Bios: WALL families: Allegheny Co, PA
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Wall families
The ancestry of this family in America dates from an early period in the
history of the country. In 1640 Lady Deborah Moody, the widow of a
Wiltshire baronet, organized an association of some fifty persons who
came to America and among them was Walter Wall. This association first
established at Lynn, Massachusetts, remaining there until 1643 when they
removed to Gravesend on Long Island. In the latter part of 1657 Walter
Wall and others emigrated to New Jersey with their families where they
made a purchase embracing the present county of Middlesex and part of the
county of Monmouth.
Walter Wall purchased a large tract in the neighborhood of Middletown on
a portion of which was known as Wall's mill and later Van Meeter's/Van
Meter's mill, was born General Garret D Wall, who served for several
years as a member of the United States Senate, and in the several
divisions of town lots and outlands of Middletown, Walter Wall found
himself the possessor of much valuable land.
Here is son Garret Wall became a man of some prominence in public
affairs, his name being mentioned in Middletown Townbook as receiver of
taxes, and his son Jarat Wall, or Jarret Wall, was among the leading
citizens who resisted the unjust demands of the proprietary in 1700-1701.
James Wall, son of Humphrey Wall, and grandson of Jarret Wall, above
mentioned together with his brother, Walter Wall, moved from their New
Jersey homes in 1766 to find greater freedom and change of scene in the
then western wilds, west of the mountains.
Arriving at the forks of the Yough, as it was then called, which included
that portion of the counties of Allegheny and Westmoreland now lying
between the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers, comprising the townships
of Lincoln, Elizabeth and Forward in Allegheny county and Rostraver
township in Westmoreland county, they built cabins, cleared the land and
commenced the cultivation of the frontier land surrounded by Indians and
the wild animals of the forest.
In the spring of 1769 they revisited New Jersey and in the fall of the
same year returned to their homes with their families. Several other New
Jersey families came with them, among them: Applegates, Pierces,
Ketchams, Johnsons, Imlays, Smiths and others, some of whose descendants
still reside in the district.
The region known as Yohogania and Rostraver being mainly settled by
emigrants from New Jersey caused it to be called the New Jersey
Settlement at an early day, a name still familiar to the present
generation.
Owing to the land controversy which existed for a period of over thirty
years between the authorities of Pennsylvania on one hand and those of
Virginia on the other, titles to land could not be obtained with any
degree of certainty until after the year 1784. Warrants were granted by
the land department of Pennsylvania to James Wall and Walter Wall for
322 acres 64 perches and allowance each under the date July 10, 1786, and
the farm on which James Wall settled is now owned by William Caldwell and
Stephen Applegate.
James Wall married Catherine Van Eman, a sister of George Van Eman, the
grandfather of the Hon George Van Eman Lawrence of Monongahela City,
Penna, and had eight children: Walter Wall; William Wall; Garret Wall;
Nicholas Wall; Andrew Wall; Naomi Wall; Mary Wall and Hannah Wall.
James Wall died on the homestead farm, May 20, 1811, and his widow a few
years later. He was known for his hospitality and genial disposition; was
a strict observer of the laws of God and of man, honest in business, kind
to his family and good to the poor. He took considerable part in public
affairs.
Garrett Wall was born July 13, 1778, married February 16, 1800,. Mary
Sparks, daughter of Colonel Richard Sparks of the US Army, and resided on
the farm given his wife by her father. Here the late Colonel Brisben
Wall, son of Garrett Wall, was born and this property he owned up to the
time of his decease.
Garrett Wall was a man of sterling character and ability; was possessed
of considerable literary taste and a good knowledge of common law, and
was an uncompromising adherent of the principles of virtue and morality.
He served in the War of 1812 as quartermaster of Colonel Ferree's
regiment, P V I, and filled the office of justice of the peace for many
years, up to the time of his decease. He built a sawmill on his farm in
1829 run by waterpower which was operated by him and afterward by his son
Brisben Wall until 1852 and then abandoned.
His children by his first wife, Mary Sparks, were: Milo Wall; Sparks
Wall; William Wall; Jesse S Wall; Joseph Wall; Gideon Wall; Charity E
Wall; and Brisben Wall. The mother of these children dying in 1821, Mr
Wall took for his second wife, March 16, 1824, Mary Watson, who bore him
the following children: Sidney M Wall; Mary Wall; Elizabeth Wall;
Cinthelia Wall; and Amanda Wall. The father died January 3, 1848, and the
mother in 1881.
