_Joseph Albert ARMITAGE _
|
_Thomas ARMITAGE ____|
| |
| |_________________________
|
|
|--Albert ARMITAGE
|
| _________________________
| |
|_____________________|
|
|_________________________
_Abiah Palmer BALIS _+
| (1802 - 1857)
_Thomas Jefferson BALIS _|
| (1822 - 1899) m 1847 |
| |_Maria H. CLOUGH ____+
| (1800 - 1881)
|
|--John Charles BALIS
| (1848 - 1887)
| _Charles EWER _______+
| | (1796 - 1871) m 1820
|_Mary Malvina EWERS _____|
(1823 - 1895) m 1847 |
|_Lua BARTHOLOMEW ____+
(1801 - 1857) m 1820
[786]
John Charles Balis
1848 – 1887
Spring Grove, Wisconsin – Orleans, Nebraska
July 24, 2001
Dear Sarah, Hannah, and Tim,
This is the story of John Balis, another one of your ancestors that was in the Civil War. John was another of your great-great-great-grandfathers. See if You can figure out how many great-great-great grandfathers you had.
John C. Balis was born on July 18, 1848 at Brodhead, Wisconsin. He was the eldest son of Thomas Jefferson Balis and Mary Ewers Balis. In August of 1864 he enlisted into Company G of the thirteenth Wisconsin Veteran Infantry from Spring Valley, Wisconsin, along with uncles, Henry Balis, Abraham Balis, Luther Balis, and good friend Henry Frary. John was not very old. Can you figure out how old he was? Luther died 16 June 1864 at Claysville, Alabama, of disease.
The main work of the thirteenth infantry was to protect the lines of communication for the Union Army in Tennessee, Kentucky, and northern Alabama, like rail lines and telegraph lines. They didn’t fight in many battles but the work they did was very important. They were in a few battles though. These were at Huntsville, AL, Decatur, GA, and Paint Rock Bridge, AL. At the battle of Paint Rock Bridge John was taken prisoner. He was mustered out of the Thirteenth in May 1865, seven months before the unit was disbanded.
On April 20, 1872 John married Mary Derrick, a beautiful and brilliant young woman of 19 years. They lived in the town of Clarence in Spring Grove Township (near Brodhead). There they had 4 children, Frank, Robert, Flora (your great-great-great-grandmother), and Hettie.
In the spring of 1878 they decided to homestead in Nebraska. John’s parents also homesteaded in Nebraska, but I don’t know if that was before or after John and Mary went. So here they go to Nebraska. There were no roads or railroads going there, so they packed up their belongings and drove in a covered wagon. They stopped in Iowa at the home of John’s cousin, Mary Frary Reasoner, and there they washed, repacked, and replenished their supplies. Then they went on to Nebraska where they settled 10 miles north of Orleans, in Harlan County. At first they lived in a house they dug into the earth. Later John built a very nice house of sod. He made it with bricks of earth that he dug from the prairie. The dirt was held together by the huge strong roots of the prairie plants. There they built a very nice farm. They had 180 acres of land, cattle, hogs, and Plymouth Rock fowl. Here are some of the plants they grew in their garden. They had apple trees, strawberries, raspberries, dewberries, gooseberries, currants, Twinnings famous blackberries, pie plant (rhubarb), asparagus, horse radish, corn, potatoes, etc. Besides the farm John made some money buying and selling real estate. The children attended a little sod schoolhouse. They sat on benches with no backs with their slates and readers beside them.
Three more children were born to John and Mary in Nebraska. They were Mabel, Ernie Earl, and Ina Maude. Ina, born in 1884, only lived for four months. Two girl cousins of Ina’s died that same year.
Meanwhile, Mary was developing a terrific case of Tuberculosis, Consumption they called it in those days. Her husband, John, moved the family into the town of Orleans in June of 1886 so that Mary could have better medical care, but it was of no use. Mary died on July 4, 1886 at the age of 33.
John was not too well himself. His wife reported in a letter several weeks before she died that John coughed a good deal and had little strength. John was a Deputy Sheriff for Harlan County. In February of 1887, only seven months after his wife’s death, John was sent out to track some horse thieves who had escaped over the state line into Kansas. About 150 miles from home he came down with pneumonia. He managed to get back to a railroad where a friend came and brought him back to Orleans. He died 4 days later leaving 6 orphan children. What happened to them is a whole ‘nother story.
So here is the story of your great-great-great grandfather that went away to the Civil War as a teenager and became a prisoner of war. He married a local beauty, homesteaded in Nebraska, fathered seven children, was a deputy sheriff, developed consumption and died much too young leaving six orphans.
Here's how we're related to John C. Balis: John and Mary had Flora. Flora Balis grew up, married Edmund Stevens, and had Harold. Harold grew up, married Helen White (Nana), and had Paul. Paul grew up, married me, and had your mom. Your mom grew up, married your dad, and had guess who?
So Hooray for John Charles Balis!
I think that’s all the Civil War veterans I know about in our family.
Lots of Love
Granny
[793] This census shows a hired man, Aleck Preston, age 21, living with the family. Thomas J. Balis, 52, is living by himself, next door.
