William H. Wallace

WILLIAM HOCKADAY WALLACE,

WII.UAM HOCKADAY WAIIvACE was born October 11, 1848, on a farm in Clark County, Kentucky. He is of Scotch-Irish stock, and the earliest preserved records of the family relate that his great grandfather, on the paternal side, came to America from the North of Ireland in the first half of the Eighteenth Century. The latter 's son and the great grandfather of our subject, Capt. John Wallace, v/as born in Pennsylvania, December 18, 1748, and served in the Army of the Revolution under Washington. He was Captain of a company, and an old memorandum book still preserved in the family, among many entries, contains one dated "Camp Whitemarsh, 1777," and another made at "Camp Valley Forge, 1778." The latter shows the extremities to which Washington's army was then reduced, inasmuch as one pound and two shillings were paid for a pair of stockings. His son. Col. John Wallace, was a native of Virginia, but moved to Kentucky during the early settlement of the State and became Colonel of militia. There the father of the subject of this biography. Rev. Joseph William Wallace, was born. For many years he has preached the gospel as an Old School Presbyterian minister, and is yet living at Independence, Missouri, having passed his seventy-fifth birthday November 29, 1896. He is a man of remarkable physique, in the possession of all his faculties, is fearless and independent, of spotless reputation and universally respected.

The mother of Mr. Wallace, before marriage, was Bettie Hockaday, daughter of Edmund Warwick Hockaday, of Clark County, Kentucky. She died when her son was about three years old and his father married a second time, espousing Jessamine, daughter of Dr. Archibald Young, of Jessamine County, Kentucky. By this second marriage there were four sons, namely: John Calvin Wallace, a lawyer, now deceased; Charles Hodge Wallace, a physician of St. Joseph, Missouri; Theodoric Boulware Wallace, a lawyer located at Kansas City; and Addison Alexander Wallace, now a Presbyterian minister located at Mexico, Missouri.

Rev. Joseph W. Wallace sold out his possessions in Kentucky, and in 1857 moved his family to Missouri and settled on a farm in Jackson County near Lee's Summit. From the time he was old enough, young William H. made a regular hand on the farm when not at school. In such early training was laid the foundation for the exceptional physical endurance and capacity for work that are his characteristics.

The Wallace family, as inhabitants of the " Border," were most critically exposed in the war between the States, and it is fortunate that they escaped being ground to pieces, living as they did at the point where, to use Mr. Wallace's own words in one of his speeches — "Torch and fire, sword and rapine, village and plunder, robbery and assassination were abroad in the land; where devouring flames leaped from farm to farm, from house to house, until both earth and sky seemed ablaze with living horrors; where the red lightning of murder played the reddet along the Western sky and the fierce dogs of war were turned loose on defenseless women and children; with the wondering eyes of a boy I saw it all and like a lurid panorama it rolls before me now." Mr. Wallace's father was a pronoimced Southern man and an owner of slaves. Every vestige of his property except his burnt off land was swept away, and in August, 1863, the family was compelled to vacate the homestead under what was known as " Order No. 11," and moved overland by wagon to Fulton, Missouri. William H. there entered the preparatory department of Westminster College, and graduated in 1871, after taking the regular classical course. For part of his education he is indebted to the liberality of the late Judge Thomas B. Nesbit, of Fulton, a kindness he always thoroughly appreciates and yet refers to with expressions of sincerest gratitude. That the favors of the Judge were most justly and advantageously bestowed, the subsequent career of the recipient amply demonstrates. During his attendance at college he taught one term of school, likewise teaching a term after graduation.

He studied law in the office of a relative — Judge John A. Hockaday, at Fulton — and was licensed to practice by the late Judge Burckhartt, of Randolph County. He moved to Independence, Missouri, to enter upon the practice of his profession in 1874, and while engaged in trying to secure a clientage, he supported himself, in part, by newspaper work. He was connected with the Independence Sentinel for about a year and was for some time the Independence reporter for the Kansas City Times. He was for a few months the law partner at Kansas City of James B. Snell, now deceased, and afterwards at Independence of (george W. Buchanan, a venerable member of the Jackson County bar. In 1877 he went into partnership with Judge Edward P. Gates, now one of the Circuit Court Judges of Jackson County. This partnership lasted for seventeen years.

