrs. Mary A. Walker, 81, which occurred in the Sandy Valley community Thursday, marks the passing of one of Llano County's oldest residents. A native of Mississippi, she came to Texas in 1856. Several years later she moved to Llano and settled in the southeastern part of the county. Her large family have long been connected with the Sandy and Click communities and have done much toward developing that section. Eight of 13 children survive: Miss Margaret Walker, Mrs. Geo. Klipp, Mrs. H. M. Masters and R. M. Walker of Click; J. J. W. H. and J. C. Walker of Llano, and Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Bertram. The Rev. Potts, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, conducted the service at the Sandy Valley church and interment was made in Comanche cemetery.
Royce Chapman writes 'The Comanche Cemetery is located in Northwest Blanco County on Comanche Creek. It is divided into two sections and it is divided by a rock wall. One section belonging to the Harding family and one, known as Comanche West, to the Click/Walker family. One of my uncles always said that those buried in the Click/Walker section had their heads in Llano County and their feet in Blanco County.
'The first grave was that of a Mexican male unknown to anyone in the area. He was passing through the area, became sick and died.
'We are only going to record the Click/Walker section. It is located on the Harding Ranch. Travel south on highway 71 to county road 308. This is an unpaved road known as the Click Route. Turn right on 308 and travel about 5 miles. You will meet a fork in the road. Take the right fork. Take the first ranch road to the right. You are now on the Harding ranch. Travel until you cross the first culvert. Turn right into the road and go until you can turn back to the left. This will take you to the creek. Cross the creek and go up the hill until you come to the cemetery. The Click/Walker section is on the right.'
Royce's cemetery listings for Comanche Cemetery, also known as Comanche Creek Cemetery, include:
Second Row
Katherine Walker and son unmarked
Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898
Elbert Milam Walker June 16, 1843- January 20, 1892
Mary Ann Simms Walker March 4, 1845- November 10, 1926
John Mileage Sims January 16, 1806- March 9, 1888
Margaret Rhode Sims March 15, 1813- January 12, 1898
Third Row
Elbert Milam Jr. April 6, 1871- August 11, 1873 son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Paul Walker September 10, 1882- September 10, 1882 (twin) son of Elbert and Mary Walker
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker
Fourth Row
Rebecca Nard Walker December 19, 1802- January 17, 1884
Joseph Henry Walker March 26, 1796- January 2, 1865
Martha Nayrd May 8, 1802- April 28, 1866
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A hand-drawn map of Comanche Creek Cemetery notes: 'Comanche Creek (seasonal) runs through a ravine about 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The road across the creek bed is paved with concrete, but the banks are dirt, rough and steep. If the ground is dry, a two-wheel vehicle is OK. If wet, 4-wheel drive is necessary. Wet or dry, a pickup truck or other high-clearance vehicle is required; don't try this in a normal passenger car!
Comanche Creek Cemetery Association
President: Robert Crownover'
A note in the bottom right hand corner reads:
not to scale
3/13/09 jhc
According to the Texas State Historical Association general entry for Comanche Creek (Blanco County), 'Comanche Creek rises in rugged Hill Country terrain two miles south of Blowout in far northwestern Blanco County and runs north for 11.5 miles to its mouth on Sandy Creek in southeastern Llano County. It runs over the southeastern edges of the Llano Uplift. The area is characterized by large outcroppings of exposed granite and numerous boulders interspersed with live oak, post oak, and short wild grasses. For long stretches the creekbed runs over bare rock and tumbled stones that form many small waterfalls. For thousands of years this area has been inhabited-in more recent centuries by Coahuiltecan, Tonkawas, Apaches, and Comanches (for whom the creek is named).'
The Billion Graves website places Comanche Cemetery in Round Mountain, Blanco, Texas.
Click, Texas
Click is on Barnett Branch near Sandy Creek in Sandy Valley, fifteen miles southeast of Llano in Llano County. It was granted a post office in 1880 with Benjamin F. Lowe as postmaster. The community was named for the large family descended from Malachi Click, an early settler. At one time it had a church, a school, and a store, but the post office was closed after 1940, and the population had declined to twenty by 1966. (James B. Heckert-Greene, TSHA)
The Children
• Margaret A Walker (1863-1942)
Margaret continued living with her brother Robert Milledge, who tended to go by his middle name, after Mary died. Neither married and the two share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Miss Walker Succumbs (The Llano News, 5 Nov 1943)
Funeral services were conducted yesterday afternoon for Margaret A. Walker, who died in Llano on Tuesday of this week.
Miss Walker was born in Click, Texas, on October 27, 1863 and had just passed her 79th birthday one week at the time of her death.
The deceased is survived by three sisters, Mrs. M. C. Barnett of Kingsland; Mrs. George Klipp, of Kingsland and Mrs. H. L. Masters, of Llano and four brothers, John Walker and Milege Walker, both of Llano and William Walker, of Austin and Crook Walker, of the Baby Head community.
