- Zerelda G. Wallace
Infobox Person
name = Zerelda Gray Sanders Wallace
image_size = 200px
caption =
birth_date =August 6 ,1817
birth_place =Kentucky
death_date = death date and age|1901|3|19|1817|8|17
death_place =Indianapolis, Indiana
occupation = Suffragist, temperance leader
spouse = David Wallace
parents =
children = Mary, Ellen, Jemima, Sanders, Agnes, David
relatives = William, Lewis, Edward (stepchildren)Zerelda Gray Sanders Wallace (
August 6 ,1817 –March 19 ,1901 ) was aFirst Lady ofIndiana , a contemporary ofSusan B. Anthony , an earlytemperance andwomen's suffrage leader, a charter member of CentralChristian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Indianapolis, andstepmother of GeneralLew Wallace , author of "".Early life and family
Born Zerelda Gray Sanders, August 7, 1817 in
Kentucky , she came to Indianapolis with her family in the early 1830s. She was acharter member of the Church of Christ in 1833 (later renamed Central Christian Church) which became the "mother church" of all Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis. She was elected the first president of theWomen's Christian Temperance Union of Indiana in 1874 and was a member of the Equal Suffrage Society of Indianapolis.She married David Wallace on December 25, 1836; they had six children and she was stepmother to Wallace's three sons from his first marriage. David Wallace became the sixth
governor of Indiana, serving from December 6, 1837 to December 9, 1840.Temperance and suffrage leader
Zerelda Wallace became a temperance leader first in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, when in 1883 she refused communion at Central Christian Church because of her convictions about alcohol use and abuse. Her refusal eventually led to the use of
grape juice rather thanwine at communion celebrated during eachworship service of the Disciples of Christ.Zerelda spoke nationally on temperance and suffrage. On
January 21 ,1875 , she testified before the Indiana General Assembly, presenting 21,050signature s on temperancepetition s from 47 counties. OnJanuary 23 ,1880 , Zerelda testified before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on women's right to vote.Death
She died March 19, 1901 and is buried in
Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.Legacy
An Indiana State Historical Marker was erected in Zerelda Wallace's honor in 2004 along Fort Wayne Avenue in
downtown Indianapolis on the grounds of the Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The marker is located on Fort Wayne Avenue, an angle street, in the block between Alabama and Delaware Streets. Indiana's first femalelieutenant governor ,Kathy Davis , led thededication ceremony for the marker.External links
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