Wallace McKay was a grandson of Dr. Samuel Adams McKay who came to Bullitt County in the early 1840s and remained there the rest of his life. Wallace's father, Charles William McKay was born in Bullitt County in 1841. During the Civil War he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant in the 10th Infantry of the Union army. Following the war, he married Ella Maria Harris in Tennessee, and returned to live in Shepherdsville. Wallace was their second child, born in 1868.
Wallace grew up in Bullitt County where he became a lawyer before moving to Jefferson County where he spent the rest of his life. But he never forgot his Bullitt County roots, and was a frequent contributor to the local newspaper.
In this series, titled "Recollections of a Former Bullitt Countian" and published in The Pioneer-News in 1832-1833, he shared many of his memories of people he had known and admired throughout his life, many of whom were Bullitt Countians. He begins with some who represented the county, but lived elsewhere; before concentrating on local folks.
We transcribed these articles and present them on separate pages with links to them given below. While Wallace made mention of other articles he planned for this series, we have not yet located any others.
Alex Montgomery, David H. Smith & Ben Johnson
Henry D. Moorman, John D. Craddock & Others
Professors H. J. Greenwell & W. B. Gwynn
Professor Sam M. Simmons and His Career
The Family of Richard H. Field
The First Circus to Exhibit in Shepherdsville
The Strange Case of Caleb Rood
Some Outstanding Citizens of Bullitt County
A Partial List of the Sons of Bullitt County
Judge Samuel E. Jones, David McCandless & David J. Wood
If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 15 Jun 2026 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/wallace-pn-intro.html
