A profound Theologian Pioneer Presbyterian Church from May, 1832 to Sept 5, 1856.
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CHATTANOOGA FREE PRESS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1995

Benjamin Wallace was a Presbyterian minister who served congregations at Soddy and Harrison. Several of his sons fought on the Confederate side in the Civil War. The family contributed a long line of preachers and ruling elders to the Presbyterian denomination.

Benjamin Wallace was born at Blount County in 1807. His parents are listed as Isaac and Jane Wallace The Wallaces had emigrated from Scotland to Ulstger, Ireland, then William Wallace went to Bucks County, PA, about 1690. His son James Wallace, went to Virginia, then pushed on to Mecklenburg County, NC. Three of his sons, John, William and Joel, emigrated about 1770 to the section that became Tennessee. They settled in the vicinity of Maryville in Blount County.

The mother of Benjamin lived from 1785 until the last year of the Civil War/ Benjamin Wallace married Mary Anderson, who was born in 1811. They made their way at an early day to Hamilton County, where he gave three-fourths of his time to the Mount Bethel Church at Soddy and one-fourth to the church at Harrison. His pay at the latter church was listed in an 1845 report at "$2.50 in money, $14 in clothing, and $43 in work." The Harrison church members said they "regret that they had done so little and they promised to do better in time to come."

He received better treatment at the hands of the Soddy congregation. William Clift and Robert McGee in 1843 gave the minister 100 acres "so that the better to enable the said Benjamin Wallace to prosecute the gospel ministry in this section of the county." This land was adjacent to property he had purchased in 1838 from John Hanna on Little Soddy Creek. His land was near the juncture of the road to Dallas and the Valley Road. The minister died in 1856.

The Wallace children included Lorella who was unmarried, Benjamin, James Anderson, John A., Ann, Isaac Abraham,. William, Jesse Albert, Margaret Amanda, David Samuel and Martha. The children married into the neighboring Clift, McDonald, McGill and Patterson families at Soddy.

Isaac Abraham married Nancy McDonald and David married America McDonald. Martha Amanda married J.A.N. Patterson. Ann married David McGill.

Both Isaac A. and James A. fought the four years of the war on the Southern side. James A. in 1861 joined Capt. Colville's company that became part of the 19th Tennessee Infantry. He later served under fellow Chattanooga Francis Marion Walker and was a drill master. He was a first lieutenant with is unit until after Shiloh, where he was severely wounded. He remained with the Army, though he was unable to go into combat again.

James A. had been born at Soddy on Aug. 26, 1836. His early education was from his father, then he began the study of law at age 20 under Judge Thomas N. Frazier. He was admitted to the bar shortly before the outbreak of the war. He married Frances Belle Darnell. After the war James A. practiced law in Rhea County for a year and then was in partnership with fellow Confederate Moses Clift in Chattanooga for two years. However, he decided to enter the ministry and attended college at Maryville, where he studied under Dr. Dabney of Stonewall Jackson's staff. For many years he lived in Highland Park and was pastor of the Presbyterian church there. He suffered paralysis "on the same side as his Shiloh wound" and died July 9, 1900, while visiting his brother, Jesse A. Bristol. His son James, pastored a congregation in Alabama. He had a daughter Mary Belle Wallace.

Isaac Abraham was born at Soddy in 1841, and he attended Maryville College. He also followed his father into the ministry. Isaac Abraham accumulated considerable property and had "one of the best farms near Soddy." He lived for several years in New Mexico and Texas to try to improve his health, but he returned to Hamilton County and lived in Highland Park. He returned to the home place at Soddy in 1909 and died two years later. Isaac A. had two sons, Benjamin E. and Albert E., who were Presbyterian ministers. His other children were James P., Joseph W., Mary A. who married Richard Thorne and Miss Fannie B. Wallace.

Jesse Albert attended King College at Bristol, then he studied at Union Technological Seminary, which was then at Hampden-Sydney, VA. He graduated in 1874, then he pastored several churches at Jefferson City, Jonesboro and Bristol. He was called "the father of the Holston Presbytery." Jesse A. in 1874 married Mary Blair Tadlock, daughter of the King College president, Dr. J.D. Tadlock. After her death, he married her sister, Sue Helen Tadlock, in 1889. Jesse A. succeeded his father-in-law as King College president. He was a teacher at King when he died in 1912 at the age of 66.

John A. who was born at Soddy in 1838, was long a leader at Soddy Presbyterian Church. In 1966, he was presiding at the homecoming service at the church when he dropped dead at the age of 78. Ironically just finished reading the list of those members of the church "who had been mowed down by the grim reaper during the past year," when he expired. His wife was Mary Ferguson. His son J.T. was also a Presbyterian preacher. The daughters were Mrs. John A. McGill, Mrs. G.D. Bristow, and Misses Fannie and Margaret.

Samuel G. Wallace, another son of Benjamin Wallace, lived in Texas and Oklahoma. His sister Mrs. William Clift, moved to Shadburn, Tex.