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Anna Frick Slifer, the youngest
child of Pennsylvania statesman
Eli Slifer, and his wife Catharine
Frick Slifer, was born in Lewisburg
on September 15, 1855. Named for
her maternal grandmother, Anne
Elizabeth Gotschall Frick, Anna
Slifer grew up during the years her
father served in state government,
when the Slifer home was a central
gathering place for local and state
political figures.(1) In this
dynamic environment, she acquired
her life-long fascination for
current affairs, and avid curiosity
about the world.(2)
Anna Slifer attended the Female
Institute of The University at
Lewisburg (renamed Bucknell
University in 1886) where, as a
bright, conscientious member of the
Class of 1872, she studied art,
literature, music, ancient
languages, and one of her primary
interests, the natural sciences.
Remembered by her family as a warm,
generous person with a whimsical
sense of humor, she was perhaps best
known for her service to the
community, and wide-ranging creative
talents.(3) She was a writer, an
artist, and a musician who sang in
the choir of the Lewisburg Methodist
Church. Later, she directed
children's programs and benefit
musicals there, and in the new Beaver
Memorial Methodist Church built in
1890.
Anna graduated from the Female
Institute in June 1872. In her
commencement speech, she urged her
Institute sisters to embark on a
life of service:
Every atom, and every world alike
proclaims that work is the great law
of the universe. Let the basket be
daily tossed, and from its depth will
come up, new objects for care, new
wants to be supplied, new duties to
be performed, . . . . There is a
great need for head dresses of
common sense, hearth rugs to be
flowered with happiness, comforts and
pillows of consolation to be prepared
for the sick and dying, all this
woman may do, nay must do or be false
to her mission.
___ Anna Frick Slifer
"The Work Basket"
June 1872
Anna Frick Slifer married William Cameron Walls, son of
John Walls, her father's close friend, at the Slifer home,
Delta Place, on November 19, 1878. After his graduation
from The University at Lewisburg in the Class of 1873,
William C. Walls became a partner with his father in the
Walls and Walls General Store. Serving as Vice-President
of the Lewisburg National Bank from 1907-1926, William C.
Walls was then named president of the bank in 1927, the
same year he was elected a member of the Board of Trustees
of Bucknell University. He remained in both positions
until his death in 1941.
Anna and William had three children. The first, John
Walls, named for his paternal grandfather, was born on
September 5, 1879. He later chose "Abbet," an early
family derivative spelling, as his middle name. Born on
July 9, 1881, the second son, Eli Slifer Walls, called
"Slife," was named for his maternal grandfather. The
youngest child, Dorothy, was born on December 5, 1887.
Anna was a happy young matron devoted to her children,
but soon had to face great personal loss. Her mother,
Catharine Frick Slifer, a fond grandmother who stayed in
close contact with her family, died in 1886. Two years
later, Anna lost her father when Eli Slifer was killed
in a tragic accident.
Despite these losses, Anna Slifer Walls continued her
community service projects, and became an active member
of several local and national organizations. Proud of
her heritage, she joined the Colonial Dames of America,
served as one of the first Regents of the Daughters of
the American Revolution, and was Treasurer of the General
Society of the Daughters of 1812.(4) She was elected State
Director of the Federation of Women's Clubs in 1897.
Anna was a woman of strong convictions. She supported
athletic activities for young people, firmly believing
that physical exercise was a critical part of their
development. A pioneer who championed women's sports,
she organized a class for Dorothy and her friends when
they expressed an interest in learning to swim. Anna was
also an ardent fan of the university's football team.
Each year she baked a special cake for the team member
who had scored the most points during the season.(5)
A fervent patriot, and loving daughter, Anna Slifer Walls
presented a final memorial to her father Colonel Eli
Slifer, who served as Secretary of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania during the Civil War. Secretary Slifer
directed all military action of the state militia troops,
including The Slifer Guards, a Union County company
mustered in 1861. Admired and respected by his men,
Slifer was given the honorary title, "Colonel," used
throughout the post-war years. At the May 9, 1894,
reunion of the veterans of the Fifth Pennsylvania
Reserves, Anna presented a new American flag to the Slifer
Guards, in tribute to her father, and the heroic service
of the company named in his honor.(6) The last surviving
member of the Guards, George Eicholtz[?], carefully
preserved the Presentation Flag until his death. The
Flag was then returned to the Slifer family. William C.
Walls donated the Slifer Presentation Flag to the
Pennsylvania State Museum in 1929.(7)
Anna Slifer Walls achieved the ideals she advocated in her
graduation speech, and taught her children to strive for
those same goals. She passed her love of learning and
commitment to hard work to the next generation. After
beginning his college education at Bucknell University
in the Class of 1898, John Abbet Walls earned his degree
in engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Following his graduation in 1899, he began
working for the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and
Manufacturing Company. He became Assistant Engineer of
the Montreal Shawinigan Water and Power Company in Canada
in 1901. Later, he was named Chief Engineer of the
Pennsylvania Water and Power Company. As Chief Engineer,
he designed, and directed the construction of one of the
world's largest dams. By 1910, the lines at the McCalls
Ferry Dam were transmitting electricity to Baltimore and
many nearby cities. Following his work on the Safe Harbor
Dam, which was opened in 1929, he was named President of
the Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation. John Abbet Walls
was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by Bucknell
University in 1931.(8)
A graduate of Bucknell University in the Class of 1903,
Eli Slifer Walls was encouraged by his father to choose
an engineering career. After earning his degree in
Electrical Engineering, Slife became an assistant in the
Engineering Corps of the Wabash Railroad. Two years
later, he finally realized his dream of becoming a doctor
when he enrolled in medical school at the University of
Pennsylvania. Trained as a surgeon and ear, nose, and
throat specialist, Dr. Walls joined the medical staff of
the West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh in 1909, where he was
particularly successful in treating young children. He
served as an army physician at Fort Pike during WWI, and
became a member of the American College of Surgeons in
1923.(9)
Dorothy Walls graduated from the Bucknell University
Institute in 1905, then took over all household
responsibilities when her mother died two years later.
