The name Wallace originates from the Old French word "waleis"  meaning "welshman", although the Scottish form is thought to refer to a  Strathclyde Briton.  Early records show that the name was common in  Renfrewshire and Ayrshire.  The first record of the name was in 1160 when  Richard Walensis witnessed a charter by Alan, son of Walter the High Steward.   Richard's lands in Ayrshire were named after him and the name survived as the  town and parish of Riccarton (Richard's Town).  His grandson, Adam had 2 sons,  Adam 4th Laird of Riccardton and Malcolm who received the lands of Eldershire  and Auchinbothie in Elderslie, Renfrewshire.  Malcolm was the father of  Scotland's greatest patriot and hero, Sir William Wallace("Braveheart") who  led the revolt 
 against English rule before his demise and the advent of the victory achieved  at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce in 1314.  In his early years, Wallace and  his mother had to take refuge near Dunipace from the English because they  refused to pay homage to Edward I.  While still very young, Wallace became the  leader of a company of patriots and his harassing tactics against the English  earned him the support of many nobles.  His military genius made him hated and  feared by Edward I, but he was eventually captured by treachery at Robroyson  near Glasgow and delivered to Edward I by Sir John Mentieth.  Wallace was  unjustly tried for treason and brutally executed in London in 1305.  Having  never sworn fealty to Edward I, he cannot have been guilty of treason against  him, however, his example kindled a spirit of independence in Scotland which  remains to this day.  At Stirling on top of the Abbey Craig, stands the  nation's memorial to Wallace, built in 1896; in 1814, a huge statue was  erected to his memory near Dryburg Abbey in the Scottish Borders.  Upon the  death of his brother, Lt. Col. Malcolm Robert Wallace, on 9th December 1990,  Ian Francis Wallace of that llk became the 35th Chief of the Clan, Name and  Family of Wallace.

Schuessler Family
 John Adam Schuessler (1811-1884) of Germany and his wife Eva Dischinger Schuessler (1810-1901) and  their 5 children bid farewell to their homeland in 1845. They had acquired a land grant of 320  acres from the Republic of Texas. Their eldest son had died in Germany as an infant. They arrived  at Galveston and departed by tranship for Indianola, where baby Katharina died and was also buried  there. Her final resting place is known only to God. She was born on July 1, 1845 at Bonfeld and  was about 3 months old when the family sailed for Texas. She is listed on the church rolls at  Bonfeld, Germany as well as her father's passport. Her baptismal certificate is signed by Pastor  Vogel of Bonfeld and was carried by the family.
   From Indianola, the family moved inward via New Braunfels to their land grant, built their first  home, and gave Cherry Springs its name.  Their home was about 28 miles south-east of the present  town of Mason, and was the first one built in this vicinity.  Three more sons were born.   Butchering and sausage making in the winter, wood for fuel, horehound-honey syrup for coughs,  the ever threat of diseases, kerosene lamps, a garden, and birth with the help of a midwife were  the ways of life.
   The Schuesslers were not ordinary people, being kin to the Von Hohernzollerns, the ruling house  of Germany. One of the royal house daughters took a fancy to a young man by the name of Schuessler  and he was knighted and became a member of the family.
   John Adam and Eva Schuessler are buried in the Crosby Cemetery at Mason, Texas (The above Schuessler information comes from the book, "John Adam and Eva Scuessler, Pioneers in  Texas" by Johnita Schuessler Bohmfalk and published in 1984.)