William B. Wall was born around 1828 in Virginia to Charles F. Wall and Judith Johns. The family moved to Panola County, Mississippi, sometime before 1850. His father died by 1850. Wall married Bethunia Perkins around 1856, and they had at least two children: Sarah, born around 1857; and Mary, born around 1859. Wall was appointed postmaster of Long Creek, Mississippi, in July 1857. By 1860, he was working as a physician, and he owned $2,500 of real estate and $8,225 of personal property.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on March 3, 1862, and mustered in as a 1^st lieutenant in the 33^rd Mississippi Infantry. He was promoted to captain on April 17, 1862, and he eventually became a Confederate surgeon. His wife Bethunia urged him to resign in early 1863, but he refused. He hoped the war would soon be over, acknowledging that “the prospects of a speedy peace are a little gloomy at present, though there are some good indications & I hope soon to be with you at home.”

 

After the war, Wall returned to Panola County and resumed his work as a physician. His wife Bethunia died in the early 1870s, and he married Julia F. Norman around 1873. They had at least two children: William, born around 1874; and Pearl, born around 1877. They moved to Santa Ana, California, in the mid-1870s. Wall became county treasurer in the 1880s. He died on April 21, 1909.

SOURCES