Jesse S Wall was born July 13, 1806, married Sarah Devore, March 5, 1829,
and lived on the farm now owned by James Wall adjoining the old homestead
until 1833 when he moved to Washington county where he remained until
1844 in which year he removed to Guernsey county, Ohio, where he and his
wife now reside. The names of their children are: Andrew Wall; William
Wall; Samuel Wall; David Wall; Lucinda Wall; Sarah Wall; Sparks Wall;
Ella Wall.
Joseph Wall was born November 17, 1811, married Frances Allen, daughter
of the late David Allen, and resided on the farm given his wife by her
father near Sunny Side in Allegheny county, Penna. He held the office of
justice of the peace for fifteen years. He was treasurer of the Forward
township school board for several years, and for some time was a deacon
in the Presbyterian Church. He possessed the confidence of all who knew
him for strict honesty and truthfulness. The following named were his
children: Mary Jane Wall; Emeline Wall; Josephine Wall; Flora Wall;
Sidney M Wall; all deceased unmarried. Henrietta Wall; Harriet Wall;
Letitia Wall, deceased; Arabella Wall, deceased; Adaline Wall and Frances
Wall, twins; all married. Mrs Frances Allen Wall, the mother of these
children, was born August 18, 1811; and died March 11, 1855.
Joseph Wall married for his second wife, September 6, 1860, Susan
Gilkeson, and died July 13, 1881; his widow subsequently moved to
Monongahela City, Penna, where she still resides.
Colonel Brisben Wall was born March 23, 1819, on the old homestead and
entered the schools of the neighborhood at an early age. The death of his
mother when he was scarcely two years old deprived him of the influences
which a mother alone possesses and can impart. She was a lady of much
taste and refinement and was highly respected and esteemed by all her
neighbors and acquaintances. His father possessed many commendable traits
of character which the youthful Brisben Wall inherited in a very large
degree and retained through life. The boy made excellent progress in all
his studies at school, especially in the natural sciences and
mathematics, and was considered one of the best mathematicians in his
part of the country. He commenced land surveying, civil and mining
engineering in 1850 which he continued to practice in connection with the
management of his farm almost to the close of his life. In politics he
was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party to which he firmly
adhered through life.
When the War of the Rebellion broke out, Mr Wall entered the Union
service, September 21, 1861, as first lieutenant of Company D, 79th P V I,
Colonel H A Hambright, Seventh Brigade, commanded by Brig-General S
Negley.
Lieutenant Wall remained with his company on the march from Louisville to
Mumfordsville and at the last named place he was prostrated with fever,
from which he never fully recovered. While convalescing at Mumfordsville,
he was detailed to act as chief of a corps of pioneers and sappers under
Colonel Innes, 1st Regiment, Michigan Engineers. Ill health, however,
compelled him to resign his commission April 25, 1862, as Nashville and
return home. He still retained an active interest in the success of the
Union arms, and during the Confederate raid into Pennsylvania which
brought about the Battle of Gettysburg, he accompanied Rev Capt J C
Brown's company of Home Guards to Harrisburg.
Col Wall married May 27, 1847, Hannah Sutton, daughter of the late John
Sutton of Elizabeth, now Forward township, Allegheny county, Penna, and
sister of Dr Lewis Sutton of West Newton and resided on the homestead
farm to which he succeeded after the death of his father, until 1873 at
which time he purchased a portion of the farm owned by the late Squire
Jesse Applegate, including the mansion house thereon into which he moved
with his family and occupied until his decease. His widow and four sons
remain to mourn his early departure from life. His eldest son, John
Sutton Wall, is married and living in Monongahela City; George W Wall;
Jesse S Wall; and Lewis Brisben Wall together with their widowed mother
remain on the farm where he died.
Col Brisben Wall was conscientious, truthful, honest in business, took an
active interest in all public enterprises and improvements. He was a
genial friend, an honorable gentleman, a useful citizen and a loyal
soldier descended from patriotic blood.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania Chicago : A. Warner & Co.,
1889. p439
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George W Wall, farmer, post office, Monongahela City, is a son of Colonel
Brisben Wall and Hannah Sutton Wall. John Sutton, father of Hannah, was
one of the early pioneers and reared a family of four children: Joseph
Sutton, Lewis Sutton, Susan Sutton and Hannah Sutton. Lewis Sutton is
married and settled at West Newton where he is prominently identified
with the medical profession. He and Hannah are the only ones now living.
Col Brisben Wall was a prominent citizen of the county; he held various
administrative positions and was one of those who aided in suppressing
the rebellion. His children were: John Sutton Wall; George W Wall; Jesse
S Wall; and Lewis Wall. The latter, recently married, is now living on a farm.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania Chicago : A. Warner & Co.,
1889. p441
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Isaac Wall, farmer, post office, Elizabeth, Allegheny county, Penna, is a
son of Maxwell Wall and Elizabeth Jobb Wall and was born October 28,
1835. Walter Wall, the first of the family, was his great grandfather,
and Isaac Wall was his grandfather.
