Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
WALLER, Robert Sr.
WALLER, Robert Sr. (Swaledale, July 5, 1794--Dubuque, IA, Mar. 17, 1859). Waller was twenty-seven years old when he came to the United States. He assisted in the construction of the Erie canal and a few years after its completion moved to Mineral Point, Missouri, where, in 1831 he married Maria Haigh.
They became residents of Dubuque in 1832. Soon after their arrival, Mr. Waller became prominently identified with the lead industry. He was civil engineer and operated the first successful lead smelting furnace in Iowa in cooperation with his cousin, Richard BONSON and his brother, John Robert WALLER, Sr. He was also actively interested in promoting many of Dubuque’s early enterprises. At his death on March 17th, 1859, he was reported to be one of the wealthiest men of the state.
He was survived by his widow and four children - Frances A., who became the wife of William COATES; Alice, who married Colonel Calvin Roberts, and some years after his death, James Woodward; Mary Jane, the wife of John Spensley and John R. WALLER, Sr. Mrs. Waller was killed in the tornado at Mineral Point, Wis., in 1878, while attending a family reunion.
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Source:
Excerpt from: Dubuque Telegraph Herald, August 20, 1916--ANNIVERSARY OF J. R. WALLER DEATH
Hughes, Christa-descendant--email, Mar. 4, 2014