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THOMAS LYLE WALLACE has been a resident of Pinckneyville for practically the whole of his life, and his interests are very closely bound up with those of his home town. He has been hampered from his birth almost, for he was early left fatherless, and as soon as he was able he undertook the responsibility of the care of his widowed mother. He comes of an old South Carolina family that is famous throughout the South for the integrity and uprightness of its men and the nobility of its women, and Mr. Wallace has very evidently inherited the qualities which brought honor and fame to his forebears. As one worthy of trust he is well known among the people of Perry county, and they have shown their confidence in him by the offices which they have showered upon him.
The father of Thomas Lyle Wallace was William Wallace, who was born in South Carolina. His calling there was that of a shoemaker, and he migrated with his family to Illinois in 1868 and here became a farmer. His wife was Sarah A. Simpson, and when the death of her husband, which occurred on the 15th of December, 1870, left her a widow with three little babies, she showed the strength of character and the courage for which her race was famous. Her husband was a
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man in the prime of life, and she had no one to whom she could turn, but by constant industry and almost painful frugality she not only succeeded in rearing her children but in educating them. These children were Nettie, who died in Pinckneyville on the 21st of October, 1892, having never married; Thomas L.; and Dr. William S. Wallace, D. D. S., of Sparta, Illinois. The faithful mother died on the 21st of May, 1909, having lived to witness the success of her two sons.
Thomas Lyle Wallace was born in Chester county, South Carolina, on the 10th of August, 1868, and when he was a babe of a few weeks his parents moved to Illinois. The sudden death of his father occurred only two years later, so he early knew the stern realities of life. He received a good education, and when he started out to make his fight for existence he was well equipped for the struggle. He began as a clerk in the Pinckneyville postoffice under Dr. Guy Morrison, who was then postmaster of the city.
After a time he left the government service and entered the store of Gieser and Company, soon becoming a valuable clerk. He next held a position with Murphy, Crawford and Company, and from them went to W. H. Hineke and Brother, with which firm he remained for several years. In 1899 he joined Robert Roe in a mercantile venture which resulted in the establishment of the present drug company of which Mr. Wallace is the active head.
In 1894 Mr. Wallace was chosen treasurer of the Perry County Fair Association, which is one of the oldest agricultural associations in southern Illinois, having held an annual fair since it was founded in 1856. He has served his city as clerk as well as custodian of the public funds and has been honored by being made clerk of Rosewood Camp, No. 2090, of the Modern Woodmen of America, of which organization he is an active member.
Politically Mr. Wallace is a Democrat, and in his religious beliefs he is a Methodist. He is a very prominent member of the Methodist church, being one of the trustees and a member of the building committee that had in charge the erection of the new house of worship which was completed in 1908. He was also treasurer of this committee.
Mr. Wallace was married in Pinckneyville, Illinois, on the 10th of September, 1891, to Jennie J. Roe, a daughter of the well known pioneer Charles H. Roe, who for many years was circuit clerk of Perry county and was for more than half a century identified with the public records of the county.