Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Ballard, Corwin 1871 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 31, 2007, 12:36 am Author: Emma E. Forter (1917) CORWIN BALLARD. Corwin Ballard, trustee of Bigelow township, a former well-known school teacher in this county and the proprietor of a well-kept farm of eighty acres in Bigelow township, is a native of the neighboring state of Nebraska, but has been a resident of Marshall county since he was ten years of age. He was born on a farm in Richardson county, Nebraska, April 6, 1871, son of Jesse and Martha (Huntsinger) Ballard; the former a native of the Hoosier state and the latter of the Buckeye state, who spent their last days in this county, substantial residents of Franklin township. Jesse Ballard, who was an honored veteran of the Civil War, was born in Carroll county, Indiana, June 23, 1843, a son °* Jermaine and Mary Ann (Baum) Ballard, natives of Indiana, who came west and settled in Richardson county, Nebraska, in i860. When the Civil War broke out Jesse Ballard was eager to take his part in the defense of the Union and believing his chances for getting to the front would be better for enlisting in Iowa, went over into that state and enlisted in the Fourth Iowa Battery, with which he served until mustered out at the close of the war, and during which service he saw some very stirring action. The effects of constant heavy gun fire so affected Mr. Ballard's hearing that he ever afterwards suffered from an annoying deafness. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to Nebraska and there married Martha Huntsinger, who was born at Xenia, Ohio, October 9, 1848, a daughter of Eli and Mary (Harrison) Huntsinger, natives of Pennsylvania, who had settled in Nebraska. After his marriage Mr. Ballard continued farming in Nebraska until 1881, when he came to Kansas and settled in Marshall county, buying a quarter of a section of land in Franklin township, where he spent the rest ofr his life, his death occurring in 1908. His wife had preceded him to the grave about thirteen, years, her death having occurred in 1895. They were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being Libbie, deceased, and Otha and Leroy, who are now living in Colorado. As noted above, Corwin Ballard was about ten years of age when he .came to Marshall county with his parents in 1881. The course in the district schools of Franklin township he supplemented by a course in the high school at Marysville and then took a course in the State Normal School, after which he entered Ottawa University and was there taking the classical course when the death of his mother and sister in 1895 interrupted his studies. He did not return to the university and in 1899 began teaching school in district No. 36, in Oketo township, this county, where he taught for two years. He then rendered further teaching service in the Bigelow schools and in the school in district No. 65 and in 1904 began farming on his own account. For two years he farmed a rented place and then bought his present farm of eighty acres in section 4 of Bigelow township, where, after his marriage in 1909, he established his homeland where he and his family are very pleasantly and very comfortably situated. Mr. Ballard lately has gone in somewhat extensively into the breeding of Holstein cattle and is doing very well. His farm is well improved and his operations are carried on in accordance with the principles of modern farming. Mr. Ballard is a Republican and from the days of his youth has given his thoughtful attention to local civic affairs. In 1914 he was elected trustee of Bigelow township and in 1916 was re-elected to that important office, now serving his second term and giving to the duties of that office his most intelligent attention. In 1909 Corwin Ballard was united in marriage to Daisy Walls, who was born near what is now the village of Bigelow, in this county, January 18, 1881, daughter of William H. and Rachel (Strange) Walls, the former "a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia, who were married in this county and are still living here, and to this union two children have been born, Lulu R., born on January 23, 1910, and Eunice E., July 4, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are members of the Christian church and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/ballard511gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ksfiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb