James R. Ball, M. D.

Few residents of Lebanon and Boone county have occupied as large a place in the public eye as Dr. James R. Ball and no one has more worthily discharged his manifold duties or shown himself more worthy of the high esteem in which he is held. His life has been filled with activity and usefulness while his untiring energy and eminent ability have gained for him a conspicuous and honorable place among the distinguished medical men of his day and generation in this section of Indiana, which is noted for the high order of its professional talent. In every sphere of endeavor in which he has taken a part, socially, politically or professionally, his unpretending bearing and strict integrity have elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens, and his influence, always potent and salutary, is destined to continue a marked factor for substantial good, long after he ceases from his labors and retires from the busy scenes in which he has so long been a prominent and effective actor.

Doctor Ball was born in Clinton county, Indiana, June 21, 1868. He is a son of James E. and Jane Ann (Irwin) Ball, the former also a native of Clinton county. The Ball family removed from the state of Pennsylvania in pioneer days to Dearborn county, Indiana, and later came on to Clinton county, in which the Irwin's were also early settlers. Scott Irwin, maternal grandfather of our subject, with several brothers, settled on the "twelve mile prairie" when this country was wild and very little improved, and there the grandfather developed a good farm and became a prominent citizen. James E. Ball devoted the earlier years of his life to farming, later engaging in business in Frankfort from 1881 until his death in 1905, during which period of nearly a quarter of a century, he was one of the leading citizens of that city. His widow still lives in Frankfort.
 
Doctor Ball spent his early boyhood on the farm, being thirteen years of age when, in 1881, the family moved to Frankfort, where he attended the public schools, having previously been a pupil in the district schools. He was graduated from the Frankfort high school in 1886. During his vacation periods he studied pharmacy and began clerking in a drug store. In the autumn of 1888 he entered the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, from which he was graduated in 1891, and in May of that year he began practicing his profession at Clarkshill, Tippecanoe county, where he remained until January, 1892, when he came to Lebanon and has been here ever since, having meantime built up a large and lucrative practice which extends all over Boone county and has from the first ranked with the leaders of his professional brethren. He has remained a close student, keeping fully abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession. He took a post-graduate course in 1898 in the Chicago Polyclinic Institute. He is not only a general practitioner but a surgeon of more than ordinary ability. He is surgeon for the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company. He is a member of the Boone County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Politically, he is a Republican, but has never been very active in public matters, although deeply interested in whatever tends to the general good of Boone county. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has been superintendent of the Sunday school of the local congregation for the past sixteen years, a work in which he takes a great deal of interest. He is a member of the official board of the church and has long been active in church affairs, as is also Mrs. Ball.
 
Doctor Ball was married September 3, 1891, to Effie D. Fisher, a daughter of Samuel P. and Mary E. (Smith) Fisher.
 
The father is now retired, lives in Frankfort, Indiana, where he was formerly a leading business man, and for several years he served as clerk of Clinton county. His wife is deceased. Mrs. Ball grew to womanhood in Frankfort and received a good education in the local schools. She is a lady of refinement and is active in the work of the Domestic Science Club, composed of the leading ladies of Lebanon.
 
The union of the Doctor and wife has been blessed by the birth of two sons, Clarence R., born July 28, 1893; and Robert S., born July 22, 1899. The elder son is now a student in DePauw University, and the younger son is attending the Lebanon high school, each making excellent records.
 
Doctor Ball has been very successful in a material way and is one of the substantial men of Lebanon. Some time ago he erected the modern and attractive building bearing his name, which stands at the corner of Meridian and South streets, Lebanon, one of the most convenient and best business blocks in the city, and is also a popular office building, equipped throughout in a thoroughly up-to-date manner. His commodious home is at 424 North Meridian street, and, the family being prominent in the social life of the community, here their many friends frequently gather, always finding a spirit of genuine hospitality and good cheer prevailing.

Submitted by: Amy K. Davis
Source: "History of Boone County, Indiana," by Hon. L. M. Crist, 1914