William Mason Ballou
William Martin Ballou was born on September 3, 1843, in Monroe, Massachusetts, to Martin and Dencea Ballou. He grew up and attended school in Monroe.
He enlisted in the Union army on September 3, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company F of the 16th Vermont Infantry on October 23. The regiment took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, and Ballou mustered out on August 10, 1863.
He settled in Wilmington, Vermont, after leaving the army, and he married Sarah M. Crosby around 1864. Their daughter Katie was born around 1867. He worked as a farmer, and by 1870, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $900 of personal property. A local writer described him as an “industrious, frugal farmer” who was “content with his occupation and surroundings.”
He applied for a federal pension in September 1890 and eventually secured one. He remained in Wilmington for the rest of his life, and he died there of “cardiac hypertrophy” on September 14, 1908.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (5300) | Ballou, William Mason | 1843-09-03 | 1908-09-14 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Private
- Rank out: Private
- Rank highest: Private
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 3
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 1
- (1050) [enlisted] [F] ~ 16th Vermont Infantry
Groups - Records: 1
- (6) [member/supporter] ~ Grand Army of the Republic
SOURCES
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, available from Ancestry.com; Deerfield Valley Times (Wilmington, VT), 18 September 1908
