#52 Ancestors 2022 Week 34 Timeline: Francis Ludolph Wallis

 

Among my cousins, Francis Ludolph Wallis, my 3X-great grandfather, is a fairly familiar name. For a number of years, a very bad portrait of him done long ago by an elderly relative has been passed around the family as a kind of loving inside joke.  Grandfather Wallis has had many adventures with his various guardians including television appearances and trips to exotic locations in the US and abroad. For more on this family tradition, see my earlier blog.  But most of the family knows very little about his actual life, so I have decided to correct that ignorance and fill in some gaps in the life of Francis Ludolph Wallis.

Handover of Louisiana

Context 1800-1809: US Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison.  Maryland Governors Benjamin Ogle, John Mercer, Robert Bowie, Robert Wright, Edward Lloyd. Napolean is crowned Emperor of France. Federal government moves from Philadelphia to Washington DC.  Library of Congress established. US purchases the Louisiana Territory. Military Academy opens at West Point. Lewis and Clark begin their exploration. Robert Fulton develops the steamboat. John Carroll becomes Archbishop of Baltimore and construction begins on the Basilica of the Assumption. Elizabeth Seton establishes a religious order. The refrigerator is invented in Baltimore MD. Chestertown (Kent County) incorporated. US Population 5.3 M.

5 May 1803: John Wallis, the son of Lt.Francis Wallis and Sophia Brooke, marries Sarah Everett Comegys, the daughter of Jesse Comegys and Mary Everett, in Kent County MD.

Mount Herman

25 November 1803: Emily Thomas, the daughter of William Thomas and Elizabeth Woodall, is born at Mount Herman, Kent County MD.

23 April 1804: Francis Ludolph Wallis is born in Kent County MD. He is named for his great-grandfather, Francis Ludolph Bodien. 

3 May 1805: Jesse Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

15 February 1807: John Adolphus Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

27 June 1808: Cornelius Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

Context 1810-1819: US Presidents James Madison, James Monroe. Maryland Governors Edward Lloyd, Robert Bowie, Levin Winder, Charles Carnan Ridgely, Charles Goldsborough, Samuel Sprigg. Construction begins on the National Road connecting Cumberland MD to Wheeling WV. President Madison declares war on Britain. The British blockade the Chesapeake Bay. British burn Washington DC. Francis Scott Key writes "The Star Spangled Banner" in Baltimore MD. Baltimore Clipper ship Chasseur launches. First gas lighting company formed in Baltimore. The tin can is introduced in the US. University of Virginia is founded. Sir Walter Scott publishes Ivanhoe. US Population 7.2 M.

7 March 1810: Benjamin Everett Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

10 April 1811: John Adolphus Wallis, age 4, dies in Kent County MD.

1812: John Wallis serves in Maryland Militia in the War of 1812. As he prepares to depart for war, he prepares a letter of advice for his children.  

1 October 1813: Sophia Brooks Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

27 September 1815: Mary Araminta Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

9 October 1817: Hugh Henry Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

Context 1820-1829: US Presidents James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams. Maryland Governors Samuel Sprigg, Samuel Stevens, Joseph Kent, Daniel Martin.  King George III dies in London. First High School opens in Boston MA. Internal combustion engine invented. Erie Canal opens in Buffalo NY.  Edgar Allen Poe publishes his first poems. Baltimore and Ohio RR chartered. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on the same day. Joseph Dixon begins producing lead pencils. Noah Webster publishes The American Dictionary. Baltimore completes its Washington Monument. US Population 9.6 M.

24 January 1820: Arthur John Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

7 March 1824: John Ambrose Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

1825 or thereabouts: Emily Thomas  and her father visit White Stone Farm owned by John Wallis where she meets John's son, Francis. 

13 April 1826: Francis Ludolph Wallis, age 21, marries Emily Thomas, age 22, the daughter of William Thomas and Elizabeth Woodall, at the home of Thomas Mann, Kent County MD.

January 1827: Emily Thomas's mother, Elizabeth Woodall Thomas, dies in Kent County MD at the age of 67.

18 March 1828: Francis Adolphus Wallis (my 2X-great grandfather) is born in Kent County MD.

12 July 1828: John Wallis writes his will, leaving all his personal estate to his wife Sarah except for five Negroes which he leaves to his son Francis.  He recommends that she get a male friend to assist in administering the estate. 

27 July 1828: Francis Ludolph's father, John Wallis, dies in Kent County MD, age 53.  Cause of death is "an affliction of the throat."  He is buried in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground.  

Context 1830-1839: US Presidents Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren. Maryland Governors Thomas King Carroll, Daniel Martin, George Howard, James Thomas, Thomas Veazy, William Grayson. Queen Victoria ascends the British throne. Town of Chicago is laid out. Nat Turner slave rebellion in VA. Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery in Baltimore. Charles Darwin voyages on the HMS Beagle. Cyrus McCormick constructs a mechanical reaper. Samuel Morse invents the telegraph. Piney Point Lighthouse constructed. Baltimore Sun begins publication. A petition is circulated to allow women to own property in their own names.  It gets only five signatures. William McGuffey publishes his first Readers. Construction begins on the Washington Monument in DC. Charles Dickens publishes Oliver Twist. US Population 12.8 M.

