Farm living ain’t the life for me.
We talked about the Sulzer Family Homestead in Story 9: The Sulzers of Monte Vista. However, the first successful attempt at homesteading the East Mesa belonged to the Wallis family. Born in 1856, Edwin Augustus Wallis grew up in New Jersey, the youngest child of John J. Wallis. John Wallis worked in the insurance industry. At 14, Edwin lived with his father in the home of his older sister and her husband, an Irish store clerk. In 1878, Edwin married Marie C. Wotton, the daughter of a New York Sea Captain, and three years later the couple welcomed Edwin Jr. At this time, Edwin worked as a produce merchant.
All this to say, neither Edwin nor Marie grew up on a farm or likely had farming experience.
Saltwater runs in the veins?
We don’t know what motivated the young couple to leave the East to claim land in New Mexico – perhaps a sea captain’s daughter inherited the wanderlust gene. What we do know is that despite the lack of agrarian skills, they somehow managed to “improve and cultivate” the arid land just south of University Heights bounded by Carlisle, Girard and what is now the southern edge of Burton Park meeting the 5-year homestead requirement. The exact location of their home, situated on five acres around what is now Girard Boulevard and Dartmouth Drive and probably within proximity to a reliable water source, remains unknown. It is possible that the house still exists today.
Batten Down the Hatches
Not surprisingly, the Wallis family struggled from the beginning. According to research by Patricia Freeman for her book on the Southeast Heights neighborhoods, in 1887 Wallis purchased lumber and labor from the Mandell brothers to build a house for the family. It seems that Wallis could not pay off his debt and the Mandell brothers filed a lien on the house for $120 in labor and materials. As a result, the house and property were sold at auction in 1888 for $50. Freeman notes that, surprisingly, the winning bid belonged to the Mandell brothers who proceeded to dismiss the complaint against Wallis. The Mandell brothers released the house back to the Wallis family upon debt compensation ($200.55) in 1889.
During this time, Ewin and Marie welcome their second son, Lyle Glasgow Wallis born on August 5, 1888. Lyle could quite possibly be the first baby born in Nob Hill.
Cut and Run
Apparently by 1892 the Wallis Family had had enough of farm living. The Albuquerque Journal reports on November 7, in the “Personal Mention” section, that the Wallis family left to spend the winter with family in New York. Things must have been dire to choose New York’s harsh winter climate over Albuquerque’s sunshine. According to Freeman, on December 2, 1892, Wallis used 150 acres of land as collateral to secure a loan from William S. Strickler, Trustee for Andrew W. Cleland Jr. A day later, on December 3, 1892, Wallis deeded 5 acres to Neill Field and Mary Lester Field and sold the 5 acres with the house to Margaret C. Wotton (Marie’s Mother).
Squared Away
Nonetheless, on January 13, 1893, Wallis received a land patent for the 160 acres signed by President Benjamin Harrison. Apparently, after all the effort, the family decided farm living was not the life for them. According the 1895 New Jersey Census, the family had permanently returned east. In 1900, the family deeded the 150 acres to Andrew W. Cleland Jr. adding the additional 5 acres in 1902. A few years later Dr. Solomon Burton purchased the 155 acres. It would go on to become the Monterey Hills Subdivision which surrounds Hyder Park. The remaining 5 acres of the original homestead would become Sunset Heights.
Mainstay?
And as for the Wallis Family, by 1910 they had reestablished themselves in Manhattan and Edwin settled into his desk job as an auditor.
©️ 2026 Michelle Allison
