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Subject:
David
Wallace
Erected by:
Franklin County Historical Society
Located:
Near St. Michael’s Church, Brookville, Indiana
Text and History:
Governor of Indiana
1837-1840. Lived on this site when
son Lew Wallace, author, soldier, and stateman was born on April 10, 1827.
David
Wallace,
born in Pennsylvania, moved with his family to
Ohio
where he attended school. He later moved to Brookville, Indiana,
where
he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He attended the U.S.
Military
Academy at West Point, graduating in 1821 as a second
lieutenant.
He served in the 7th Regiment, Indiana militia, with ranks of
lieutenant,
captain, and colonel.
Wallace
served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1828 to 1831, when he was
elected lieutenant governor on the Whig ticket with Noah Noble. He was
re-elected in 1834 and served until February 1837, when he became a candidate
for governor. In that election he defeated John Dumont, also a Whig. Wallace's
administration was plagued with economic disaster as a result of the collapse of
the internal improvements program. He was elected to Congress in 1841 but was
unsuccessful in his bid for re-election in 1843. He was the Whig state chairman
in 1846, a member of the constitutional convention in 1850, and was elected
judge of the court of common pleas in 1856.
A
dignified man with a judicious manner, he was also described as "a lover of
books, and was one of the most delightful of readers." He is, however, most
famous as the father of Lew Wallace.
Reference:
Peat, Wilbur D. Portraits and Painters of the Governors of Indiana 1800-1978.
Revised, edited and with new entries by Diane Gail Lazarus, Indianapolis Museum
of Art. Biographies of the governors by Lana Ruegamer, Indiana Historical
Society. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society and Indianapolis Museum of
Art, 1978.
