George Robert Wall

Notes by Randy Wall on findagrave.com:

George R. Wall: The First Wall Born in AMERICA. George Robert Wall, chart # 10, married David and Harriett Allard's oldest child, Harriett Catherine Allard (Kate), on July 15th, 1866 in Grant, Iowa. George was the son of Nathaniel and Sarah Wall from England. (See their section.) George was born on April 5th, 1844 in Beaver Falls, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The family arrived in Iowa around 1846. After his marriage to Kate, they lived on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. In the spring of 1883, he moved his family to a farm near Twin Lakes, Calhoun County, Iowa. They traveled by covered wagon and drove their cattle along with them. The children walked most of the way to relieve the load for the horses, since the wagon was heavily loaded with all their goods including Harriett's pump organ. (Remember there are three generations of Harriett. George's mother-in-law was Harriett Catherine (Brown) Allard, his wife was Harriett (nickname Kate) Catherine (Allard) Wall, and his daughter was Harriett Wall, who went by the nickname Hattie. Confused? Don't be.) When they arrived in Twin Lakes, the pump organ was the only one at the time. Wouldn't that be thrilling to have a picture of it today or even have the organ itself? (I am a professional piano player.) George and Kate raised eight children and farmed most of their lives. Kate/Harriett died on Nov. 8th, 1915 in Rockwell City, Calhoun Co., IA. George then went to live with his son David, until his death on Feb. 23rd, 1929, also at Rockwell City. George and Kate are buried in the Rosehill Cemetery at Rockwell City with some of their other children. Here's a note from family papers: a cyclone struck Twin Lakes, Iowa, and a home being built by George and Kate wasn't completed yet. The cyclone picked up the house and turned it around and put it back on the foundation, backwards. They finished the home where it sat. So the back door became the front door. Was it an act of God? Or was it the filming of the Wizard of Oz?

The eight children of George and Kate Wall were all born in Montgomery Co., Iowa, in the vicinity of the towns of Grant, Elliott, and Red Oak. There are a few mistakes on George and Kate's gravestone. His year of birth is not 1842, but 1844. And Harriet should be spelled Harriett.

The children of George and Kate:

• 1. Sarah Amonia—She was born on May 5th, 1867. (See the George Eli Wall section for more about her life.) She married a man also named George Wall, who was no relation to her family. She was called "Sadie." She died on April 14th, 1935.
• 2. David Nathaniel—He was born on June 10th, 1869 and died on January 9th, 1961. On Jan. 29th, 1913 he married his second cousin, Minnie Irene Wall (April 5th, 1881-Nov. 25th, 1972). Their grandfathers from England, Nathaniel and Abraham Wall, were brothers. (See the section, "The Walls from England.") They had two sons, Robert and Dale. David and Minnie are buried in the Rosehill Cemetery at Rockwell City, IA. We must thank Dale Wall and his wife, Grace, from Ohio. They made road trips and did a lot of research the old fashioned way. On foot. Dale sure has a lot of stories about the Walls and great pictures.
• 3. Harriette/Hattie—She was born on July 26th, 1871 and died on June 3rd, 1931 at a hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was a teacher and principal in Iowa and Minnesota who never married. She is buried with her parents at Rosehill Cemetery. After her brother, Thomas's, first wife died and left three small children, Hattie went to live with him in Sturgis, South Dakota to help raise them. She was quite a gardener and a poet.
• 4. Nellie—She was born on Nov. 26th, 1873 and died on Nov. 20th, 1907. She also never married and is buried with her parents. Nellie and her sister, Mary/Marie died of TB. We were told they contracted it from a neighbor girl.
• 5. Samuel Hubert—He was born on Nov. 20th, 1876 and died on May 19th, 1954. On Feb. 26th, 1902, he wed Grace (Gracia) Wright (Feb. 17th, 1879-Dec 26th, 1939). They had three sons: Hubert, Louis, and Harold. Sam and Grace are buried at Garfield Township Cemetery near Lytton, IA with their infant son Louis (Sept 4th-27th, 1905) and Hubert (Dec. 2nd, 1902-Sept. 12th, 1971). Harold (Dec. 4th, 1906-Nov. 4th, 1989) and his wife, Ila Genevieve Wright (Oct. 24th, 1909-July 1st, 1990), are both buried in Logan Park Cemetery, Sioux City, IA. A diary about the family was written intermittently by Grace, Sam's wife, from Jan. 1st, 1928 to Oct. 22nd, 1936. It has been edited and printed by her grandson, Dana Wall, son of Harold and father of Cheryl Wall, who edited this book.
• 6. George Thomas—He was born on Aug. 8th, 1877, and died on Dec. 28th, 1966. He changed his name to Thomas George, saying there were enough Georges around. Amen! He married on Dec. 19th, 1908, to Irma Day (March, 25th, 1885-Feb.25th, 1924) and they had three children: Thomasa (who was killed in a car accident), Jeanne, and Shelby. He married his second wife, Karen Bregitte Wefald (April 19th, 1904-Dec. 14th, 1990), on March 23rd, 1935, and they had two children: Thomasa (named after the sister who was killed) and David. Thomas and Karen are both buried at Bear Butte Cemetery, Sturgis, SD. Thank you Tommie (Thomasa Leenknecht), for pictures and tales of the Wall family. We met Tommie on the internet searching for our roots. And it wasn't Ebay. What a treasure.
• 7. Mary Amanda/Marie—She was born on Nov. 12th, 1879 and died on Oct. 16th, 1914. She married Alec Fowlie on Feb. 15th, 1909. They had no children. She is buried at Rosehill Cemetery at Rockwell City, IA.
• 8. Edward Alden—He was born on Nov. 15th, 1882 and died on Jan. 24th, 1963. He married on Nov. 13th, 1907 at Rockwell City, IA to Iva May Thompson (Aug. 24th, 1888-Dec. 31st, 1970). They had five children: Theo, Velma and Thelma (twins but Thelma only lived 24 days), Ivanette, and Raymond. Both are buried at Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota. This family also did a lot of research on the Walls. Thank you Karen (Mittelstadt) Lochner. Calvin Wall, Randy's father, has a wonderful steamer wood trunk that this couple, Edward and Iva, gave Cal's parents, Ed and Viola Wall, on their honeymoon. The trunk was originally from Alec Fowlie, who was married to Mary/Marie Wall. Mary/Marie and Ed Wall were siblings. So Ed Wall gave it to his nephew Ed Wall, as a wedding present. Alec Fowlie signed the trunk inside to Ed Wall (and it ended up going to Ed Wall's nephew with the same name).