Loyal Edgar Ballou 1838-1918

BALLOU, SAMPSON, TAYLOR, STOWER

Posted By: Geo Clinton (email)
Date: 4/2/2016 at 16:43:08

March 15, 1918 - Storm Lake Pilot Tribune - Loyal Edgar Ballou, mention of whose death was made in these columns last week, was born in Lewis, N.Y. October 20, 1838 and he was the son of Collin and Louisa Sampson Ballou.

He died March 5, 1918, at the age of seventy-nine years, four months and seven days at the family home in Storm Lake, Iowa, bronchial pneumonia being the immediate cause of his death.

His parents moved to Essex, N.Y. an adjoining town, when he was twelve or thirteen years of age, where they lived for a few years. Soon afterwards, his mother died and the father moved to Iowa.

Mr. Ballou was only a boy when he came to this state. In his earlier life he lived in Luana, National, and McGreagor, coming to Storm Lake in the spring of 1874, where he continued to live until his death.

He was in the army for four years during the Civil war, spending most of his years of service in and around Little Rock, Ark. His enlistment was in Company K, of the First Iowa regiment of cavalry under Captain Thomas H. Barnes and he served until his honorable discharge September 9, 1864. He also had two brothers in the army.

After coming to Storm Lake, he worked at the carpenter's trade for a short time. Later he engaged in the mercantile business with Thomas McCall and later with W.C. Kinne, after which he entered the real estate and loan business.

On February 18, 1908, he with W.A. Jones and his son L.E. Ballou, Jr., organized the Security Bank of Storm Lake. One year later Mr. Jones retired. On February 26, 1917, the bank was incorporated under the name of the Security Trust and Savings Gank of Storm Lake, of which the deceased was the president until the time of his death.

Added to native shrewdness, he was energetic and absolutely straightforward in all of his business dealings and during his long years of residence in Storm Lake he bound men to him by his unfaltering integrity. A clear and prophetic vision of the future of this section of the country resulted in his emassing a comfortable fortune during his life and his abilities as a business man continually added to it up to the time of his death.

He was married to Ellen Myra Taylor in this city on October 1, 1879, and to this union four children were born: Louis Edward, who died when thirteen months old; Ernest Sanford; Ida Mabel, who died at the age of twelve years, and Loyal Edgar.

He leaves to mourn, besides the widow and two sons, one sister, Mrs. Luanda J. Stower of St. Paul, Minn.

He was related to Miles Standish, John Alden, Governor Brewster and Governor Bradford and was also a decendent of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. A grant or deed to land in this country was given to his ancestors on his mother's side prior to the Revolutionary war and they fought in the Revolution.

Mr. Ballou was one of the builders of this great northwest. He was almost uncanny in his judgment of human nature and rarely made mistakes in his choice of associates of those in whom he placed confidence and this fact is one of the great causes of his success.

Funeral services were held at the Ballou home on Friday afternoon at two o'clock, conducted by the Rev. T.A. Ambler, D.D., and interment was made in the Storm Lake cemetery.