The deceased joined the Baptist church at an early age and later joined the Presbyterian denomination.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. N. A. Sanders, pastor of the Llano Baptist church and interment was under the direction of Miles Buttery, local undertaker.
• John Joseph Walker (1865-1950)
John married Nina L Tarter (1884-1951) 1 May 1905 in Pueblo, Colorado. A death notice printed in the Austin American 4 Aug 1951 for Nina records that the Rev. Jim Maher conducted a rosary and a funeral mass for her and that she had lived in Llano since her marriage to the late John Walker. John and Nina share a gravestone at the Llano City Cemetery.
• William Henry Walker (1867-1958)
William married Ida Elizabeth Reams (1870-1961) 4 Oct 1891 in Llano County.
William Henry Walker, 91, of 4814 Avenue H, died at his home Wednesday. He was a longtime resident and farmer and rancher in Llano County. . . . Interment will be in Austin Memorial Park. (Austin American-Statesman, 9 Oct 1858)
• Jerry Crook Walker (1869-1946)
Jerry married Nancy B. Masters (1871-1949) 17 October 1900 in Llano County. His death certificate lists his occupation as farmer. Jerry and Nancy share a double stone inscribed with their dates at the Llano City Cemetery.
Jerry C. Walker Buried in Llano (The San Angelo Weekly-Standard, 8 February 1946) Mr. Walker died at his home in the Wrights Creek Community. He was a life-long resident of Llano County, having been born in the Sandy Gap section where his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Walker, were early settlers. He is survived by the widow and several children.
• Elbert M Walker (1871-1873)
Elbert's stone at Comanche Cemetery is inscribed In Memory of Elbert M. Walker Born April 6, 1871; Died Aug. 11, 1873; Aged 2 yrs & 4 mos. Of such is the Kingdom of God.
• Robert Milledge Walker (1874-1947)
Milledge registered for the draft 12 September 1918. His occupation is recorded as farmer, his nearest relative is Mrs. M. A. Walker, Click, Llano, Texas and he signs Robert Milledge Walker. He is of medium height and build and has grey eyes and black hair. His shared stone with his sister Margaret at the Llano City Cemetery is inscribed with his relationship to his sister, Brother, his name, Millage, and the Masonic symbol.
Milledge Walker (San Angelo Standard-Times, Thu 9 Jan 1947)
Llano, Jan. 8. (SC) - Funeral services were held here Sunday for Milledge Walker, 72, an old-time resident of Llano and member of one of the earliest families in this section.
He was a native and life-long resident of Llano County and was son of the late E. M. Walker, a well-known Llano settler and Indian fighter here in the early days. He never married.
• Mary Mittie Walker (1877-1901)
Mittie and William 'Will' R Giles (1866-1926) married 25 November 1897 in Llano County, Texas. They had a son, Oscar William, in 1898 and a daughter, Mittie, in 1900. Mittie Walker Giles died the following year and was buried in the Giles Cemetery in Union County, New Mexico.
Will married 2) Lula Flora Johnson (1895-1967). Her stone is inscribed The Sergeant. A note on Family Search for William Giles (L7NL-MDJ) reads 'William Giles (Will) was a gambler and drinker. He died of serosis of the liver. As a middle age widower, he married a teenager (my mother) who didn't know any better. She probably thought the Giles were rich! She said that he was good to her and always called her "girl." She spoke well of all the Giles family. As I recall, the ranch was a short distance further down the ranch road and out of view from the cemetery.' Bill (via email, Oct 1 2003).
• James A Walker (1873- )
The 1880 census for Llano County, Texas records James A Walker, son of Elbert Walker, as seven years old, placing his birth at about 1873. The 1890 census is not available, most of them having been destroyed by fire in 1921.
Comanche Cemetery has a granite gravestone for an Oscar James Walker inscribed (1873-1883) matching those of twins Ida Walker (1882-1883) and Paul Walker (1882-1882). These three children, buried with Elbert and Mary, appear to be their children.
Granite and matching, the stones were likely placed some time after the deaths of the children and were probably placed at the same time by a person or persons who wanted to commemorate these family members. Granite gravestones became popular in the 20th century. Sometimes the dates on stones placed years after the death are not quite right.
Mary is recorded in the 1910 census as having 13 children, eight of them living. Including Paul and Ida brings the number to thirteen. Note that Royce Chapman's Comanche Cemetery listings include Oscar James Walker June 12, 1898, Paul Walker September 10, 1882 to September 10, 1882 and Ida Walker September 10, 1882 to October 28, 1883. I do not know the source for these dates.
