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Charles F. Ballou – New York Soldier Buried at Halifax
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 25, 2018
Charles F. Ballou died in 1929 and is buried at the Halifax United Methodist Church Cemetery, Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. At his grave site there is an in-ground G.A.R. star indicating that he was a Civil War veteran. Previously, on this blog, in a post entitled Halifax Area Civil War Veterans, it was noted that Charles F. Ballou was buried in the Halifax Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery (as the cemetery was once called), but no information was given about his Civil War service. As of this writing, his Findagrave Memorial, gives no information about his Civil War service, and efforts to locate him in the Pennsylvania Civil War databases have been fruitless.
However, as shown below, a Pension Index Card from Fold3 shows that Charles F. Ballou served in the 44th New York Infantry, Company I.
Through Newspapers.com, two newspaper articles relating to his death were found in Lykens Valley area newspapers. The first, is from the Elizabethville Echo of 7 February 1929:
CHARLES BALLOU
Charles F. Ballou, age 88 years, died at the home of his son, Charles F. Ballou, last Friday in Halifax.
Mr. Ballou was a Civil War Veteran, having served as a member of Company I, 40th [sic] Regiment of the New York Volunteers. He took part in several major battles of the was and was wounded during the Battle of Gettysburg, at Little Round Top. He wounds did not permit his return to the ranks before the war ended.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary Ballou, and one son, Charles.
Services were held from his son’s home at 1:30 o’clock Monday afternoon and interment was made in Halifax Cemetery.
The second article was from the Lykens Standard of 8 February 1929:
Charles F. Ballou
Funeral services for Charles F. Ballou, 88-year Civil War veteran, who died Saturday at the home of his son, Edward E. Ballou, in Halifax, was held at the son’s home Monday afternoon at 1:30 o’clock. Burial was made in the Halifax Cemetery.
Discharged from the Army in Harrisburg at the close of the Civil War, Ballou had served with Company I, 40th [sic] Regiment, Ellsworth Avengers, New York Volunteers, in some of the most important engagement of the war. During the Battle of Gettysburg he was wounded at Little Round Top. His injuries disabled him for the remainder of the war.
In addition to his son, Ballou is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary E. Ballou.
The early date of the pension application, as shown on the Fold3 card, 1866, confirms that the injuries sustained by Charles F. Ballou, were sufficient to result in a disability that enabled him to get government benefits.
Since both articles reflect some inconsistencies, some additional genealogical research is necessary to find the correct information. The following was discovered:
Charles F. Ballou was also known as Charles F. Ballou Sr.
He married Mary Ellis of New York, who was born in 1842, daughter of William Ellis (1800-1843) and Mary Polly [Finster] Ellis (1803-1884). Charles and Mary had two known children together: Edward E. Ballou (1868-1941) and Elon David Ballou (1869-1918), both of whom are buried at the Halifax United Methodist Cemetery. Mary died in 1930 and is also buried at Halifax.
Edward E. Ballou married, but had no known children. Edward was living in Halifax in 1930.
Elon D. Ballou married and had at least two known children: Frank Rhodes Ballou (1893-1965) and Charles Floyd Ballou (1894-1970).
No known child of Charles F. Ballou was found who was referred to as Charles F. Ballou Jr. Possibly the grandchild, Charles Floyd Ballou (1894-1907) may have been referred to as “Jr.,” but he was living in Virginia in 1930.
Therefore, the correct information for the death notices should be that Charles F. Ballou died in 1929 at the home of his son, Edward E. Ballou in Halifax, and that other than the widow, and the grandchildren not mentioned, the surviving son was Edward E. Ballou.
Charles F. Ballou traveled about quite a bit before settling in Halifax. He is found in records for Cattaragus County, New York; Brooklyn, New York; and Albany, New York. In the 1920 census he is in Halifax, Dauphin County, where he indicated that both of his parents were born in Vermont. At that time, he gave no occupation, but he and Mary were living with son Edward who was a farmer (fruit and poultry). Prior to arriving in Halifax, Edward lived in New York state and in Potter County, Pennsylvania (1910). At the time of this writing, it is not known why this Civil War veteran settled in Halifax, other than that his son lived there.
Also, in researching the children and grandchildren, it was discovered that both grandsons applied for and were approved for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. The four pages documents pertaining to the application of Frank Rhodes Ballou are presented below. Particular interest is given to the genealogy on the second page, where it is shown that Charles F. Ballou was a direct descendant of a New Hampshire soldier of the Revolutionary War – Seth Ballou, who is also found in the records as Seth Ballon – and the war record of Seth Ballou which begins at the bottom of the second page and concludes on the third page. The documents are from Ancestry.com. By clicking on the documents, they will enlarge.
Additional information is sought about Charles F. Ballou, his Civil War service, and in particular, the reason his son Edward Edward chose to re-locate to Halifax. Information can be added as comments to his post or sent as an e-mail.
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