Ill 1880 Mr. Wallace moved to Kansas City, where he has since resided. In the same year he was elected to the office of Prosecuting Attorney of Jackson County, and in 1882 was re-elected as his own successor. It was during this incumbency that he distinguished himself by his untiring energy, zealand resourcefulness as a public officer. It was he who inaugurated and with fearless courage and exceptional cleverness carried forward the scheme

Legal FuWislung Co StLouis to capture, punish and rid Missouri of the disgrace of the "James Boys." In fact, he made the canvass each time on that issue. The prosecution of this famous gang of daring bandits extended through three years, and resulted in the death of Jesse James and in crushing forever that band of notorious outlaws — a task that had hitherto been deemed a stupendous impossibility. There are few people who have ever fully comprehended the difficulty and magnitude of this undertaking. The truth is, the James Boys had terrorized the people of Western Missouri for fifteen years. It was considered certain death to give information against them, and a number of worthy citizens who were suspected of having done so, had been shot down in cold blood. Jesse James had stated at houses where he ate that he would kill a woman who informed on him as soon as he would kill a man, and every mouth was sealed. A Judge of the Criminal Court of Jackson County, now deceased, is authority for the statement that a grand jury at Independence concluded that they would investigate a robbery attributed to these outlaws, and they supbcenaed a man at whose house they were accustomed to stop. He promptly answered all their questions, but on arising from the witness chair, he drew a large six shooter from his belt and said: "Now, gentlemen, I won't swear a lie. I have given you the names of the men who committed this robbery, but my own life is now at state and I want to say that if anybody is indicted you can all dig your graves at once." Nobody was indicted. These men were as thoroughly feared by railroad men as by country men. When preparing for the trial of the fii-st train robber at Independence, the officials of the road whose train was robbed sent word to Mr. Wallace that they thought it useless to push the matter, that a jury could not be found that would convict and that it would simply incite to further acts of violence on their road. When finally those in charge of the train were sent as witnesses, all except one were excused from testifying because they feared assassination.

Whatever may be said of those worthy citizens and officers who aided in the overthrow of one of the most powerful bands of outlaws the world has ever known, it may be truthfully said of Mr. Wallace that he spent more time and did more work than all others combined. He was in the fight single-handed for six months and had one of the gang in jail, had broken the ice and had demonstrated that he could be convicted by a jury in Missouri, before any other officer had done any effective work; and he stood solitary and alone in the contest for more than a year after the last member of the band, Frank James, had surrendered and public and official sympathy had turned so strongly in the defendant's favor that it was impossible to convict. Mr. Wallace had been raised in eastern Jackson County and knew many of the bandits and their friends and kindred personally. He made his first campaign in the county on horseback, speaking at night, calling the outlaws by name and promising to prosecute them if elected. He was the first and only candidate for office who ever denounced the band from the stump in eastern Jackson County. By his example he dispelled the intense secrecy that had surrounded their exploits. He broke the backbone of outlawry in Missouri by the conviction of Bill Ryan at Independence, and their complete destruction followed in a few months afterwards. He traveled thousands of miles and accumulated every particle of evidence, and with the exception of the Ford boys, furnished every witness or informant ever used in or out of court. He never received or assisted any one in the remotest way to receive any reward that was ever given. He received no fee from any source, except the small fee allowed by the statute in case of conviction — not exceeding $12.50. He was probably as frequently threatened with political annihilation, personal violence and death as any man who ever held an office, and yet no enemy has ever accused him of changing his position or making any concessions or apologies. His conduct was such that his bitterest enemies are now among his staunchest friends. General Shelby, who was an outspoken friend of the James Boys upon the ground that they had been mistreated and who fought Mr. Wallace throughout, with all of the fervor of his nature, became one of his warmest friends and paid the highest tributes to his worth, and especially to his personal courage, he ever received from any source whatever.

Before the end of his second term as Public Prosecutor, he made the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress. Upon entering this race he resigned the office of Prosecuting Attorney upon the ground that he could not properly discharge his official duties while engaged in a political canvass. His opponents were very bitter, claiming that he had displayed unnecessary vigor and pertinacity in the prosecution of the train robbers. He easily registered a vote at the primaries far in excess of any of his competitors, but as there was a dispute as to whether he or his leading opponent obtained the nomination in the Congressional Convention, Mr. Wallace very generously withdrew from the race. This contest took place in 1884, and he has never since consented to become a candidate for any office.

Notwithstanding the bitterness some of those who opposed him manifested in that campaign, almost to a man they have since become his friends, and while he has, until the present, refused to again ask the suffrages of the people, he has always manifested a deep interest in political and public affairs, has always been an enthusiastic Democrat, and with one or two exceptions, has participated at his own expense, on the stump and otherwise, in every municipal, county, State and National campaign between 1874 and 1896. There is scarcely an office in the gift of the people of Missouri he could not have had, had he been willing to accede to the urgent and repeated requests made by his many friends throughout the State.