In 1912 Dorothy attended Columbia University, pursuing
coursework in Domestic Science. Like her grandfather,
Eli Slifer, she strongly believed that women should have
the legal right to vote. She became a member of the Woman's
Suffrage Party of Union County. In 1915, as Borough
Leader for Lewisburg, she campaigned throughout the county
for the Woman's Suffrage Movement. Dorothy married Harry
"Moose" McCormick in 1921. A member of the Class of 1904
at Bucknell University before becoming the star pinch
hitter for the New York Giants, he served as a Captain in
the U. S. Army during WWI. After the war, McCormick was
Graduate Manager of Athletics at Bucknell University. He
was named Head Baseball Coach of the U. S. Military
Academy at West Point in 1926.(10)
Anna Frick Slifer Walls died on April 27, 1907, from
complications following an infection. In his memoirs,
William C. Walls wrote a commemorative summary of his
wife's accomplishments, her dedication to family, her
love of country:
[Anna Slifer Walls] . . . reared her children
in the best traditions of her country. She
taught them to love the pioneers of their family,
those whose lives had been inextricably bound
to America's struggle for nationality and greatness.
She taught them to work for themselves, rely on
themselves, and to strive for the best in life.(11)
1 Lois Kalp, "Walls Memoir: Dedicated to the Memory of
Anna Frick Slifer Walls and Eli Slifer Walls, and to
William Cameron Walls for Whom this Memoir was Written"
(Typescript, 1904, Walls Folder, Box 7, Slifer-Walls
Collection, Special Collections/University Archives, The
Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pa.) 131, hereafter cited as "Walls Memoir." [RETURN]
2 Ibid., 142, 148. [RETURN]
3 Ibid. [RETURN]
4 Lewisburg Journal, Clipping, n.d., Clippings folder,
Slifer General Papers, Box 5. Slifer-Walls Collection,
Special Collections/ University Archives, The Ellen Clarke
Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. [RETURN]
5 "Walls Memoir," 176. [RETURN]
6 Newspaper clipping, Lewisburg by-line, n.d., Clippings
folder, Slifer General Papers, Box 5. Slifer-Walls
Collection, Special Collections/University Archives, The
Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pa. [RETURN]
7 "Walls Memoir," 175. [RETURN]
8 Ibid., 178, 183-4. [RETURN]
9 Ibid., 177-8, 180, 199-201. [RETURN]
10 Lois Kalp, A Town on the Susquehanna, 1769-1975: With
An Epilogue, 1975-1980 (Lewisburg, Pa.: By the author;
Colonial Printing, 1980) 167; "Walls Memoir," 207-9. [RETURN]
11 Ibid., 165-6. [RETURN]
Bates, S. D. Address, Reunion of Fifth Reserves, 16 May
1894. Newspaper clipping. Clippings Folder. Slifer-
Walls Collection. General Papers, Box 5. Special
Collections/University Archives, The Ellen Clarke
Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
Flag Presentation Ceremony. Typed transcription, 16 May
1894. Slifer-Walls Collection. General Papers, Box 4.
Special Collections/University Archives, The Ellen
Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pa.
Kalp, Lois. A Town on the Susquehanna, 1769-1975: With
An Epilogue, 1975-1980. Lewisburg, Pa.: By the author;
Colonial Printing, 1980.
________. "Walls Memoir: Dedicated to the Memory of Anna
Frick Slifer Walls and Eli Slifer Walls, and to William
Cameron Walls for Whom this Memoir was Written."
Typescript, 1904. Walls folder, Box 7. Slifer-Walls
Collection. Special Collections/University Archives, The
Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pa.
Lewisburg Journal. Clipping, n.d. Clippings folder,
Slifer General Papers, Box 5. Slifer-Walls Collection.
Special Collections/University Archives, The Ellen Clarke
Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
Long, Clara Slifer. "Our Slifer Family, 1718-1956."
Typescript, n.d. [37 pp., pagination added]. Slifer
Family Papers, Box 4. Slifer-Walls Collection. Special
Collections/University Archives, The Ellen Clarke
Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
Newspaper clipping. Lewisburg by-line, n.d. Clippings
folder, Slifer General Papers, Box 5. Slifer-Walls
Collection. Special Collections/University Archives, The
Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pa.
Slifer, Anna Frick. "The Work Basket." Autograph
Manuscript. Graduation Speech, June 1872. Female
Institute, The University at Lewisburg. Slifer Family
Papers, Box 4. Slifer-Walls Collection. Special
Collections/University Archives, The Ellen Clarke
Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
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