John Jones Ballard

Not to know the subject of this sketch is to argue oneself unknown in Greene county, for he is one of the honored and representative citizens of this section of the state, having made his home here all his life, over the psalmist’s allotted three-score years, having been prominently identified with the material and civic advancement and upbuilding of the county and city of Worthington, and he has ever stood for loyal and public-spirited citizenship, impressing his personality on the community where his activities have been confines because of the high standard of his living.

John J. Ballard was born in Greene county, Indiana, December 2, 1841, the son of Benjamin C. and Catherine (Stalcup) Jones. Catherine Stalcup was first married to John Jones of Greene county, and his death occurred within a few years, and to this union were born two children, Margaret J., widow of C. C. Howe of Worthington, and a daughter who died young. The former’s first marriage was to Ellen Fry of Kentucky. Colonel James Ballard, grandfather of the subject, was one of the most prominent residents of Shelby county, Kentucky, for over fifty years, having served in the legislature of the state. He raised the following children: Thomas, Harrison, Benjamin, father of the subject; Andrew J., Bland and Pauline. Thomas remained single. Harrison has six children. Benjamin C., father of the subject was born January 1, 1806, in Shelby county, Kentucky. He followed farming there until 1837, when he came to Indiana, buying land in Highland township, Greene county, rearing the following children: James F. was the eldest; Thomas E. was a soldier in the Union army and was killed in the battle of Baton Rogue, Louisiana; Benjamin H.; Susan, the widow of William Stalcup, now of Worthington; Catherine, the wife of Lot Owen, both dead; John J., our subject, was the first child of Benjamin C. Ballard’s second wife. His other child was Ellen, the wife of David H. Wiley. The father of the subject passed away October 4, 1844. Andrew J. Ballard, a brother of the subject’s father, married Fannie Thurston and they had three sons and one daughter, namely: Charles T., a graduate of Yale; Samuel T.; R. C. Ballard, Thurston and Abby, who was a student at Vassar, now deceased. Charles T. and Samuel T. are members of the firm of Ballard & Ballard Mills at Louisville, Kentucky. Bland Ballard was appointed judge of the federal court by President Lincoln and served until his death. He was the father of the following children: Austin, Bland Jr., Mary, Fannie and Susan.

The early life of John J. Ballard was spent on his father’s farm and in attending the common schools, where he made proper use of his time, later attending the graded schools at Point Commerce. His thrist for knowledge not being satisfied, he entered Franklin College in 1873, from which he graduated with honor in 1878, since which time he has been engaged in farming and stock raising, at which he has been eminently successful. He is in possession of the valuable tract of land owned by his father, which has remained in the Ballard family for seventy years. It consists, including what the mother added after the death of her husband, of five hundred and forty acres, three hundred and fifty of which are under the plow, a large portion of the farm being situated along the White River. The present owner has devoted much attention to his farm and spared no pains in keeping the soil in a high state of productiveness, using some commercial fertilizers, but depending largely on clover, rye, and timothy, which he turns under to enrich the soil. Most of all the grain raised on the place is fed by him to cattle and hogs. His judgment in the selection of good stock of all kinds is not excelled in Greene county. He keeps the Aberdeen Agnus cattle, Poland China hogs and other good breeds. He buys some stock cattle and prepares both cattle and hogs for market and his shipment of cattle in 1906 topped the market at Indianapolis. Mr. Ballard also owns one hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as can be found in Greene county, adjoining the

- - - - - - - -

Biographical Memoirs of Greene County, Ind. With Reminiscences of Pioneer Days, Illustrated (1908, B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, Indiana) Vol. 2 Pg. 528-33.