Sylvester A. Ballou Papers: Finding Aid mssBallou
Finding aid prepared by Huntington Library Staff and updated by Diann Benti.
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Online finding aid last updated 2024 March 29, by Nichole L. Manlove.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Sylvester A. Ballou Papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssBallou
Physical Description:
8.01 Linear Feet
(6 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1836-1968
Abstract: The collection consists primarily of
the letters of California State legislator Sylvester Ballou (1828-1899), to various members
of his family, assorted poems and public addresses prepared by Ballou, and his 1878 diary
kept after the Ballous moved to Naperville, Illinois. There is also a diary by his first
wife, Julia, of their sojourn in California during 1865-66. Subject matter includes politics
and government in Civil War-era California, ocean travel to and from California in 1865 and
1866, mining in California and Colorado, farm life in Illinois, and Ballou family
history.
Language of Material: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
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[Identification of item]. Sylvester A. Ballou Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Sylvester Allen Ballou (1828-1899) first came to California in 1849 from Ohio with his
brother Volney in search of gold. Miner, trader, temperance advocate and school teacher
while a resident of the Golden State, Ballou's active involvement in Democratic politics led
him to serve four terms in the state legislature. A well-respected politician admired by
colleagues and by the press, his career was marked in particular by his advocacy of
Sacramento as permanent state capital and by his ardent support of popular sovereignty as a
solution to the question of slavery in the territories. During the Civil War, he served in
the Union Army's Department of Subsistence, being present at the siege of Vicksburg in 1863
and after war's end held the post of Chief Commissary in the Department of California for a
year. Returning once more to the family home (now in Naperville, Illinois), he settled with
his first wife, Julia Hills (Barnard) Ballou, who had accompanied him to California in 1865,
until her death in 1869. Although he never again lived in California, he did return to the
West several times, notably in 1873 when he revisited California and in 1879 when he
participated in the Leadville, Colo. silver rush (without notable success). Returning to
Naperville, he remained there with his family including his second wife, Eliza (Norton)
Ballou, whom he had married in 1874, until his death in 1899.
The collection consists primarily of Sylvester Ballou's letters to various members of his
family, assorted poems and public addresses prepared by Ballou, Ballou's diary of the year
1878 in Naperville, Ill. and his first wife Julia's diary of their sojourn in California
during 1865 and 1866, letters written at different times by his brothers Orlando, Ray, and
Volney, and a large amount of biographical data assembled by three of his granddaughters for
a projected but uncompleted biography. The biographical materials include xerox copies of a
number of letters and official records relating to his years in the California legislature
and his military service, xeroxes of various pages from the Plumas (Co.) Argus between 1857
and 1860, and reproductions of several Leadville maps.
Subject matter includes politics and government in Civil War-era California, ocean travel
to and from California in 1865 and 1866, mining in California and Colorado, farm life in
Illinois, and Ballou family history.
Notable items include:
- Orlando Ballou's letters to his friend Moses Morgan about gold mining in Plumas County, Calif. in 1855 and 1856 (HM 51212-51214) including one letter with a pictorial lettersheet of The Miners' Ten Commandments on verso (HM 51214)
- 6 letters written between 1858 and 1864 about California politics (HM 51215, HM 51247, HM 51249, HM 51257, HM 51258 and HM 51262)
- 2 letters by Sylvester Ballou at the time of the Vicksburg campaign (HM 51224 and FAC 1068)
- Julia (Barnard) Ballou's diary of her ocean voyage to California and her residence there with husband Sylvester in 1865-1866 (HM 51207)
- Sylvester Ballou's letters to his wife Eliza Anne (Norton) Ballou during his stay in Leadville (HM 51226-51238)
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 51194-51274, FAC 1067-1081.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Farm life -- Illinois -- Naperville.
Gold mines and mining -- California
Legislators -- California -- Archives
Ocean travel.
Silver mines and mining -- Colorado -- Leadville.
California -- Gold discoveries
California -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
California -- Politics and government -- 1850-1950.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Photograph of Hannah (Allen) Ballou. HM 51270 1852
Ballou, Julia Hills (Barnard). Diary. HM 51207 1865-1866, 1873
Box 4
Box 5
Scrapbook with Ballou family genealogy. HM 51266 [Approximately 1870-1933?]
Box 6