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Below is a family biography included in The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois published by Biographical Publishing Co. in 1894.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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HON. GEORGE W. WALL, of Du Quoin, Judge of the Appellate Court of Illinois, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, April 22, 1839, and is a son of George T. Wall, who was born in Rhode Island, April 14, 1810. The name Wall is of Irish origin, and from the Emerald Isle the ancestors came to this country more than a century and a-half ago. The grandfather of the Judge, Benah Wall, was a pioneer manufacturer of cotton goods. The father of our subject was a physician, and in 1840, when his son was a year old, came to Du Quoin. He was then in limited circumstances, but became one of the wealthiest citizens of Perry County. Here his remaining days were passed, and his death occurred in January, 1892. He married Maria Adams, a native of Hartford, Conn., and a daughter of General Adams. Her death occurred in 1848.

The Judge acquired his early education in the schools of Du Quoin, later attended McKendree College, of Lebanon, Ill., and before he was twenty years of age was graduated from the Michigan State University, in 1858. Wishing to enter the legal profession and make the practice of law his life work, he began studying in the office of Cyrus G. Simmons, of Cairo. Subsequently he took a course in the Cincinnati Law School, was admitted to the Bar in 1859, and then commenced practice in Du Quoin. He has been honored with a number of prominent positions in this state. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1862, and in 1864 was elected State’s Attorney for the Third Judicial District. In 1870, he served as a member of the Constitutional Convention, and in August, 1877, he was elected Circuit Judge. To that office he was re-elected in June, 1879, in 1885 and 1891. In 1879, he was assigned to the Appellate Court at Mt. Vernon, where he continued until 1885, when he was assigned to the same court at Springfield, and by successive assignments has been on the Bench in the capital city continuously since. Today he is considered the most able Judge of his age in Illinois, a reputation which has been truly won by merit.

In 1862, Mr. Wall wedded Miss Celeste E. Nettleton, daughter of a former prominent merchant of this place. Of their children, Willard is now Cashier of the First National Bank of Murphysboro, and Charles H. is Superintendent of the Union Coal Mines of Du Quoin. There are also two younger sons and a daughter. Through business interests, and as the result of his extensive law practice, Judge Wall has accumulated one of the largest private fortunes in southern Illinois, yet he has not only gained wealth, but has also won a reputation at the Bench and Bar which is scarcely equaled in the state.

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This family biography is one of 679 biographies included in The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois published in 1894.  View the complete description here: The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois

View additional Perry County, Illinois family biographies here: Perry County, Illinois Biographies

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