1 March 1830: William John Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

7 November 1830: Francis Ludolph's mother, Sarah Everett Comegys Wallis, dies in Kent County MD, age 47. She is buried in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground with her husband. 

25 May 1831: William John Wallis, age 1, dies in Kent County MD.

30 August 1831: William Thomas Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

13 May 1833: Robert Emmett Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

23 November 1834: Corbin Ludolph Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

6 June 1837: John Bodien Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

18 September 1838: Francis' brother, Benjamin Everett Wallis, dies in St. Mary's Parish LA, age 28.

13 December 1838: Emily Elizabeth Thomas "Lizzie" Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

9 September 1839: Mary Emily Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

US Naval Academy 1853

Context 1840-1849: US Presidents Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, Zachary Taylor.  Maryland Governors William Grayson, Francis Thomas, Thomas Pratt, Phillip Thomas. Antarctica claimed for the US.  Victoria marries Prince Albert. New York Tribune begins publication. Edgar Allen Poe writes The Murders in the Rue Morgue and later dies in Baltimore. Francis Scott Key dies in Baltimore. Samuel Morse sends first telegraph message from DC to Baltimore. US troops sent to Mexican border. First recorded baseball game takes place in Hoboken NJ. Maryland Historical Society founded. Naval School founded at Annapolis. Harriet Tubman escapes to Philadelphia. Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to receive a medical degree. Gold is discovered in California. US Population 17 M.

Francis Ludolph Wallis

1840: Francis L. Wallis is enumerated in the 2nd District of Kent County MD, a male age 30-39.  Also in the household are 2 males under 5, 3 males age 5 to 9, 1 female age 50-59, 1 female age 30-39, 1 female under 5 and 1 female age 10-14.  Also 1 free colored male and 1 free colored female and 1 female slave. 

1840's: Francis L. Wallis, as well as all of his brothers, travel to Louisiana to purchase sugar plantations.  Only Francis and his brother Arthur return to Kent County MD.  

17 March 1840: Augustine Keene Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

7 March 1841: Mary Emily Wallis, age 1 and a half, dies in Kent County MD.

5 March 1842: Augustine Keene Wallis, age 2, dies in Kent County MD.

5 September 1842: Mary Sophia Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

November 1842: Francis L. Wallis writes his will, naming his wife Emily and mentioning his trip to Louisiana to visit his brothers. 

7 March 1844: Mary Sophia Wallis, age 1 and a half, dies in Kent County MD.

20 July 1844: Cornelius Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

6 August 1846: During the war with Mexico, Francis Ludolph Wallis is commissioned a Captain in the Columbia Hussars, a company of the 8th Regimental Cavalry of the Maryland Militia. 

13 September 1846: Francis' brother, John Ambrose Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA, age 22.

John Brown's raid

Context 1850-1859: US Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan. Maryland Governors Enoch Lowe, Thomas Watkins Ligon, Thomas Hicks. Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The Scarlet Letter. Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin. Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine. Commodore Perry reaches Japan. Camden Street Station opens in Baltimore. Maryland Agricultural College (now U MD) opens in College Park. Peabody Institute (first US Academy of Music) opens in Baltimore. Frederick Law Olmstead lays out Central Park. RH Macy opens his first store. John Brown raids the US Arsenal at Harper's Ferry. US Population 23.2 M. Average life expectancy for men 40 years.

13 August 1850: Francis L. Wallis, farmer, age 46, is enumerated in the First Election District of Kent County MD. Also in the household are Emily, age 46, William age 19, Ludolph age 15 and Bodien, age 6. His real estate is valued at $15,000.

15 December 1851: Francis's brother, Jesse Comegys Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA.

7 April 1855: Francis Ludolph Wallis dies at Evergreen in Kent County MD, age 50.  He is buried in the
Comegys-Wallis burial ground in Kent County. One memorial to him describes him: "Francis Ludolph Wallis was one of nature's noblemen, of fine upright character and unusual attainments.  He was 6 ft. 4 1/2 in. tall and of commanding presence.  He was a gentleman farmer, a kind master, and a loving father."  His gravemarker is inscribed:  "An Honest Man, the Noblest Work of God. "

20 December 1855: Robert Emmett Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, marries Matilda Jane Kennedy in Montgomery County PA.

7 April 1856: Francis's brother, Cornelius Comegys Wallis, dies in Louisiana.

22 June 1857: Frances Emily Wallis, daughter of Robert and Matilda, the first grandchild of Francis and Emily, is born in Kent County MD. 

