John William was the son of Susan Binney Wallace (1778-1849) and her husband John Bradford Wallace of Philadelphia. Susan was the daughter of Dr. Barnabas Binney and his wife Mary Woodrow Binney, and the sister of Pennsylvania lawyer Horance Binner. Horace, educated at Harvardwas admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1800, embarking upon a career in which he ultimately became the ackowledged leader of the Pennsylvania bar. Horace commissioned a portrait of himself for his sister from the artist Gilbert Stuart; that painting is now in the NGA (1944.3.1).