William Wall (abt. 1767 - 1857)

Born about 1767 in Oxfordshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Lucy Hardyman — married 12 Feb 1811 in Warwickshire, England

Descendants

Died 1857 at about age 90 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

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Biography

I do not know for sure whether William was born in Oxfordshire but was living there when he married in 1811 and left there about 1820 to emigrate to the US through New York. His reasons for leaving Oxford are not known but he and his family are listed as religious dissenters on the few records I have found from Oxford. This means he was not a member of the Church of England and may have come for religious reasons. I found a reference to William becoming a student to a stone carver in Oxford, last name Archer and then setting up his own business after 1810 in Oxford, There is one reference to his business failing about 1819 so this may have been his reasons for leaving Oxford. The Wall Family were Presbyterian after arriving here. William his wife Lucy and 3 children traveled from New York to Mt Pleasant, Pennsylvania to live around 1820. I do not know what made him go directly from New York to Mt Pleasant which was a very small rural farming town in 1820. Family oral history states he bought a horse,& wagon or carriage to travel over what were very primitive roads. He may have used the rivers to get to the Erie Canal and then came south from there. There were no railroads at this time. He was a carver and stone mason in Oxford and carved tombstones and taught painting in Mt Pleasant. About 1835, at age 68 he moved his family to Pittsburgh. I can only speculate on the reasons for this move. Mt Pleasant was a small rural town that had limited education & employment for folks who were not farmers. Pittsburgh was also small at this time but the iron, steel and glass industries were starting and opportunities were better. He lived initially at Marbury St near Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and later moved to Allegheny City which was an area across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. Children: William Coventry Wall born 12/8/1811 in Oxford Sara Ann Wall born 9/2/1813 in Oxford Richard S Wall born Nov 12, 1815 in Oxford Alfred S Wall born about 1824 in Mt Pleasant Helen Wall (my grandmother) born 2/17/1825 in Mt Pleasant Leander Theadore Wall born about 1830 in Mt Pleasant. William is listed in the 1830 census in Mt Pleasant and in the 1840 and 50 census in Pittsburgh. He is also listed in several Pittsburgh City Directories as a carver and guilder. He died in 1857 at the age of 90 in Pittsburgh. He was originally buried at Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh but there are no gravestones and there is a possibility that the bodies were removed to another location at some point. He was a artist and taught art to his children. Two son's & 2 grandchildren became well known Western Pennsylvania portrait and landscape painters. When I see the examples of his gravestone carvings it is evident that he was very talented. When I look at all the stone carvings and buildings in Oxford today I just wonder what he might have done there. So far I have not found any evidence for his family and history in England.

Sources

• My personal records