NJ Decoys Newsletter
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Dr. Gilbert Edward Wallace
1873-1917

The name G. E. Wallace has been bantered about the New Jersey decoy collecting community for many years. Information was sparse with a mention in American Bird Decoys by Mackey on page 202 with "A fine group of Herring Gull decoys were in the rig of G. E. Wallace, a game warden who gunned Barnegat Bay. In 1916 Wallace was shot and killed while hunting. His gulls were stick-ups and included one juvenile in the gray color phase, a refinement in gull decoys that is most unusual". In the July -August-September 1964 issue of Decoy Collectors Guide, in an article on confidence decoys, Mackey went on to state that Warden Wallace was shot and killed while apprehending a violator in the year 1916. A picture of that juvenile decoy is in North American Survey by Kangas plate 500 and also in the Julia/Guyette auction catalog dated September 20-21, 1986, lot 48, where it sold for $3,000.00. Two rig-mates are pictured in American Decoy by Colio on page 76, also in juvenile plumage. The gull that sold in 1986 was branded twice on the bottom G.E.W. but there is no mention in Colio, if that pair is branded in a similar fashion.

Several well done shorebirds with split tail carving, survive with the G.E.W. brand, along with others that are unbranded. I am aware of both Yellowlegs, as pictured above, and Dowitchers, with that brand. See (Decoy Collectors Guide, 1968 Annual, page 35) for an example of a Dowitcher. Many collectors see similarities between these shorebirds and the so called lumberyard shorebirds in both carving and paint style. Quite a few lumberyards have been found around the Forked River area of New Jersey and these two facts drives the debate as to there origin being from New Jersey and not New Hampshire. A good representation of a typical lumberyard can be found in Shore Bird Decoys by Fleckenstein on page 69 plate 72 and identifies that bird as being from New Hampshire. The only other reference in print that I can verify is in Shorebirds by Levinson and Headley. Page 60 plate 4-16 has a photo and the caption reads Black-bellied Plover (lumberyard bird) maker unidentified, circa 1900. It appears that the bill is too long for a plover but that is a species debate and not the real issue. On page 61 Levinson and Headley continue with the following information "the middle black-bellied plover is of the so called lumberyard type. Decoys similar to this, found in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and even Connecticut, are attributed to unknown lumberyard workers; the name is derived from decoys carved from wood scraps over the lunch hour by the workers at the local lumberyards." I can find no other information or any credit taken for this attribution. Where did it come from? Was it passed around by the early collectors as common information? I hope someone out there has something to add to this!

In the November 2006 issue of the Watchgander Grove Conrad brings up this very issue, noting that written on the breast of a yellowlegs, lot 383E, G.E. Wallace, Barnegat, NJ so called lumberyard decoy the notation by Conover. Grove also mentions that his wife Kathy while researching the Predmore family had discovered information on Wallace. "Gilbert Edward Wallace was born October 24, 1873, in Gloucester, NJ. He married Sara Falkenburg (her mother was a Predmore) in 1905-they lived in Forked River he was a doctor and appointed game warden. G.E. Wallace died March 15, 1917 of gunshot wounds-perhaps suffered as a result of being a game warden."

I did a little further research and found that Wallace appears in the 1900 census as living in Forked River with a family named Lane (perhaps as a border) his occupation physician. His obituary verifies that he arrived in Forked River from medical school just prior to 1900 and that Gilbert and Sarah L. had two sons Philmore A. and Leonard prior to his tragic death in 1917. Wallace's obituary appeared in the New Jersey Courier dated March 16, 1917 and revealed that Dr. Wallace was indeed shot but the details are a little less romantic than Mackey's description. The headline reads "Dr. G. E. Wallace dies from accidental pistol shot." It contained the following: "While showing a friend a new model Colts army revolver at his home in Forked River last evening, Dr. Gilbert E. Wallace, one of the leading citizens of that town, was shot through the abdomen by the accidental discharge of the gun. Beside Dr. Wallace there were two men present, Postmaster Alfred H. Grant and Edwin W. Parker. Wanting to show Parker some new guns he had recently bought, Dr. Wallace took him into his office adjoining the rooms where the rest were. Some two weeks or so ago, an attempt was made to break into the Wallace house. At the time he had loaded a new Colt .32, army model, and had since forgotten it. While he and Parker were looking at this one, it went off, and he was shot through the abdomen. Parker at once got out his car and Dr. Wallace was loaded in and brought to Toms River. In the car coming up he reiterated that "Ed is not to blame". The shooting was at 9:30 and 11:30 he had died. About 1898, Dr. Wallace shortly after leaving medical college, settled in Forked River. At the time of his untimely death at age 44 the Wallace's were living at the Falkenberg residence on Main Street, with Sarah's mother Martha. The Falkenberg estate was a large one and Dr. Wallace gave much of his time to its management. He was also interested in boat building and built a marine railway and boat shop. He had interests in cranberry growing, lumbering, and other business affairs".