Mr. Wallace is now at the head of a successful practice in Kansas City, as the partner of his brother, Theodoric B. As a lawyer he is noted because of his versatility, conducting every kind of a case, civil or criminal, with equal ability. His power before a jury is unequaled, and it can safely be said that no attorney in the West has been so uniformly successful before this tribunal. He is an indefatigable worker, but possesses that rare faculty of withdrawing his mind from the most tense surroundings and seeking repose and recuperation at will. He is one of the people, is courteous and kindly to all, is a true friend, and does not harbor malice against any who have wronged him. He speaks always extemporaneously and his utterances are filled with dramatic fire. An ex-Senator of the United States, who stands second to no man in America in point of literary culture, after reading Mr. Wallace's speech in the prosecution of Frank James, pronounced it "one of the finest productions in the English tongue." This speech has been twice printed in pamphlet form and has been generally read. In many of the schools and colleges of Missouri extracts have been taken from it and used as declamations. Mr. Wallace himself has stated that he regarded as his l)est effort his speech in the prosecution of Bill Ryan, the first one of the James Boys band of bandits who was tried by a jury in Missouri and who was convicted and sentenced for a term of twenty-five years.

The prosecution of the James gang forms one of the most dramatic pages in Western history. In this he was the chief actor, and the history of his participation therein, although of thrilling interest, is too long to be related in detail here. The contest showed his energy, his remarkable endurance and tenacity and ability, as well as that he was wholly devoid of fear. He was surrounded by desperate and unscrupulous men during three years, and although his life was in danger every minute, such dangers he seemed to court and 'they but stimulated him to renewed activity. It is but fair to say that he took no part and knew nothing of the killing of Jesse James, and as a testimony to his absolute fairness and honesty, it is of record that through him, after the killing of Jesse James, the mother and wife of Frank James opened negotiations for the surrender of the latter, they knowing that he would protect him and carry out any agreement he might make. Mr. Wallace's terms of surrender included, among other things, that Frank James should serve a term in the penitentiary. The terms were declined, being pronounced too severe. A few months afterwards Frank James surrendered through other parties.

July 14, 1887, Mr. Wallace was married to Miss Elizabeth G. Chiles, daughter of Mr. Cornelius C. Chiles, of Independence, Missouri. By this marriage there are two children, William H. Wallace, Jr., born April 18, 1888, and Mary Chiles Wallace, born December 27, 1890.

Mr. Wallace's personal characteristics embrace all that goes to make up true manhood. Earnest and warm in his friendships, strong in all his convictions and fearless in their expression, he has ever been the champion of things that are honest, things that are pure, and thing that are true. Mr. Wallace's oratory has not been confined to professional or political fields. Frequently he has been called upon to deliver annual addresses to the literary societies of the highest institutions of learning in the land, and long will these addresses be remembered by the young men who were but then entering upon their life's work. Especially were the addresses delivered at the Missouri State University, at William Jewell College and at Central College considered by all who heard them as the very best types of scholarly eloquence.

'HE Wallers are an old and influential Kentucky family, the early progenitors of the

1 house having come to this country from England prior to the Revolution. Eben Cotman Waller, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, was born in 1772, on the Eastern shore of Maryland, near Saulsb'ury, where the family settled on coming from England. His son, Esme Marshall Waller, the father of Alexander H., was born in Maryland and went with his family when they carried the name to Kentucky, in whose soil it has flourished, producing sons who became influential citizens of that State. There Esme M. Waller met and married the mother of our subject, who was Jane H. Moffett. Her father was Alexander Moffett, of Scotch-Irish blood, and a native of Virginia. The family was one of influence, and lived near Staunton. From there the sons of the house scattered, Alexander M. locating in Trimble County, Kentucky, at an early day, while two of his brothers settled at Piqua, Ohio (once known as an old Indian village), in which section their numerous descendants may be found to-day. Esme M. Waller and Jane H., daughter of Alexander Moffett, were married in Trimble County, Kentucky, in 1845, and two years later, or on April 13, 1847, their son, Alexander H., was born in Carroll County of the same State. Prior to the war, or at a period near its beginning, the jDarents left Kentucky and sought a new home in Missouri, selecting Clay County. There they lived the balance of their days and there both lie buried, the father dying in 1891, at the advanced

As printed in The history of the bench and bar of Missouri : With reminiscences of the prominent lawyers of the past, and a record of the law's leaders of the present (1898). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.