Address: Parish of Devenish, County Fermanagh

As it was normal practice to baptise a child shortly after birth he was probably born in June or July 1857

Address: Parish of Devenish, County Fermanagh

As his parents' names are recorded in the register it is assumed that they were present. Who else was there is not known.

Address: Carn and Drumhirk

On his marriage certificate his son John gives his father's occupation as a farmer although where he worked is a bit of a puzzle. His son John's Service Record gives his father's address as Springfield, Enniskillen and presumably he gave this address when he enlisted in 1904. Springfield is a small hamlet on the western side of Lower Lough Earn about 2 1/2 miles to the north-west of Enniskillen in the Townland of Devenish. A letter to John dated 7 September 1914 also gives his address as Drumhirk, Springfield, Enniskillen although and an earlier letter written in 1910 gives his address as Drumhirk, Boho. He is not listed in either the 1901 or 1911 Censuses so it is impossible to know where he was on those dates. Interestingly, his brother George's letters written in 1916,1918 and 1923 also use the address Drumhirk, Springfield P.O., Enniskillen.

and from his brother George's birth certificate that his father was farming at Carn in 1870. It is therefore probable that he worked on the land from the age of 12 - if not earlier - until his death. .

It is known from letters that that he wrote in December 1910 and September 1914 that he has living in the Townland of Drumhirk almost certainly with his mother Mary and his two brothers Charles and George. Why he was not recorded in the 1911 Census is not known but he may have been away at the time.

Cause: chronic pneumonia and gradual heart failure

Address: Enniskillen

In his last letter to his daughter-in-law Amy dated 7 September 1914 William says he is not in good heath, has been in hospital for two months and has lost the sight of his right eye. After that the correspondence with Amy appears to have been taken over by his brother George and it was assumed that William died shortly after leaving hospital. However, there are long gaps in the correspondence and the first letter from George is dated 1 October 1916 - a gap of over 2 years - telling Amy of the death of his mother. There is no mention of any of his siblings. Also there is no letter from William on the death of his son which occurred on 2 October 1918, although there is a letter of condolence from George dated 10 November 1918. If William was still alive when news of his son’s death reached the family, but he had lost his sight so that he could not write, it seems inconceivable that George would not have mentioned the effect of John’s death on his father. It was therefore concluded he died sometime between his September 1914 letter and George's letter of October 1916.

In response to the application for a Death Certificate the GRO(NI) said that they had found a William Wallace who had died in Enniskillen Hospital on 25 October 1914, bachelor, aged 59 and a labourer . The fact that he had returned to hospital did not seem unreasonable and although the designation of bachelor did not fit this was not thought to be a cause for rejection . His age, based on the year of his baptism, was correct although how the hospital knew – unless he had told them – is not known. A further search to the end of 1918 did not produce the death of a William Wallace so the original offering was purchased. In August 2018 when searches on the GRO(NI) were free the search was extended but no further death records for a William Wallace registered in Enniskillen could be found The certificate said that he came from Portmush which is a Townland in the Parish of Rossorry and is about 2 miles (as the crow flies) to the south-east of Drumhirk where he was thought to be living with his mother Mary and his siblings Charles and George. It is of course possible that he was working in Portmush when he was taken ill. A search of the 1911 Census did not find a William Wallace living in Portmush and a search of the Ulster Covenant for the Parliamentary Division of Fermanagh South located only one William Wallace who was living in Newtown Butler which is to the east of Enniskillin in Fermanagh; the 1911 Census showed that he was a farmer. Thus, on the balance of probabilities this is considered to be the correct certificate for William’s death.