Lizzie Bertoch Wallace: Teacher, Musician, and Pioneer Mother

Ann Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bertoch Wallace (1867–1952)

Ann Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bertoch was born in the Salt Lake Valley in 1867, the daughter of pioneers James and Ann Bertoch. She grew up in Pleasant Green, where life was built on hard work and community effort. Bright and capable from a young age, Lizzie became the first native of Pleasant Green to teach in the district school. At only seventeen, she managed a one-room schoolhouse with all eight grades, teaching for three years before marriage. She later recalled teaching thirty pupils at once, ranging from first through fifth grade, after passing her teacher’s examination in Salt Lake City at the age of sixteen. Despite little formal schooling herself, she even attended the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah), excelling in her studies.

Music was another of her talents. From the age of twelve, Lizzie sang with the Tabernacle Choir for eight years, providing music for church, funerals, and community gatherings. She also studied guitar under Professor André for three years, her mother washing his shirts and socks in exchange for lessons. By her late teens, Lizzie was rated among the top guitarists in Salt Lake City.

It was during her youth that she first encountered Josiah Davis Wallace. Riding with her father in a buggy, she saw him planting locust trees alongside his father, George B. Wallace, near their Granger homestead. Later, while attending socials at the Seventeenth Ward, she recognized the same young man across the hall. Their mutual admiration grew, and on December 7, 1887, twenty-year-old Lizzie married Josiah, then twenty-seven.

Their marriage was filled with love but also hardship. Josiah served a mission to southern Illinois but contracted malaria and was never fully well again. For years he battled recurring fevers and chills until his passing in 1905, leaving Lizzie a widow at thirty-seven with nine children to raise. Determined to provide for her family, Lizzie expanded their modest home by negotiating with the brickyard, putting just five dollars down and charging the materials to build three additional bedrooms.

To support her children, she drove the school wagon through Granger to take students to Monroe School, earning eight dollars a month. She faithfully harnessed her horses and drove in all kinds of weather, never once late. Eventually, her wages rose to thirty-five dollars, but then the position was taken from her when a petition declared it “a man’s job.” Even so, Lizzie pressed forward, relying on her farm, resourcefulness, and occasional income to keep her family secure.

She was remembered as a woman of unceasing energy—never idle. She cared deeply for her children and grandchildren, always present in times of need. Her rose garden in later years became a source of both work and joy, reflecting her ability to find beauty even amid difficulty.

Lizzie also spoke of profound spiritual experiences during her life, moments of divine comfort in times of pain and illness. These strengthened her faith and sustained her through trials.

Ann Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bertoch Wallace passed away in 1952. She left behind not only a large posterity but also a legacy of faith, music, service, and resilience. Her life story embodies the pioneer spirit: a teacher, musician, devoted mother, and widow who faced adversity with courage and devotion to family