John R Wallace

WALLACE, RAWSON

Posted By: Deborah Barker (email)
Date: 7/6/2026 at 18:49:34

Davis County IA Archives Biographies.....Wallace, John R. 1847 -
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Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1896)

JOHN R. WALLACE.-Holding distinctive prestige as one of the influential and
representative business men of Bloomfield and prominently identified with the
agricultural interests of Davis county, Mr. Wallace is clearly entitled to
consideration in this volume; and not alone for the reasons above enumerated,
for his parents were among the honored pioneers of the county and were
intimately concerned in the labors which constituted the initial stages of
development in this section of the favored commonwealth of Iowa.

Our subject, who is cashier of the State Bank of Bloomfield, is a native of
the State of Tennessee, having been born in Marshall county, on the 13th of
February, 1847, the son of William and Elizabeth M. (Rawson) Wallace, both of
whom were natives of Tennessee, where they were reared to maturity and where
their marriage was consummated. The mother was born in Marshall county, that
State, October 23, 1829, and her marriage to Mr. Wallace occurred when she was
sixteen years of age. She was the daughter of Dr. Joseph Rawson, a distinguished
physician of Tennessee. In February, 1849, William Wallace removed with his
family to Iowa, settling in Prairie township, Davis county, where he purchased a
farm and devoted his attention to its cultivation and to the raising of live
stock, remaining there until the spring of 1858, when he removed to the village
of Troy, this county, and there continued his residence until 1862, when he
again resumed farming operations, locating on a tract of land four miles west of
Troy. Mr. Wallace served with the militia in defense of the southern Iowa border
during the late war of the Rebellion, assisting in the work of repulsing the
armed bands of guerillas and bushwhackers who made frequent raids into the State
for the sake of plunder, and in which connection they committed many atrocities
and murdered many defenseless and peaceable citizens. These desperadoes were a
menace to the State, and the annals of the period are replete with records of
their nefarious and inhuman deeds. The father of our subject was one of their
unfortunate victims, having been murdered by these dastardly outlaws, November
7, 1864, while at work on his farm. He was a man of strong mentality, utmost
integrity and pleasing personality, having been an influential factor in the
community and having retained the high esteem and friendship of all with whom he
came in contact. It may well be imagined that the disaster of his untimely
death, at the hands of craven assassins, was a most grievous loss and a most
poignant sorrow to his family, but the devoted mother bravely assumed the double
burden placed upon her shoulders, keeping her family together and continuing to
reside on the farm until 1870, when she removed to Bloomfield. In 1888 she went
to Colorado and there remained with her children until she was called upon to
obey death's inexorable summons, her demise occurring July 25, 1895, near Grand
Junction, that State. She was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, in
which faith she passed away, and in the merging of her noble and beautiful life
into the infinite there was a consistency which could not but serve to palliate
the grief of those who remain to revere her memory. Her mortal remains were
interred beside those of her husband in the old cemetery in Prairie township,
this county, where also repose the remains of two sons and two daughters who had
preceded her into eternal rest. She was the mother of five sons and four
daughters, of whom the survivors are: Thomas A., Camilla and W. S. Wallace,
residing at Grand Junction, Colorado; and John R. and Mrs. Mary M. Moore, of
Bloomfield, Iowa.

John R. Wallace, the immediate subject of this review, remained with his
mother on the old homestead until he had attained the age of seventeen years,
receiving his educational discipline in the district schools and in the academy
at Troy. Upon leaving school he secured a clerical position in a general store,
conducted by N. W. Cook, in Bloomfield, and later held similar incumbencies in
turn with Thomas Ewing and the firm of Cooper & Wray, the latter being dealers
in clothing and men's furnishing goods. He had by this time developed a keen
discrimination and a valuable knowledge of business methods, and he entered upon
a business career individually by engaging as a real-estate, loan and insurance
agent, his operations in this line being so ably conducted as to gain him marked
precedence and a representative supporting patronage. He continued to be thus
concerned until 1887, when he associated himself with others in the organization
of the State Bank of Bloomfield, of which he was simultaneously made cashier,
and has since served in that exacting capacity, having proved himself a
discerning and conservative financier and one particularly eligible for the
office he holds. The institution is recognized as one of the solid monetary
concerns of the county, and the representative support accorded shows the
confidence in which the interested principals are held by the people of the
community. A general banking business is conducted and careful attention is paid
to the wants of patrons and to the extending of accommodations within the
province of the institution. Mr. Wallace is the owner of an excellent farm of
587 acres, located in Davis county, and the same is devoted to general
agricultural operations and to the raising of live stock, while the permanent
improvements are of substantial and attractive character. Our subject maintains
a personal supervision of the work of his fine farmstead, and is in close touch
with the interests of the agricultural community. He is also identified with
other important financial institutions and industrial concerns outside of
Bloomfield, in which connection it may be stated that he is a stockholder and
director of the State Bank of Albia and the State Bank of Keosauqua, this State.

Politically Mr. Wallace does not render a supine allegiance to any party
organization, but maintains an independent attitude, using his franchise in
support of men and measures rather than in upholding a prescribed political
code. In his fraternal relations he is prominently identified with the Masonic
order, being a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M., of Bloomfield
Chapter, R. A. M., and of Malta Commandery, Knights Templar, at Ottumwa. He is
also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and is a member of the lodge and encampment
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being held in the highest esteem in
both business and social circles.

The marriage of Mr. Wallace was solemnized January 8, 1873, when he was
united to Miss Mary J. Walton, a daughter of Ira D. Walton, of Bloomfield, Iowa,
and they are the parents of two sons: Fred W. and Samuel T.

Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

A MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IOWA

ILLUSTRATED

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."'柚ACAULAY.

"Biography is by nature the must universally profitable, universally pleasant,
of all things."佑ARLYLE

"History is only biography on a large scale"有AMARTINE.

CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1896

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