The Wallace Families of Lafayette County, Missouri

HENRY CROCKETT WALLACE, JR.

The legal profession is among the most important and honorable calling among the civilized races. If all men were informed as to the law, and possessed a law-abiding spirit, there would be less use for the lawyer, but so long as men do not understand law, and care not for the rights and interests of their neighbors, there is no class of men who have more to do with the action of a commercial people and the enactment of laws governing them than the attorney-at-law, for be it remembered that a majority of the most eminent statesmen, in all countries, have been able lawyers before entering the political arena. Indeed, the best talent in the land has been found in the legal profession, and the day has long since passed when its representatives are classed with trickery and dishonor, but on the other hand they are men of brains and heart combined, and seek to adjust the rights of men rather than to annoy them by needless litigation.

Amongthe successful and honorable members of the Lafayette county bar is Henry C. Wallace. Jr., who comes from a family of lawyers on both sides of the family tree, being a worthy son of the late H. C. Wallace, a leading member of the bar at Lexington for almost fifty years, a man who was esteemed and respected by all. Mr. Wallace, a native son of this county, first attended the public schools and then entered Wentworth Military Academy at Lexington. Afterward he attended William Jewell College at Liberty, Missouri, then read law in his father's office. Few lawyers have had the advantage of studying their profession under such able guidance as the subject of this sketch. His careful work and natural aptitude soon made him proficient and in December, 1889, he was admitted to the bar and since then has been in the active practice of the law. He was in partnership with his father for a number of years, under the firm name of Wallace & Wallace. Throughout his career since entering the profession he, has been regarded as a skilful exponent of legal lore, is capable and thorough and has earned the respect of his friends and opponents alike by reason of his upright work.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FIDELIO LEE WALLACE.

The record of Fidelio Lee Wallace, of Lexington, is that of a man who has worked his way from a modest beginning up to a position of considerable prominence by his efforts, which have been practically unaided, which fact renders him worthy of the praise that is freely accorded him by his fellow men. Mr. Wallace is a native of Lexington, the representative of one of the old and honored families of this locality, his birth occurring on June 11, 1868, and he is the son of Henry C. and Eliza A. (Sharp) Wallace. He grew to maturity at the old homestead and received the advantages of a good education.

attending the common schools and Wentworth Military Academy, also the Bryant-Stratton Business College in St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 1888. Thus well equipped for his life work, he began his career in the employ of J. Kennard & Sons Carpet Company at St. Louis, where he remained two and one-half years. Returning to Lafayette county, he became deputy recorder for a period of five years, rendering most efficient service in this connection. He then engaged in the real estate business until 1902, enjoying a very liberal patronage and becoming widely known in this line of endeavor. He then became teller and bookkeeper in the Lexington Savings Bank, in which institution he now holds the position of assistant cashier.

Mr. Wallace has been very successful in all his business relations, being interested in several farms and he has a modern and attractive home on South street. He is secretary of the Plattenberg Coal Company, which carries on an extensive business.

Politically, Mr. Wallace is a Democrat, and in religious matters he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church South, and fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the third degree.

Mr. Wallace was married on November 7, 1900, to Lillian Ryland, a lady of refinement and culture and the representative of one of the best known families of the county, being the daughter of Judge John E. and Nancy P. Ryland. She was born May 14, 1872, and this union has been graced by the birth of three children: Fidelio Lee Wallace, Jr., who died December 14, 1905, and John Ryland and Edwin Sharp.

By a life consistent in motive and action and because of his many fine personal qualities Mr. Wallace has earned the regard of all who know him, and in his home, which is the center of a large social circle, there is always in evidence a spirit of generous hospitality and he and his wife have the esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

THOMAS BATES WALLACE,

P. O. Lexington. Was born March 31, 1813, near Richmond, Kentucky. He is the son of John Wallace and Elizabeth Wallace. His father was a native of Albemarle county, Virginia, and born February 17, 1783; his grandfather, Josiah Wallace, was born in the same county, in 1739; his great-grandfather was born in the same county, in 1700. The father of the latter was from Scotland. Elizabeth Walker was born m Buckingham county, Virginia, in 1784. Her father, Asaph Walker, was born in the same county, 1735; her grandfather was born in the same county, -in 1695; the father of the latter was from England. The mother of Elizabeth Walker was Judith Watkins, born in 1738; her grandmother was a Dupuy, and a defendant of the Huguenots. Thomas B. Wallace came, with, his parents, to Missouri in 1819, and his father settled in Lafayette county, five miles southeast of Lexington, when Missouri was only a territory. The educational advantages of young Wallace were such as might be expected in Missouri at that early day — crude teachers, rude schoolhouses, and wretched equipments. He remained on the farm with his father until seventeen years of age, when he began to learn the trade of joiner and carpenter. This avocation he followed five years. During that time he built the first house erected in Clinton, Henry county, Missouri, and in 1836, in company with his brother, B. F. Wallace, there began the mercantile business, which he successfully prosecuted for twelve years. In 1848, the firm moved to Lexington, and continued the business of general merchandising. They continued in partnership until 1856, when he purchased the interest of B. F. Wallace, and continued to sell goods till November, 1860, when he disposed of his stock. In 1861, soon after the war began, during the battle of Lexington, he lost property to the value of $50,000, consisting of buildings, goods, notes, and other effects. In 1862, was appointed United States marshal for the western district of Missouri, an office he held for three years. In June, 1865, he opened a house in St. Louis, for the transaction of a general commission business, but in July, 1866, having been appointed, by President Johnson, marshal of the western district of Missouri, he returned to Lexington, and discharged the duties of that office until 1869. Since 1871, he has been engaged in the insurance business. In 1861, at the battle of Lexington, Col. Mulligan, commanding the federal forces, ordered the house of Mr. Wallace burned, as a military necessity. By this destruction he lost nearly all his effects. In 187i2, congress passed an act to re-imburse him for his loss, but, on some account, it met the disapprobation of President Grant, and the bill was vetoed. During his residence in Herary county, he was deputy county clerk for two years, and county treasurer for eight years. He is a licensed lawyer, and authorized to practice in any court in Missouri. Mr. Wallace has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Ann Elliott, a native of Howard county, Missouri, born January 4, 1825, and daughter of John Elliott, a native of Virginia. The mother of Miss Elliott was Mary Glassgow, of Virginia. Mr. Elliott and she were married in 1809, in Madison county, Kentucky, and soon after emigrated to Missouri, locating near Old Franklin, nearly opposite the present site of Boonville, on the Missouri river. By this marriage with Miss Elliott, Mr. Wallace had five children, three of whom died in infancy. John Wallace was drowned in the Missouri river, at thirteen years of age, and William, the other son, died at the age of twenty-two. Their mother died February 25, 1853. His second marriage was with Mrs. Lucy B. Gains, formerly Miss Briscoe, born November 14, 1825, a daughter of James Briscoe. Her father was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1770; her grandfather, Ralph Briscoe, was born in the same county, about 1756. Thomas B. Wallace and Mrs. Lucy B. Gains were married March 28, 1854. By this marriage there were three children: Nettie Briscoe, born October 17, 1855; Thomas Bates, born November 25, 1858; Hugh Campbell, born February 10, 1863. In religious belief, Mr. Wallace is a Cumberland Presbyterian. Mrs. Wallace is a member of the Christian Church. Politically, he held the doctrines of the whig party, and voted with that party while it existed; since its demise, he has acted with the democrats, but has always been a liberal and conservative man.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.