ABSTRACT
Elizabeth Virginia (Bess) Wallace was born in Independence, Missouri, on February 13, 1885, the oldest child of David Willock Wallace and Margaret “Madge” Gates Wallace. Her siblings were Frank Gates Wallace, George Porterfield Wallace, David Frederick Wallace, and a sister, Madeline, who died in infancy. The Wallaces were part of the upper social echelon in the small, rural town of Independence, located about twelve miles east of Kansas City.
