Francis Ballard, a gentleman of culture

FRANCIS BALLARD, son of Jonathan and Eleanor (Simmons) Ballard, b. November 11, 182O, town of Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y.;
Married on January 1, 1843, at Mt. Blanchard, Ohio by Godfrey Wolford, J.P. to Rosanna ELDER;
d. Dunkirk, 0., August 3,1903; buried in Dunkirk Cemetery.
Came with his parents, in 1835, from Mayville in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., to Orange Twp. in Hancock Co., Ohio; for several years employed as teacher during the winter season;
purchased on December 12, 1842, land in Orange Twp.;
in 1852 with his brother Fayette and others drove a herd of milch cows through from Missouri to California;
returned soon after by way of Panama and New York City to Ohio, and lived until 1850 in Orange Twp., re-moving to a new farm near Mt. Blanchard, and in 1863 to a farm near Dunkirk.
He was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church.
From a sketch read at his funeral by his son-in-law, Rev. A. M. Crist, "Francis was a typical pioneer - strong, steady, thoughtful, prudent, quick to respond to a call of need; slow to return an injury; a man of strong convictions, an insatiate desire for knowledge and a lifelong student--truly a gentleman of culture."