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WALLIS, John William
WALLIS, John William. (Grant County, WI, Oct. 3, 1845--Dubuque, IA, Jan. 16, 1887). John William Wallis was son of James WALLIS and his wife Ann Bell Wallis. John was also the future father of James Harold WALLIS shown in this daguerreotype with his sister, Sarah Jane Wallis (later Winall, Samuel Smith Winall's second wife). The pictures appear to be in the late 1840s or early 1850s.
The following is from "The Wallis Family Tree and Other Facts" by John Wallis Rider (1959)
J. W. Wallis
Mary Burton
Married
Wednesday, November twenty-third
Eighteen hundred and eighty-one
Dubuque
"This is the simple wording of the wedding announcement preserved in my portfolio.
The mature young business man of thirty-six won the hand of lovely Mary Burton, just twenty-seven. Father had gone off to war at the age of eighteen with the Iowa troops. Being too young for enlistment, he served throughout the war in the quartermaster department and when discharged, his commanding officer gave him this letter of recommendation:
St. Louis, Mo.
Sept 20, 1864
To whom it may concern:
Mr. J. W. Wallis of DuBuque, Iowa has
been for nearly a year in my employ as clerk
in the Quartermaster's Department during which
time he proved himself to be a young man of
unexceptionable character upright honest and
most faithful in discharging his duties in what-
ever position placed.
I can further recommend him as one of the
best and most reliable young men I ever met and
eminently qualified to fill positions of trust
and responsibility.
Joseph G. Foulkes
Lieut
U. S. Vol.
After the war, a position with JOHN BELL AND COMPANY was secured and later as teller in the FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DUBUQUE, then a year or two later when the partnership of John V. Rider and James Wallis was established, father was employed as clerk and later buyer for the thriving mercantile establishment to be known through a space of fifty years as the RIDER-WALLIS DRY GOODS COMPANY.
By 1881 Grandfather Wallis had met with unusual success and when the marriage (of John W. Wallis and Mary Burton) was in the offing, the brick house in the acre of ground at Prairie, Chestnut, and Walnut streets was acquired. The property, greatly improved, was the wedding gift from Grandfather and Grandmother Wallis to Will and Mary. The library with large bedroom above, was added, together with complete decorating and painting. The painted ceiling in the library was the handiwork of August "Count" Rasmussen and given as a wedding present. All the decorating work was done by our skillful Danish friend who continued to do all the painting and decorating at 121 Prairie Street up to the time of his death.
In April, 1956, the Telegraph Herald ran a story with photographs of the library ceiling--"Dane did murals at Wallis Home." It was always interesting to point out the four medallions in the design depicting boy cupids. This must have been an inspiration of the artist and a prophecy that there would be four Wallis boys to bless the union. Will (John W. Wallis) was an enthusiastic horseman and boasted a pure bred Kentucky gelding, a beautiful dappled gray called "Star."
Father possessed an excellent tenor voice and for many years sang in the Presbyterian choir. [He was prominent in local musical circles and was a member of "Nocturne Quartet.] (1)
Masonic activity took much time from the family circle but resulted in establishing strong enduring friendships. Most of the Masonic offices were held and finally Eminent Commander of Knights Templar.
All seemed to point to many happy years. William Burton arrived in November, 1882, just a year after the marriage; then James Harold in January 1885; and Joseph Allen eleven months later-in December, 1885, and finally John Rider on January 4, 1887.
Then death came swiftly and all was changed. By handling print goods, father had an infection settle in his nose which developed rapidly into erysipelas.
Without the help of modern drugs, nothing could be done to stop the spread of the poison. Death came on January 16, 1887.
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Source:
1. The Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Representative Men of Chicago, Iowa and the World's Colombian Exposition Chicago, IL, American Biographical Publishing Company, 1893 , p. 579 http://books.google.com/books?id=_1c0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA576&lpg=PA576&dq=John+William+Wallis+%28dubuque%29&source=bl&ots=-aK4bJA5IZ&sig=-wnXLkTGYkcOU4CZ5NlXdhirkSY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IwPjUe-YEMuzqQGF3YCgCg&ved=0CHIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=John%20William%20Wallis%20%28dubuque%29&f=false
2. Andrea Wallis Aven--"The Wallis Family Tree" and photographs