Mr T J Balis gives a few particulars concerning his son's death, Mr. John Balis.
"Mr. John Balis, when taken ill was aobut 150 miles from home, having gone in performance of his duty as constable to reciover some horses which had been wrongfully hidden away. After a journey of about 100 miles by rail he was compelled to drive across the country, some sixty miles, and taking cold, was attacked by pneumonia. He managed to get back as far as the railroad when his friend, Judge Kent, came for him and took him home to Orleans, reaching there on Thursday, and Mr. Balis died the following Monday morning about 6 o'clock."
Mr. T. J. Balis reached the place on Wednesday and the funeral services were held on Thursday. As soon as he can settle up both his own and his son's business he will return to Brodhead bringing with him his six orphaned grandchildren. Mr. Balis was a member of the Order of United Workmen, and his children will promptly receive from that association, his insurance of $ 2000.
_John BALIS _________+
| (1741 - 1789)
_Luther BALIS _______|
| (1774 - 1824) m 1797|
| |_Hannah DICKENSON ___
| (1743 - 1782)
|
|--Nathan BALIS
| (1804 - 1891)
| _____________________
| |
|_Patience HORTON ____|
(1770 - 1836) m 1797|
|_____________________
_William DE BAILDON ___+
| (1212 - 1278) m 1234
_William DE BAILDON _|
| (1233 - 1304) m 1259|
| |_Agnes BLUNDE Le White_
| (1214 - ....) m 1234
|
|--Henry DE BAILDON
| (1260 - 1328)
| _______________________
| |
|_____________________|
|
|_______________________
_Jacob DEMOUTH ______+
| (1763 - 1835)
_James DEMOUTH ______|
| (1798 - 1859) m 1825|
| |_Deborah ____________
| (1767 - 1833)
|
|--Elizabeth DEMOUTH
| (1833 - 1896)
| _____________________
| |
|_Elizabeth LOZAW ____|
(1800 - ....) m 1825|
|_____________________
[4595] received 13 Jan 2006
[4597] received 13 Jan 2006
_________________________________
|
_Herman ENKE _______________|
| (1862 - 1932) m 1909 |
| |_________________________________
|
|
|--Wilma K. ENKE
| (1910 - 1979)
| _William Frederick WINTERMANTLE _+
| | (1838 - 1927) m 1867
|_Sarah Sadie. WINTERMANTLE _|
(1878 - 1976) m 1909 |
|_Sarah Ann DENGEL _______________
(1848 - 1933) m 1867
__
|
_Lewis Carl PRICE ______|
| (1894 - 1980) |
| |__
|
|
|--Albert Torrence PRICE
| (1929 - 2002)
| __
| |
|_Anne Lucille THOMPSON _|
(1904 - 1981) |
|__
[9290] Sheet of Family information given to Dawne Pamplin and passed on to DZStevens 22 Apr 2006.
_William STEVENS __________+
| (1785 - 1869) m 1810
_Charles STEVENS _____|
| (1829 - 1917) m 1864 |
| |_Hannah HIGGINS ___________+
| (1787 - 1869) m 1810
|
|--Jane STEVENS
| (1868 - ....)
| _John Carpenter PATRIQUIN _+
| | (1792 - 1884) m 1813
|_Catherine PATRIQUIN _|
(1835 - 1920) m 1864 |
|_Ann MATTATALL ____________+
(1797 - 1876) m 1813
[5807] I believe Jane died in Nova Scotia before the family immigrated. On the 1900 census her mother reports that she has given birth to 8 children but only 7 are still living. This is the only one unaccounted for.
__
|
_Andrew WARNER Deacon_|
| (1595 - 1684) |
| |__
|
|
|--Isaac WARNER
| (1645 - 1691)
| __
| |
|_Mary ________________|
(1599 - 1659) |
|__
As one of the inhabitants of Hadley, MA to which place he haddoubtless removed with his father in 1659, he signed a petition againstimposts, Feb 19, 1668. He was one of the engagers for Northfield in 1683and was there at the Second Settlement. He became a man of influence inthe new plantation, but when the settlement was deserted after KingWilliam's War, he removed to Deerfield where he died.
_Johann Christian ZIMMERMAN __________+
| (1800 - 1851) m 1832
_Adam ZIMMERMAN _____|
| (1837 - 1899) m 1859|
| |_Elizabeth Dorothea KNOLL Kneil Knell_+
| (1809 - 1888) m 1832
|
|--William ZIMMERMAN
| (1866 - 1900)
| _George HOPP _________________________
| |
|_Eve HOPP ___________|
(1838 - 1867) m 1859|
|_Marguretha STRUB ____________________
[1191]
William, age 33, living in Canby, is listed as an heir at the time of his father's death, but by the time of distribution, William has died and his share goes to his estate.
Physician's certificate of death says William died of nephritis with a predisposing condition of itching calculus. The undertaker's certificate gives his address at time of death as 314 3rd St. but gives no town. I assume it to be Portland.
The second child was a boy whom they called Willie, who died of pneumonia contracted while he was
drilling a well. He was about thirty years of age when he died, and had never been married. When he
was a small child he lost an eye by getting lye into it while his mother was making soap.