Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 112] Lawrence County has a well established reputation for her manufactures and also for her food-products, especially fine fruits, and so, in giving the lives of the representative men of the county, we should be loath to omit the name of the well-known gentleman which heads this sketch, for he takes a foremost place among the progressive and practical fruit-growers and farmers of the county. He is no stranger to most of our readers, for his whole life has been spent in Lawrence County, where his ancestors for many generations back made their homes; it is thus with added interest as the life of a descendant of early pioneers of the county will this sketch of an eminent citizen appeal to whomsoever takes up this book and glances over its pages. Mr. Wallace was born in Scott township, Lawrence County, July 2, 1837, and is a son of William R. and Isabella (McCracken) Wallace, grandson of Robert and Elizabeth (Reeder) Wallace, and great-grandson of John and Mary (Alexander) Wallace. John Wallace was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and was a son of Robert and Mary (Knox), Wallace of the-same district. Robert died there, and his wife and four sons, James, John, Robert, and Samuel, came to America before the Revolutionary War. John, with ready sympathy for the oppressed colonists of the new land, and fellow-citizens, took part in the war, and was pressent at several important engagements. He married early in life and settled in Washington County, but at a later period came to Union township, this county, and bought land which he left to his sons at his death. His son, Robert, when thirteen years of age went into Scott township, and took a tract of land, on which he felled the trees and set up a structure of logs for a shelter and a dwelling-place; to that home he brought his bride and there reared his family; late in life, however, he moved back to Union township, and lived on a part of the land which his father had owned, dying at the age of sixty-five, being survived by his wife, who attained the age of ninety-seven. He served as a major in the War of 1812 at Fort Erie. In his religious views he was strongly inclined toward Presbyterianism. His family was composed of the following children: Mary; Harriet; William R.; Elizabeth; Sarah; Robert; and Jane.
William R. Wallace, our subject's father, succeeded his parent on the Scott township farm, but spent his last years in Union township, departing this life there at the age of eighty-four. He followed general farming all his days, and his untiring efforts were invariably crowned with success, enabling him to keep his family in comfort and to provide them with all they needed to enjoy life after a proper, sedate fashion. He was a Whig and then a Republican in his political views, and took a prominent part in the local politics of the community in which he lived; he was a justice of the peace for many years, filled the office of county commissioner with rare discretion and judgment, and served in the State militia as colonel. His wife, although bowed down with the weight of eighty-four years, is bright and active, and makes her home at the homestead. She is the mother of the following children: Robert; Jacob; William; John; George; and Mary E.
Robert Wallace continued to live under the shelter of the parental roof, assisting his father in his agricultural labors, until his marriage, Nov. 2, 1859, to Sarah Young, daughter of David and Jane (McGuffey) Young. David Young was born in Cumberland Co., Pa., and was a son of William and Mary (Elder) Young, and grandson of John and Mary (White) Young, who were of Scotch descent. David Young when seventeen years old came to Union township, and settled on the farm, now owned by Mr. Wallace, taking up 186 acres, and building a log-house in which to live while clearing the farm. His father had previously settled where the Thomas Young farm is now, and died there. In 1852 David Young built the brick house still standing and used as a residence by Mr. Wallace; it was built in the old colonial style with four large chimneys. On this farm Mr. Young passed away at the age of eighty-four; his wife lived to be only fifty-two years old. Their children were: Mary; Elizabeth; Hannah; Amanda; and Sarah. Mr. Young's wife had one child by her first marriage with Joseph Stewart—Anna J. After his marriage, Mr. Wallace continued to live on the old homestead until 1870, when he bought the farm he now owns and operates, which had been the old Young homestead, but had changed hands after David Young's decease. On this farm he has lived since, making many improvements that reflect credit on his good judgment and progressiveness; he built a handsome three-story barn 40x 66 and a carriage house, which, with the substantial brick house built by the first owner, make a set of farm buildings in which nothing more can be desired. He has twenty acres of fruit orchards, planted to standard varieties of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, etc., raising as high as 1,300 bushels of peaches of the best varieties in one year. He also has a fine dairy, in which he takes considerable pride. Besides the Young homstead on which he lives, he owns his father's old homestead, which has not been suffered to fall into disuse but claims an equal share of his attention and is kept in a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Wallace in his political views is a Populist, and is pronounced and decided in his opinions, which are the result of extended study and deep research. He is very popular among his fellow-citizens, and although no office-seeker he has been a school director for twenty-five years. All the family are members of the Presbyterian Church. The following children have been born to him and his excellent wife: Jennie, who married N. A. Offutt, and has one child, Eva Belle; William R., who died when one year old; Isabella, a teacher; David, who married Alcetta Morrison and lives on the old Wallace homestead; William W., a teacher by profession, a graduate of the New Castle Business College, but now assisting his father on the farm; Lizzie G., a teacher; Robert B., who died in his youth; and Frank H., a musician.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 28 Apr 2001