Bland Ballard
A man with short, dark hair wearing a high-collared white shirt, a high-collared, black jacket, and a black tie
Portrait of Bland Ballard
Member of the Kentucky General Assembly
In office
1800–1801, 1803–1804, 1805–1806
Personal details
Born(1761-10-16)October 16, 1761
Spotsylvania County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedSeptember 5, 1853(1853-09-05) (aged 91)
Resting placeFrankfort Cemetery
Spouses
Elizabeth Williamson
​
​
(died 1827)​
    Diana Matthews
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1833; died 1835)​
      Elizabeth Weaver Garrett
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1841)​
      Children7
      RelativesBland Ballard (grandson)
      Military career
      Allegiance United States
      RankMajor
      Battles/wars

      Bland Williams Ballard (October 16, 1761 – September 5, 1853)[1] was a soldier and statesman from Kentucky.

      Biography

      Ballard's 1861 court portrait.

      Bland Williams Ballard was born on October 16, 1761, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the eldest son of Bland Ballard.[2] In 1779, he moved with his father to Kentucky, where the younger Ballard served in the militia. In 1788, Ballard's father and family were killed by Delaware Indians in what is now Shelby County, Kentucky. Later in life, Ballard said he had killed thirty to forty Indians in battle to avenge his family and punish Indians for horse theft.[1]

      Ballard married three times. He and his first wife Elizabeth Williamson were the parents of seven children. Elizabeth died in 1827, and he married Diana Matthews in 1833. Diana died in 1835, in 1841 Ballard married Elizabeth Weaver Garrett.[1][3]

      Ballard served as a scout in George Rogers Clark's 1780 expedition into the Ohio country. During the Northwest Indian War, he served as a scout for Clark's 1786 Wabash campaign.[4] Ballard participated in the battles of Fallen Timbers (1794), Tippecanoe (1811),[5] and the River Raisin (1813).[6] As a major of Kentucky volunteers, he played a leading role in the expedition against the British and American Indians who had invaded southeastern Michigan. He was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Frenchtown, but was among the group of prisoners who were transported into Canada and so escaped the River Raisin Massacre.[6] Following the war, Ballard served as a Delegate from Shelby County in the 1800, 1803 and 1805 Kentucky General Assembly.[1][7]

      Legacy

      Bland Ballard is the namesake of both Blandville, Kentucky[8][9] and Ballard County, Kentucky.[10]

      When Ballard died in 1853, he was initially buried in Shelbyville, Kentucky. In 1854 the State of Kentucky moved his and his first wife's remains to the State Memorial section of the Frankfort Cemetery.[1][11] His namesake grandson, Bland Ballard, was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky.[12]

      References

      1. 1 2 3 4 5 Madigan, Mary Lou (1992). "Bland W. Ballard". In John E. Kleber (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. p. 44. ISBN 0813128838.
      2. ↑ Bridwell, Margaret Morris (Mrs. Roy) (1939). "Notes on One of the Early Ballard Families of Kentucky Including the Ballard Massacre" (PDF). Filson Club History Quarterly. 13 (1). Retrieved January 2, 2022.
      3. ↑ Klotter, James C.; Nelson L. Dawson (1981). Genealogies of Kentucky families: from the Filson Club history quarterly. Kentucky Historical Society/Genealogical Pub. Co. p. 56.
      4. ↑ Perrin, William Henry; J.H. Battle; G.C. Griffin (1888). Kentucky: a history of the state, embracing a concise account of the origin and development of the Virginia colony;. F. A. Battey & Company. p. 44. ISBN 0813128838. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      5. ↑ Smith, Zachariah Frederick (1892). The History of Kentucky: From Its Earliest Discovery and Settlement, to the Present Date. Courier-journal job printing Company. p. 237. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      6. 1 2 Bogart, William Henry (1875). Daniel Boone, and the hunters of Kentucky. Lee and Shepard, Publishers. pp. 417–425. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      7. ↑ Kentucky Historical Society. "Kentucky's War of 1812: Ballard County (Marker 826)" (PDF). State of Kentucky. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      8. ↑ Rennick, Robert M. (1988). Kentucky Place Names. University Press of Kentucky. p. 26. ISBN 0813126312. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      9. ↑ Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. Library Reprints, Incorporated. p. 39. ISBN 9780722249208.
      10. ↑ Rennick, Robert M. (1988). Kentucky Place Names. University Press of Kentucky. p. 12. ISBN 0813126312. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
      11. ↑ Lazarus Whitehead Powell; et al. (1855). Obituary addresses delivered upon the occasion of the re-interment of the remains of Gen. Chas. Scott, Maj. Wm. T. Barry, and Capt. Bland Ballard and wife. State of Kentucky State Printer. pp. 3–5.
      12. ↑ The Green Bag: an entertaining magazine of the law, Volume 9 ("Bland Ballard"), p. 262, at Google Books
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