John Balliet (1819-1886)

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Family

John Balliet was born on November 13, 1819 in Ballietsville, North Whitehall township. Pennsylvania[1] to Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) and Susan Iherie. His grandparents were Stephen Balliet and Magdalena Burkhalter Balliet [2].[3] John Balliet married Amanda Rehrig (a.k.a. Rahrig or Rohrig; 1838-1907). Brenckman indicates that they had eleven children [4] However, it is clear that four of those children were with Elizabeth Dankel. He may have had seven children with Amanda, including Isabella Balliet (1854-1888; Possibly the same as Martha Balliet Neyer), Alice Balliet (1859-1879), Lewis Balliet (1863-?),Emma Balliet Semmel (1864-1934), John William Balliet (1869-1934), and Harry Balliet (1878-1949) [5].

File:Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Ruth Benedict.jpg

From 1856- 1878, John Balliet lived with Elizabeth Dankel (1839-?) as his wife (who was 15-16 at first), though they were not married. During this time, they had four children, including Susan Balliet (1853–1888), Steven John Balliet (1860–1919), Mary J. Balliet (1863–1923), and Minerva Balliet (1870–1951). After residing in East Penn[1] until May, 1866, they moved to Slatington [2], where they purchased land and built them a house. In 1874, Balliet left Dankel and brought suit against her to force her out of the Slatington house. Although the local judge agreed with Balliet, the case went to the Supreme Court, who ruled that Balliet legally possessed the land. (Reading Times, March 12, 1878 [3]; Weekly Notes of Cases 1880, 387-388 [4]). Census records indicate that Elizabeth resided with John in 1860 [5], but not in 1870 [6] or in 1880 [7]. In the 1880 census [8], Elizabeth is listed as "keeping house" in the house of John Rowine in Slatington.

It appears that both Amanda and Elizabeth were 15-16 when they had their first children with John and they had them at approximately the same time. John appears to have had two separate families.

John Balliet died on January 5, 1886.

Early Life

"After limited advantages of education,"[6] John Balliet worked at the Lehigh Furnace to "learn the ropes" after finishing some limited schooling. [7] He later became the co-owner (with his brothers Paul and Aaron) and superintendent of said property. [8]

Places of Residence and Work

After moving away from his hometown, John Balliet moved East Penn Township to become the superintendent of the East Penn Furnace, which was destroyed by floods. John Balliet rebuilt, leased, and successfully ran the furnace for many years. In 1872 he moved to Bowmansville [9], where he married Amanda Rehrig. [9]

Business

John Balliet was the owner of Balliet's charcoal furnace in Ashfield [10](Brenckman 1913, p.370), also known as the East Penn Furnace.

East Penn Forge

Lehigh Furnace

John Balliet owned extensive real estate, as well as built and refurbished buildings[10]. He also owned the first store in Bowmanstown and was the owner of the Bowmanstown Hotel (Brenckman 1913, p.370). Much of this land was used for charcoal production for use as fuel in the two iron furnaces and the forge.

John Balliet was also the director of Slatington Bank, and a shareholder of the Lehigh furnace in Allentown and Coplay.[11]

John Balliet's lands, totaling more than 800 acres were sold at an Orphans' Court Sale on Dec. 20, 1890 "(Carbon Advocate December 13, 1890)"

Notes

  1. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.
  2. ↑ Brenckman 1913, p. 370.
  3. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.
  4. ↑ Brenckman 1913, p. 370.
  5. ↑ Brenckman 1913, p. 370.
  6. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.
  7. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 555.
  8. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 555.
  9. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.
  10. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.
  11. ↑ Matthews and Hungerford 1884. 556.

References

  • Mathews, Alfred, and Austin N Hungerford. 1884. History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts & Richards.
  • Brenckman, Frederick Charles. 1913. History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: Also Containing a Separate Account of the Several Boroughs and Townships in the County, with Biographical Sketches. Harrisburg, Pa: J. J. Nungesser.
  • The Carbon Advocate. 1890. “Orphans’ Court Sale of Very Valuable Real Estate!- John Balliet,” December 13, 1890.
  • Reading Times. 1878. “What Constitutes a Conveyance of Land,” March 12, 1878.
  • Weekly Notes of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, The County Courts of Philadelphia, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Members of the Bar. 1880. Vol. VIII. Philadelphia, Pa.: Kay and Brother. [11]
  • "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBSX-9PN3?cc=1473181&wc=7QTM-9KJ%3A1589434177%2C1589435020%2C1589422406 : 24 March 2017), Pennsylvania > Lehigh > Washington Township > image 59 of 61; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6LWS-YDY?cc=1438024&wc=9227-RMZ%3A518666601%2C520079001%2C520081501 : 22 May 2014), Pennsylvania > Lehigh > Slatington > image 32 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBH-GD7?cc=1417683&wc=QZ27-THY%3A1589394781%2C1589413376%2C1589413679%2C1589395442 : 24 December 2015), Pennsylvania > Lehigh > Slatington > ED 188 > image 31 of 33; citing NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
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