Another interesting fact is that Lewis Barkalow was listed as one of his pallbearers indicating that they were close personal friends, and more that likely hunted together. We know both hunted shorebirds and Barkalow certainly made his, but does that information bring us any closer to the maker of the G.E.W. birds? Given the fact he was a physician and managed numerous other business interests it is obvious he did not need to make shorebirds or confidence decoys out of necessity. He owned a boat shop and had employees skilled in woodworking capable of doing so. If Wallace did make his decoys it was just because he wanted to. We also find out the Dr. Wallace was certainly not a game warden at the time of his death apprehending a violator, and possibly never was. Grove Conrad did some research into game wardens and believes that prior to the 1920's they were political appointments. Perhaps a little more digging in that area may turn up something. We also now know that the he was a Forked River boy and not a Barnegater, but I'm sure he went down there to shoot their snipe.

The little tidbit of having lumber interests, brings us back to the attribution to the lumberyard birds and supposedly that they were made by lumberyard employees, in their spare time. Then they were dispersed down the coast by sail during lumber transport. Could they have been distributed up the coast? It makes one wonder, as so many of these stories just seem to get a little mixed up as they are passed along. The similarities yet differences of these shorebirds could suggest several different makers at Wallace's boat shop just as easily as an unknown northeastern lumberyard.

Dr. Wallace also knew Watson Penn. Penn was Captain of Wallace's yacht the Water Witch built in 1907 at his yard in Forked River. Wallace put in a marine railway and was heavily involved in converting many of the sailing cat boats in the area to gasoline power in early 1900. Wallace and Penn made numerous trips south together on the Water Witch, as far as Florida, in the early 1900's. To date I have not found a reference of them traveling north to Massachusetts or Connecticut, but it is well within the realm of possibility. It would be unthinkable for them not to take gun, powder, shot and snipe stools along for a little sport. Penn like Barkalow was also a shorebird maker from Forked River yet none by either maker have turned up branded G.E.W.

Something else that is even more interesting is in the book Pages from the Past of Rural New Jersey by Robert J. Sim, published in 1949. Sim interviewed Watson Penn at his workshop in Forked River, and on page 63 there is a photo of decoys and shorebirds. In the photo several shorebirds bear close resemblance to lumberyards, two Yellowlegs are easily identifiable as Joel Barkalow's, and others in a oak splint basket are identified by Penn as being the work of Sam Anderson, a local man. I did find Samuel A. Anderson from Forked River born 23 January 1842 and died 10 February 1907. Anderson was a farmer and had cranberry bogs. Penn continues on to say that the two rather more realistically painted Yelpers were built by Oscar Eayre of Barnegat. (another story) One can presume the interview probably occurred a year or so prior to Sim's publication, about 1947-48. Penn was born about 1866 and would have been in his 80's at the time.

In summation we do know a bit more about Wallace and what his life was about, and the confirmation as to the attribution of him being the owner of the gulls and shorebirds. I do have unanswered questions about the attribution of the lumberyard shorebirds and where they were made, especially the ones with his brand. More and more information seems to point to a Forked River origin. Research is a continuing endeavor and I am hopeful some more clues will turn up to solve this mystery. Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

John Clayton NJ Decoys Newsletter
www.NJDecoys.com