The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-20

She Was One of I~ndiana's Most Re-


Mrs. Zerelda G.. Wallace was born at Nil
lersburg, Bourbon county, Kentucky, Aug.
6, 1917. Her parents. DR.. John II. Sanders
and Polly G.. Gray, were both Kentuckians,
the former of South Carolina and the latter
of Virginia descent. Her maternal grand
mother was a Singleton, of Virginia, a
beauty and an heiress. 1t is said that when
her grandmother married her grandfather
he put his worldly goods on one pony and
his wife on the other and walked back to
the blue grass region. 1t was there in Ken
lucky that Zerelda Sanders passed her
childhood. learning and practicing such
household arts as were incumbent on the
eldest of five daughters. Her first instruc-
ton was on a shingle, on which were
pasted the letters taken from Webster's
spelling book. Before her ninth year she
began TO study Murray's Grammar, Whelp-
ley's Compendium of General History,
| Arithmetic and Geography and an old Eng
lish reader. At the age of eleven the child
was put into a boarding school at Yer
| s~ailles, where she remained two years.
DIR. Sanders removed into Indiana in 1880,
when Zerelda was thirteen. Indiana was a
new country and DIR. Sanders bought a
homestead in indianapolis. Here the daugh-
ter Zerelda went to school for six months
to a Baptist minister. Mrs. Sanders was "A
strict disciplinarian, and all the spare time
the daughter had was spent in reading.
Her father practiced his profession on
horseback, and it became his habit, when
he had any serious cases, to take Zerelda
with him to nurse the patient. Thus she
became interested in medicine and read
books on physiology, anatomy and hygiene.
Her interest in this continued all her life,
and she was rigidly particular in her views
on health. She was so much with her
father that 1t was but natural that she
should become acquainted with his friends,
men prominent in public affairs and of lit
erary tastes. Mrs. Wallace told with pleas
ure in later years of some of the books she
read when she was a young girl. These
were Locke's Essay on the Human Under
standing" Abercrombie on the intellectual
ten, Martineau's Political Economy
Hume's England" Robertson's History
of Scotland and History of Charles ""
Shakspeare's works and the Bible.
MARRIED LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
In 1886, following her nineteenth year,
| Zerelda G. Sanders and David Wallace, the
| lieutenant governor of the State, were mar
! ried. Mr.. Wallace was eighteen years older
than his bride, and had three children, one
I of whom was William Wallace, who died in
this city a few years ago, during his term
as postmaster; another Gen. Lew Wallace,
author of 'Ben-Hur." She came into that
4 lOuSCIOlQ l. UlOllCIltSS ClllUItH peculiarly
fitted for the Difficult duties before her, be-
| ing judicious, wise and sympathetic, and at
the same time strong and steadfast. 1t is
the highest praise that can be bestowed
upon her when ii is said that her step
children became deeply attached TO her and
gave her the dutiful affection that children
bestow upon a parent. She has been re-
vered and beloved, and this has been a
love based upon respect: She proved an ex-
cellent companion for her husband. The
year following her marriage he was elected
Governor of the State.
Governor Wallace's hospitality was pro-
verbal. and the duties of hostess devolved
also upon her, as well as the personal care
Of the children. In those days, in the
primitive life of the West. Indiana being
almost upon the frontier, il was difficult
TO obtain servants and retain them after
they were found. Mrs. Wallace, therefore,
bands guests. Their comfort frequently
depended upon the labor of her own hands.
She set their rooms in order, and not un-
frequently cooked the food that was set
before them.
Mr.. Wallace remained in public life. going
TO Congress when his term as Governor
expired. In 1850 he was a member of the
constitutional convention, and she urged
her husband 10 vote against the fugitive
slave law. All of her husbands reading
was shared with her, whether political,
law or literature. In 1857. twenty-one years
after their marriage, Mr.. Wallace, then
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, died.
Mrs Wallace might nave become de-
pendent on relatives, but she pluckily set
about TO maintain her family. She began
10 keep boarders. This necessity lasted but
a few years, on account of the increase in
value Of property. which gave her an
assured income. For years she lived on
North New Jersey street. on the east side.
lust above Michigan, In a large frame
house.
At an early age she accepted the teach
ings of Alexander Campbell. a religious
movement which, at that time, met with
bitter opposition. The spirit Of reform. how
ever. seems to have been inherent in her
nature. and she remained jealous in the
faith that she had espoused when il re-
ouired unfinching moral courage to depart
from the tradition of the elders"
MEMBER CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
During the remainder of her life she was
a faithful member of the Christian, or
Campbellite. Church. and for years was
never absent from her pew in the old Cen
trail Church of Indianapolis. with which she
united. During this period she used to
relate that her only walks were from her
home to church. and from church home
again. After Governor Wallace's death
Mrs. Wallace devoted herself more assid-
uously than ever 10 her family.
In time she became deeply interested I'm
the temperance question. Finally. believ-
ing IL 10 be her imperative duty, she came
reform which she believed TO be of vital
Importance 10 the Nation.
a more radical change could hardly be
-. "a Whn had u..-& - :.