I have not been to the cemetery so I don't know what stones are extant or what the inscriptions are. I have only seen the photos of stones circulating the genealogy sites. There may be stones at the cemetery for these three children that are older than the granite ones. Sometimes a new stone exists by an older one commemorating the same person. There also may be or may have been a family Bible with the dates of all of the children.
• Sarah 'Sallie' Cecilia Walker (1878-1966)
Sallie married Monroe Calhoun 'Cal' Barnett (1876-1955), son of a Presbyterian minister, 7 December 1902 in Llano County. His obituary (The San Angelo Standard, Fri 2 Dec 1955) records that he was a native of Llano County and that he worked for 20 years as a postmaster and storekeeper in Kingsland. Masonic and Woodmen of the World symbols are inscribed on the double marker for Monroe C and Sarah C Barnett at the Llano City Cemetery.
Funeral Held For Mrs. Cal Barnett (The Llano News, 7 July 1966) Funeral services for Mrs. Cal Barnett, 87, were held Wednesday morning, July 6, at the Waldrope Funeral Home with the Rev. Hugh Walter Sanders officiating. Burial was in the Llano Cemetery.
Mrs. Barnett died Monday night, July 4, in a Llano nursing home.
The former Miss Sarah (Sallie) Cecelia Walker, she was born at Click in Llano County October 25, 1878, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Milam Walker. She was married Dec. 7, 1902, to Cal Barnett who died Nov. 25, 1955. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a life-long resident of Llano County.
• Mattie Josephine Walker (1880-1977)
Mattie married 1) Joseph Stotts (1881-1929) 8 January 1903. The marriage ended in divorce and Joe married Grace Moss 5 February 1910. Divorced and working as a seamstress, Mattie was living with her sister Sallie Walker Barnett and her family in 1920. George Carl Klipp (1886-1978) and Miss Mattie Walker married 14 October 1925 in Llano County.
Klipp, Mrs. Mattie Josephine, 97, of Llano, died Friday. Graveside services 4 p.m. Sunday in Llano Cemetery in Llano. Survivors: husband, George Klipp of Llano; sister, Mrs. Henry Masters of Llano. (Austin American-Statesman, 27 February 1977)
George C. Klipp (The Odessa American, 5 February 1978) Klipp died Thursday in the Veteran's Hospital in Kerville. He was born Oct. 11, 1886, in Bastrop and served in the Army during World War I. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
• Paul Walker (birth and death 10 September 1882)
Twins Paul and Ida have granite gravestones that match that of Oscar James Walker (1873-1883) who is likely the seven year old James A Walker who appeared as the son of Elbert Walker in the 1880 census. These three children with matching stones buried at Comanche Cemetery very much appear to be the children of Elbert Walker and Mary Ann Simms, also buried at Comanche Cemetery.
• Ida Walker (1882-1883)
Ida Walker September 10, 1882- October 28, 1883 (twin) daughter of Elbert and Mary Walker - Royce Chapman's listings for the Comanche Cemetery http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/blanco/cemetery/comanche.txt
• Elberta 'Bertie' Lillian Walker (1884-1978)
Bertie married Henry Lee Masters 22 October 1902 in Llano County. Henry was the brother of Nancy Masters, whom Bertie's brother Jerry had married in 1900. Henry, a farmer of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair, and his wife Mrs. Elberta Masters were living in Henderson, Rusk, Texas when he registered for the draft 12 September 1918. Bertie and Henry share a stone at the Llano City Cemetery.
Henry Lee Masters Funeral Held Sunday (The Llano News, 4 August 1960) The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Masters, he was born in Blanco County on July 19, 1878. He was married to Mrs. Elbertie Walker at Click in October, 1902. He came to Llano as a small child and had lived here since. He joined the Methodist Church at an early age.
Bertie's death certificate records that she was a 94 year old widow at the time of her death at Llano Memorial Hospital, she was born to Elbert Walker and Mary Simms in Click, Texas, she was a housewife/homemaker, her usual address was 800 West Haynie in Llano and the informant was her daughter Mrs. Estelle Hendrix.
lili li née Loretta McKay Masters
2nd great granddaughter of Elbert Milam Walker and Mary Ann Simms
20 August 2023
Gravesite Details
(illegible) / The summer flowers did bloom / While you the purest and best / (illegible)
Family Members
Siblings
Children
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Margaret Ann Walker
1863–1942
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John Joseph Walker
1865–1950
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William Henry Walker
1867–1958
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Jerry Crock Walker
1869–1946
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Elbert Milam Walker Jr
1871–1873
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Oscar James Walker
1873–1883
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Robert Millage Walker
1874–1947
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Mittie Walker Giles
1877–1901
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Sarah Celia "Sally" Walker Barnett
1878–1966
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Mattie Josephine Walker Klipp
1880–1977
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Paul Walker
1882–1882
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Ida Walker
1882–1883
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Elberta Lillian "Bertie" Walker Masters
1884–1978
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