Context: 1860-1869: US Presidents: James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant. Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidency in 1860, although he gets only 3 votes in Anne Arundel County.  Governors of Maryland: Thomas Hicks (Know-Nothing Party), Augustus Bradford, Thomas Swann. South Carolina secedes from the Union; Maryland does not, although there are many Southern sympathizers. First casualties of the Civil War occur in Baltimore where MA troops are stoned. "Maryland, My Maryland" written in response. Maryland slaves emancipated by the State Constitution of 1864. Pony Express begins mail service to California. US purchases Alaska. US Population 31.4 M.

Baltimore Riot 1861

Francis and Georgie Wallis

23 May 1860: Francis Ludolph's brother, Hugh Henry Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA.

25 July 1860: Emily Wallis, widow, age 56, is enumerated in Kent County MD.  Also in the household are: Francis A. age 32, farmer, William T. age 24, and Cornelius C. age 16.

15 October 1862: Emily Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wallis, daughter of Francis and Emily, marries Francis Granger Schutt in Chestertown, Kent County MD. 

26 April 1864: Francis Adolphus Wallis marries Mary Georgiana "Georgie" Willson at Ellendale, Kent County MD. She is the daughter of George Hayward Willson and Henrietta Eleanor Brooke. I believe the photo at the left was taken about the time of their marriage. 

27 January 1865: Mary Emily Wallis, daughter of  Francis and Georgie, is born at Ellendale, Kent County MD. 

10 January 1866: William Thomas Wallis, second son of Francis and Emily, marries Susan Beall Hollyday in Washington DC.

19 March 1866: Francis Adolphus Wallis Jr. is born in Kent County MD.

22 August 1867: George Hayward Willson Wallis, son of Francis and Georgie, is born in Kent County MD.

4 February 1869: Corbin Ludolph Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, marries Annie Siemans Hurlock at Shrewsbury Parish, Kent County MD.

Context 1870-1879: US Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, (See my previous blog about Grant's wife, my cousin Julia Dent Grant.) Rutherford B. Hayes.  Maryland Governors Oden Bowie, William Pinkney Whyte, James Black Groome, John Lee Carroll. Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge. Transcontinental Railroad is completed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony form the National Women's Suffrage Association. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is passed giving Negroes the right to vote.  Maryland votes against ratification. Yellowstone established as the first national park. Montgomery Ward becomes the first mail order house. The first running of the Preakness Stakes.  Thomas Edison invents the incandescent lightbulb. Johns Hopkins University opens in Baltimore. Louis Pasteur develops the concept of inoculation. The young men of the Baltimore Athletic Club play lacrosse. The Baltimore Orioles founded as a team.   US Population: 50 M.

After the death of Francis Ludolph Wallis, the management of his extensive properties became the responsibility of his sons.  Unfortunately, they did not have the same level of experience as their father.  The properties were mortgaged or sold and eventually, they were all lost.  Emily Thomas Wallis lived with her various children for the rest of her life. 

Emily Thomas Wallis

20 August 1870, Emily Wallis, age 66, is enumerated in the household of her son Corbin, age 35 and his wife Annie, age 24. 

28 December 1874: Theresa Evalina Wallis (my great-grandmother) is born in Kent County MD to Francis Adolphus and Mary Georgiana Wallis, the 8th of their 13 children. 

January 1877: Robert Emmett Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, moves to Cowley County KS where he establishes a retail grocery business. 

28 December 1878:  Corbin Ludolph Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, dies in Kent County MD, age44.  He is buried at Shrewsbury Parish. 

1 December 1879: Cornelius Comegys "Corney" Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, dies in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). He was in the cattle business. He is buried in Cowley County KS.

10 June 1880: Emily Wallis, age 75, widow, is enumerated in the household of her widowed daughter-in-law, Annie Hurlock Wallis, age 33.  Also in the household are grandchildren Ludolph age 6, Jonathan age 5, Caroline age 3, Edwin age 2 and Annie's mother, Henrietta Hurlock, age 60. 

5 March 1896: Emily Thomas Wallis dies at the home of her son, Francis Adolphus, in Kent County MD, at the age of 93. She is buried beside her husband in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground in Kent County MD.

6 March 1896. The Baltimore Sun publishes her obituary. 

Mrs. Emily Wallis. one of the oldest. If not the oldest woman in the county, died at the home of her son. F. A. Wallis, yesterday, . aged ninety-three years. Her children are Francis Adolphus Wallis, Robert Wallis of Kansas; Mrs. Lizzie Scott,[actually Schutt] of Washington, D. C, and William Wallis. of Prince George's county. Though bedridden and blind, she had a remarkable memory, and all of her faculties remained unimpaired. She was able to recite in detail many interesting incidents of the early part of the century.

Of Francis Ludolph and Emily's twelve children, only four outlived their mother: 

Francis Adolphus d. 1904 in Queen Anne County MD age 76.

William Thomas d. 1906 in Prince George's County MD, age 75.

Robert Emmett d. 1919 in Winfield KS, age 85. 

Emily Elizabeth Schutt d. 1919 in Cherrydale VA, age 80.