The father of our subject was born on the farm now occupied by our
subject and his family consisted of six children: Isaac Wall; Margaret A
Wall; Araminta Wall; Hannah R Wall; Sarah M Wall; and Mary E Wall, all of
whom are living except Sarah M Wall.
Isaac Wall was married December 24, 1863, to Margaret Beam, daughter of
Robert Beam of Baltimore, Maryland, and they have one child living: May
Wall. Mrs Wall and three children are deceased.
Mr Wall married for his second wife, Sarah Cramer, daughter of Rev J K
Cramer of Forward township, and by this union they have four children:
Francis W Wall (?Frances); Lillie Wall; Susan P Wall; Theresa M Wall. Mr
Wall lives upon the place where he was born. When a boy engaged in
gathering hickory nuts, he fell sixty four feet causing the loss of one
arm. He has occupied several positions of trust in his township. He is a
republican.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania Chicago : A. Warner & Co.,
1889. p739
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The name Wall is a corruption of DeVal and it was introduced into Ireland
by the Normans in 1169. The bearers of this name settled in the south of
Ireland and has estates in Waterford and Cork. The family seat was
Coolnamuck, Waterford. They were sold under the Encumbered Estate Act of
1852 anad are now held by the Ormand Buttlers. The name is still carried
in the original form by the Italian and French descendants of the family.
Sometimes it is written DelVal, notably in Merry DelVal, secretary to
Pope Pius X, who is a direct descendant of the Waterford branch. The name
was introduced into Spain by Richard Wall, born in Waterford, Ireland, in
1693, died at Granada in 1778. He entered the Spanish navy while still a
youth and rose to the rank of major general. He served as private agent
of Spain at Aix-La-Chapelle, was minister to the Court of St James, and
later minister of foreign affairs to Ferdinand VI and Charles III.It is
to his antiquarian zeal that the world is indebted for the preservation
of the Alhambra.
Walter Wall was born in New Jersey, and he and his brother James Wall
came to what is now Forward township, Allegheny county, Penna, and took
up six hundred acres of land in 1782. He spent the remainder of his life
there. He married and had children: James Wall; Isaac Wall, of further
mention; John Wall; Hannah Wall; Rebecca Wall; Rachel Wall.
Isaac Wall, son of Walter Wall, was born on the Wall homestead in Forward
township; he married first Mary Maxwell; second, Mary Smith. Children by
first marriage: Rebecca Wall; John Wall; Maxwell Wall, of whom further
mention.
Children by second marriage: Margaret Wall, Araminta Wall; Isaac Wall.
Maxwell Wall, son of Isaac Wall and Mary Maxwell Wall was born on the
Wall homestead in Forward township in 1803. He followed the occupation of
farming all his life, was an ardent supporter of Whig principles and
later joined the Republican party.
He married Elizabeth Jobb, born in Forward township in 1811, a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church. She was the daughter of James Jobb and
Nancy Gray Jobb: the former born in Allegheny county; the latter born in
Philadelphia; and a granddaughter of Robert Jobb, a native of France, who
was the first of the family to make a home in Forward township.
Mr and Mrs Wall had children: Isaac Wall, of further mention; Margaret
Ann Wall, deceased; Araminta Wall, deceased; Sarah Melissa Wall,
deceased; Hannah Rebecca Wall, deceased; Mary Elizabeth Wall.
Isaac Wall, son of Maxwell Wall and Elizabeth Jobb Wall, was born in
Forward township, Allegheny county, Penna, on the Wall homestead, October
28, 1835. He was educated in public schools and under Professor Lind who
was later an instructor at Washington and Jefferson College. Mr Wall also
became a farmer and was the owner of one hundred twenty two acres of the
old Wall homestead and also of another farm of one hundred and seven
acres. He is now living retired. He has always given his political
support to the Republican party, has served as supervisor of roads, has
been a delegate to conventions and has been generally active in the
interests of the party.
Mr Wall married first in 1863 Margaret Bean who died in 1872; she was of
Allegheny county, Penna. He married second Sarah M Cramer, a daughter of
the Rev Jonas K Cramer. Children by the first marriage: Lina Wall married
Isaac N Wykof of Elizabeth township; Lewis Wall, deceased; Ada May Wall,
deceased; Margaret Wall, deceased. Children by the second marriage were:
Francis Cramer Wall, deceased; Lillian Vaughn Wall; Susan Pearl Wall;
Theresa Mabel Wall; Maxwell Keller Wall; Ella Lorena Wall.
Vol. 3 Genealogical and personal history of western Pennsylvania;
editor-in-chief, John W. Jordan. p1486
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