Aydelotte, Ballinger

AYDELOTTE, CHEW, AYDELOTT, BALLINGER, COE, STEWART, SPRINGER, WILKINS, HENSEL, MARSHALL, PALMER, CHEU, RUSSELL

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 11/17/2008 at 11:15:26

AYDELOTTE, B.; Superintendent of Jasper Co. Poor Farm and County House; born in North Carolina in 1815; located in this county in 1845. Married Miss Jane CHEW in 1859; she was born in Ross Co., Ohio; their children are Myrtle L. and Lillie May; he has also Jesse P. and Winfield S., by a former marriage. Are members of the Congregational Church; he is a Republican. He owns property in Newton valued at $2,500. He has been Superintendent of the County House two years, which is conducted in a systematic and economical manner under his supervision. ~ "The History of Jasper County" (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878), 546.
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Ballinger Aydelott

Ballinger Aydelott, one of the valued citizens and honored pioneers of Newton, was born in Guilford County, N. C., February 22, 1815, and is a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Ballinger) Aydelott. His father was born on the Island of Nantucket, N. J., but in what year is not known. The paternal grandfather came to America from Germany, but the Aydelotts were really of French ancestry. The forefathers removed from France into Germany during the Revolution in their native land. Grandfather Obit Aydelott married the daughter of one John Coe, an Englishman with perhaps a little French blood in his veins. Soon afterward they left Nantucket Island, and proceeding to North Carolina, settled in Guilford County. This was prior to the Revolutionary War, and the place on which they located was not far from the spot that later became historic as the battlefield of Guilford Court House.

The Ballinger family was of English ancestry, the forefathers coming to this country early in the eighteenth century and settling in New Jersey. John Ballinger, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was born in New Jersey, and married Katie Stewart, an English lady. Like the Aydelott family, he went to North Carolina and settled in Guilford County. It was on his farm, and not far from the new Gordon meeting house, that a part of the battle of Guilford Court House was fought, and on that farm Rebecca Ballinger, our subject's mother, was born. Both of these families were Quakers, therefore took no active part in the war, but John Ballinger was compelled to pilot Lord Cornwallis over the country.

Joseph Aydelott and Rebecca Ballinger had grown up side by side, and became man and wife in 1806. One of her brothers, Henry Ballinger, was a noted Quaker preacher in his day. Another brother, John, married out of the Quaker Church. He inherited some slaves, but true to his convictions of right, at once gave them their freedom. As far as is known, he was the only member of these families that ever owned a slave. His father was a fuller by trade, and left the south for Ohio on account of his dislike of slavery. He also left the Quaker faith and became a member of the Methodist Church, but the mother adhered to the faith of her forefathers until death. After working at his trade of a fuller in Richmond, Ohio, for five years, Mr. Ballinger retired to a farm.

Our subject had four brothers and three sisters, of whom only one brother survives, Jonathan, who is a blacksmith by trade and is living in Kansas, at the age of eighty-four years. Temple died in Preble County, Ohio; he had nine children, seven of whom are living, several of his sons being quite prominent. Stewart, a miller by trade, was married twice, his first union being with Sarah Stewart, and his second wife being her sister Anna. There were three children by the first union, and two by the second. He died in Henry County, Ind., in 1866. His children are all living, and one son, Henry, is a very able and eloquent Quaker preacher in Fall River, Mass. Our subject's sister Parmelia was married to M. D. Springer, a relative of General Springer. She died in 1849, leaving one son, Joseph, who was a prominent politician in Nebraska and is Postmaster at Fillmore. Margaret, another sister, married William Wilkins, and died in Preble County, Ohio, in 1859; her son John became a prominent and wealthy merchant in that county, where he died. Martha married Isaac Ballinger, a distant relative, and died in 1837, leaving no children. The youngest brother, Joseph Coe, married Catherine Hensel. He died many years ago, and she dropped dead in the home of our subject in October 1891.

Our subject, who was next to the youngest in the family, has had a somewhat eventful life. His father was a man of very limited means, and his educational advantages were limited to three months of school. He went to Ohio with his father in 1830. In 1838 he chose as his helpmate and companion Miss Anna Marshall, of Preble County, Ohio, and then engaged in farming on rented land. His wife died two years later, leaving no children. In 1841 he married Mary Ann Palmer, of Preble County. In 1845 he came to Jasper County and took a claim on Elk Creek, some three and a-half miles from the city of Newton, where he lived for nine years, He was the first Justice of the Peace in the county, and as such served on the Board of Commissioners that was sworn to locate the county seat of Jasper County. There was some strife as to where it was to be located, and he favored the site that is now a thriving city. He served as Sheriff of the county from 1850 to 1852. In 1854 his second wife died. Of their seven children only two grew to maturity, Jesse P., a farmer in Smith County, and Winfield Scott, also a farmer.

In 1855 Mr., Aydelott removed to Newton and engaged in the nursery business, in which he continued until the spring of 1861. Then, although he was nearing the half-century year of life, he disposed of his business and tendered his services to his country, and August 21, 1862, we find his name enrolled as a private in the Union army. He was in the memorable siege of Vicksburg, and while mounting a cannon he fell and injured his spine, from which he is now partially paralyzed. On account of this injury and the ensuing sickness, he was discharged. For some two or three years he was not able to do anything, after which for fourteen years he was engaged in the butcher business. He then received the appointment of Superintendent of the County Poor Farm, a position which he held for six years, since which time he has lived a retired life. He also served in the early days as Assessor, Trustee, Township Clerk, and in other offices.

In the year 1859, Mr. Aydelott married Jane Cheu, of Highland County, Ohio, who died 1883. Of this marriage there were three children, two of whom are now living, namely: Myrtle L., the wife of S. R. Russell, a farmer near Newton, Lillie May, who is at home and administers to her father's wants in his declining years. For nearly fifty years our subject has been a church member. For twenty years he was identified with the Christian Church, and for the past twenty-three years he has been a member of the Congregational Church. He has served at different times as Deacon and Elder. Socially, he belongs to the Odd Fellows' lodge and the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he was a Whig, and now affiliates with the Republican Party. As be descends into the shadowy vale of old age he can look back and truthfully say "I have done my duty to my God and my fellow-man." Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper,
Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA Page 637.