James Walker
James Walker was born about 1793, probably in Tennessee.
He may have served in the War of 1812; he carried the title of Captain as an adult.
He married Jane Walker, possibly in Ottowa, Illinois, in the 1820's. Jane was the daughter of Rev. Jesse Walker and Susannah Webley. Although James and Jane had the same name, they were not related.
The Walker families were some of the first settlers of Walker's Grove, Illinois, now called Plainfield, in 1929.
He brought with him a horse-power mill which he set up for temporary use, and proceeded at once to construct a sawmill and a grist-mill also on the Du Page. These rendered valuable service to the early settlers in this region. It is said, and no doubt truly, that the lumber for the first frame building erected in Chicago was sawed at this mill.
- History of Will County, Illinois, Wm. LeBaron, Jr., & Co., 1878 ( www.iltrails.org/will/fatherwalk.htm)
When Will County was organized in 1836, James was selected as one of the three County Commissioners. He later represented Will County in the state legislature.
James and Jane had at least one child, Harriet "Hattie" Walker. She later married Dewitt Clinto Searles; both are buried in Plainfield Cemetery.
Capt. James Walker died in 1850.
Jane Walker died in November, 1858, while on a trip in Iowa.