My Genealogy Hound

R. W. R. WALL, who is one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of Johnson County, was born on the farm on which he is at present residing, July 20, 1858. It is a well improved tract, and the manner in which he is cultivating it shows him to be a man thoroughly acquainted with his vocation.

The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was born in Scotland, and on his emigration to America settled in Maryland, where his son Richard was born. The latter, on attaining mature years, left his native state and made his home in Virginia, and later took up his abode in North Carolina, where Richard Zachariah Robert Wall, the father of our subject, was born March 29, 1810.

Richard Z. R. Wall grew to man’s estate in North Carolina, and in addition to the knowledge gained in the subscription schools near his home studied in the State University, located at Chapel Hill. He there completed his literary education, after which he went to Philadelphia and carried on his medical studies in the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he was also graduated. Returning to North Carolina, he at once began the practice of his profession, in which he was very successful and became widely known for his skill in the treatment of difficult cases.

The father of our subject married Miss Mary Jane Covington, October 2, 1838. The following year, accompanied by his wife and father, he emigrated to Missouri and located in Henry County. The next year we find them living on Bear Creek, in Johnson County, where he practiced his profession and also carried on a farm. He soon established a large patronage as a physician, and so successful was he in all that he undertook, that in later years he became the owner of fifty-six hundred acres of land.

The parents of our subject had born to them a family of thirteen children, of whom all grew to mature years with the exception of three, and nine are still living. They were all given good educations, and when ready to embark in life received as their inheritance five hundred acres of land. In early life the father was a Whig and an influential supporter of that party during its existence, but afterward he became a Democrat. He was so well liked that during the troublous times of the Civil War he was not molested, although many of his neighbors and friends were subjected to the most cruel treatment at the hands of the enemy. He was one of the valued members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in the faith of which he died, January 1, 1894, greatly mourned by all who knew him.

Our subject has spent his entire life on the old homestead. Although his father was amply able and willing to give him a collegiate education, he refused to accept the offer and has been content with the knowledge which he gained in the common schools. Mr. Wall was married, July 14, 1881, to Miss Laura E. Whetherholt, who was born in West Virginia in 1864, although at the time of her marriage she was living in Calhoun Township, this county. She is a well educated lady and the daughter of Jacob and Minerva Whetherholt, the latter of whom died when she was quite young.

To Mr. and Mrs. R. W. R. Wall there have been born six children, namely: Lennie Edith, Dessie Atchafalia, Grover, Frances, Blanche and Ira. Following in the footsteps of his father, our subject is a supporter of Democratic principles, casting his first Presidential vote for Hancock. Socially he is a Mason of high standing, and in the work of this organization is greatly interested. Among his many friends and neighbors he is known as a man of most exemplary life and honorable principles.