Elisha Walling, a native of White County, Tennessee, immigrated to Texas in October of 1837 according to a deposition made before A. C. Aldrich, clerk of the District Court of Houston County, Texas. In August of 1874, Elisha appeared before the court in order to gain benefits granted to citizens who had served the Republic of Texas during the period of 1836-1845. Elisha stated that he had served with Captain John H. Strain’s Company “E” of the ill-fated Santa Fe expedition. Elisha had enlisted with the expedition to capture New Mexico’s capitol in May of 1841 and had been captured with the others and sent to prison in Mexico. The record shows him at San Cristobal on February 4, at Santiago April 25-28, and at Puebla on April 29. Elisha was released on June 13 and left Vera Cruz Aug. 12 for Texas. He arrived in Houston, Texas around August 29, 1842 and was honorably discharged on that date. For his fourteen months and ten days of service he was rewarded by the state, in 1850, $322.50 plus $65.00 for the use of his horse, for a total of $387.50. After the hearing of 1874, Elisha now age fifty three received his money. Elisha had settled in theHouston County area soon after his arrival in Texas and is found listed on the 1850 Census of Texas between his brother James Walling and his sister Polly Walling Pennington. Elisha married February 3, 1857 to Amanda Elizabeth Williams of Alabama, and set up house in the Daly community west of Grapeland. In 1861, at the age of forty, Elisha volunteered for the Confederate Army, but was not taken because of his age. Elisha and Amanda lived in Houston County until the 1880’s when he moved to the Stephenville area where he died. Mandy, as she was called, lived until 1902 and is buried in Terrell, Texas. Elisha’s children were: Charlie (1857), James (1859), Jesse (1861), Susan (1862), Lawson (1865), Polly (1867), Nancy (1869), Elisha (1872), Elizabeth (1875) and Hosea (1880). Polly Walling, born October 16, 1867, married Albert Sidney Price on December 3, 1891 in Grapeland, Texas with the Rev. G. M. Hollingsworth performing the ceremony. Albert had arrived in Texas quite late in relation to the Walling family. Quincy Price of Tennessee had arrived in Houston County around 1874 or 1877 according to the tax roll of Houston County. He brought with him his wife Sarah and two sons, Everett (1867) and Albert (1870). Also in the household was Sarah’s mother Francis Jordan, a native ofSouth Carolina. Albert and Polly settled on the northern edge of Houston County and ultimately ended up in the Elkhart area. Their children included Viola, Addie M., Leothard, twins (Willie McKinley and Woodard Franklin), Charlie Walker, and Jessie Lee. All the children are deceased except Jessie who still lives in Grapeland. Viola or Ola as she was called by the family married twice, the first time to James Douthitt, and the second time to Ben O Hendon of the Crockett area. From the second marriage, two children were born. Frankie Hendon was born March 2, 1924 and presently lives near Latexo. Frankie Hendon married Marie Allen and has one daughter, Sue, and two grandchildren, Sherame Leane and Audra Marie. W. Melba was born March 9, 1927. She married Gilbert Streetman in 1944 and has four children: Cecil Gene Streetman of Crockett has three children (Tommie, Glen, and Kim); John R. Streetman of Victoria has two children (Miranda Spring and Amanda Skylar); Gayle Streetman of Lufkin; and Robert Streetman of Corpus Christi. Gilbert Streetman died in 1985 and his wife, Melba, continues to live in Grapeland.