WALLACE, Elijah - Putnam

In reality no greater badge of honor could be attached to a man at the present time than to refer to him as one of the "boys in blue," for it required no little amount of sacrifice, no small degree of courage and no lack of patriotism to leave hearth and home and brave the dangers and hardships of camp, campaign and battle in order to perpetuate the Union, to save the national integrity and to insure peace and prosperity to future generations. Such a man is John W. Wallace, one of Mill Creek township's substantial farmers. He was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, in 1835, the son of Elijah and Melvina (Manley) Wallace, the father born March 22, 1811, in Anderson county, Tennessee, the son of David and Elizabeth (Atkins) Wallace.

Elijah Wallace grew to maturity in his home community and in March, 1834, he married Melvina Manley, who was born October 6, 1813, in Tennessee. Her parents were Wilson and Louisa Manley, natives of the same state. Eleven children were born to this union, namely : Amanda, wife of Leonard Shaw ; John, James, David and Elizabeth ; Louisa, the wife of Homer W. Sandy; Nancy, wife of Samuel McCollum; William; Ellen, wife of Richard Brown, and Serelda. Elijah Wallace and family came to Indiana in 1834 and settled first in Morgan county, but after a short residence there moved to what is now Hendricks county, locating in the woods, cleared a spot and erected a cabin, and soon began the work of clearing a farm. He had a total capital of only one hundred dollars when he reached this state, but he was successful and at his death had accumulated large holdings; he died July 12, 1884. He was a man whom everybody liked and trusted. After his death his widow moved to Mill Creek township and made her home there ; she often referred to the days of 1834, when she and her husband arrived in Indiana, having made the journey from Tennessee in a one-horse wagon. Mr. Wallace was worth quite a sum for those days, one hundred thousand dollars at the time of his death. When John W. Wallace was about seven years old the family moved to Morgan county, where the father entered another farm, and lived there five or six years, then moved two and one-half miles south of Stilesville, where the father bought another farm, this being the family home until the death of the father in 1884; thus in the southwest corner of Hendricks county John W. Wallace grew to maturity. In 186o he married Louisa Hill, who was born in Jefferson township, the daughter of George and Nellie Hill.

Reuben Hill was the father of George, Harrison and Warren Hill. George Hill married Melinda Christenson and they became parents of three children, namely : Vandever B., Piney married Robert McCammack ; Andrew, who first married a Miss MacAmic, there being one daughter by this union ; he then married Emily Jane Scott, and to this union were born three sons and four daughters. Melinda Christenson Hill died and George Hill married Elinor Newman in Kentucky. George Hill came from Kentucky about 183o and settled one and one-half miles west of Belle Union, where he entered government land, the country roundabout for many miles being new and uncleared. He remarried and died there. By his second marriage these children were born : Malinda, Sallie, Eliza (wife of John Wallace), Margaret, Harrison and James. Andrew Hill grew to maturity near where Belle Union now stands. He was born in Kentucky about 1828 and in 1830 his parents brought him to Indiana. Twelve children were born to Andrew Hill and wife, eight of whom are now living, namely : Florence Dell married Thompson Vaughan ; Vanclever Berry ; Savanna married John Cohn ; Chandler B. ; Monte married Hugh Hicks and is now deceased ; Franklin died in infancy ; Agnes is the widow of John Whittaker ; Nevada married Reuben Masten ; Otto and George. Mrs. Hill died February 17, 1898. James Hill, now deceased, was born in Putnam County in August, 1839. the son of George and Nellie Hill, natives of Kentucky and pioneers of Putnam County. He was reared in this county and always followed farming. He was also engaged in shipping stock. He was married in March, 1861, to Elizabeth, daughter of Elijah and Melvina Wallace, early settlers of this county.

Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John W. Wallace, named as follows: James W., Elijah, Frances, George, Minnie (deceased), Emma, Marietta (deceased), Dora and Catherine. John W. Wallace had a small farm in Jefferson township, this county, where he lived until 1863, when he moved to section 17, Mill Creek township, where he lived until 1884. In March, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty- ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, joining the regiment at Huntsville, Alabama, while the army was on its way from Tennessee to Atlanta. He was taken sick the following August and was sent to the hospital at Cleveland, Tennessee, where he was confined by illness until Christmas, following. From there he was sent to Baltimore, then by ship to Newburn, North Carolina ; he was then in the battle of Kingston ; then he joined Sherman's army at Goldsboro, North Carolina, from which place he accompanied the army to Raleigh to meet Johnson's army, taking three days' rations and went out to battle, but Johnson surrendered and there was no battle. Then came the long, hard march to Washington City, where  Mr. Wallace took part in the Grand Review. He received his honorable discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, and soon afterward came home, his reunion with his family being something not to be forgotten. In 1884 Mr. Wallace bought a farm in sections 19 and 20 in Mill Creek township. where he has one hundred and twenty acres of well-kept and well- tilled land. Politically he is a Democrat ; he was township assessor for two terms. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Greencastle, and he and his wife both belong to the Friends church near his home. Their children are as follows : James W. Wallace married Cora Knoy and lives in Hendricks county, Indiana ; they are the parents of seven children, Ida, Lottie, Annie, Eva, Walter, Neda and Robert. Elijah 'Wallace is a stock trader and lives at Greencastle ; he married Ida McFadden and they have one child, Frank. Frances Wallace married Vanley Humphrey and lives in Mill Creek township ; two children were born to them, Elbert and Myrtle, the latter dying when about two years of age. George Wallace, who lives near the home place, married Ella Goodpaster and has four children. Nellie, Nettie, Elma and Herman. Minnie Wallace married Wilfred Ogles and died in 1899, leaving two small children, John and Gilbert.; after the death of their mother they made their home with John W. Wallace, of this review. Gilbert Wallace married Mabel Elmore and lives near John W. Wallace. John Wallace is still a member of the home circle. Emma Wallace married Walter Butler and lives at Martinsville, and has one son, Gilbert. Marietta died when a baby. Dora and Catherine both live at home with their parents. John W. Wallace is a man whom everybody likes, being kind-hearted, honest and reliable.