Bess Truman was born Elizabeth Virginia Wallace on February 13, 1885, to Margaret Elizabeth Gates (August 4, 1862 – December 5, 1952, daughter of George Porterfield Gates, co-founder of the Waggoner Gates Milling Company) and David Willock Wallace (June 15, 1860 – June 17, 1903, a local politician, son of a former Independence mayor) in Independence, Missouri, and was known as Bessie during her childhood. She was the eldest of four; three brothers: Frank Gates Wallace, (March 4, 1887 – August 12, 1960), George Porterfield Wallace, (May 1, 1892 – May 24, 1963), David Frederick Wallace, (January 7, 1900 – September 30, 1957). Bess had a reputation as a tomboy as a child. As a young woman, Bess enjoyed expressing herself through her fashion and hats; a friend was quoted "Bess always had more stylish hats than the rest of us did, or she wore them with more style."