Saturday, May 26, 2007

Burdge W. or U. Ballard

Burdge W. or U. Ballard was born September 3, 1838, in New York State, probably in Sterling, Cayuga County, the son of Edward (b. 1805) and Maria (b. 1819).

Native New Yorker Edward was probably married previous to his marriage to New Yorker Maria (he had a son Edward born in 1831); in any case, Edward eventually settled in Sterling, Cayuga County sometime before 1830 and was still living in Sterling in 1840. By 1850 Burdge was attending school with four of his siblings and living with his family in Sterling where his father worked as a clothier. His family resided in New York for many years.

Burdge married to Angelina L on September 15, 1856.

He eventually left New York and moved westward, settling in western Michigan, possibly just before the war broke out.

Burdge was 23 years old and possibly living in Kent County when he enlisted as a Corporal in Company F on May 13, 1861. Burdge (or “Burge”) was hospitalized around August 25, 1862, probably suffering from pneumonia. He was subsequently listed as absent sick or wounded in the general hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, and then admitted to Mt. Pleasant hospital in Washington, DC, on October 14, suffering from pneumonia.

He remained absent sick in the hospital until February 9, 1863, when he was discharged to that date in order to be transferred (apparently as a private) to Company G, Sixth United States infantry at Falmouth, Virginia, on June 2 or 28, 1863. He was transferred to Company I on September 17

Burdge reenlisted on January 27, 1864, at Fort Hamilton, New York harbor. He was honorably discharged from the Sixth infantry on January 27, 1867, at Charleston, South Carolina

It is not known if Burdge ever returned to Michigan after the war.

He was probably residing in Boone County, Illinois when he and Angelina were divorced on February 12, 1869.

He subsequently married Ellen Campbell (b. 1844) on March 10, 1869, in Belvedere, Boone County, Illinois, and moved to Iowa around 1870

By 1870 Burdge and Ellen had moved to Iowa and he was working as a farmer and living in Clinton, Franklin County. By 1880 Burdge was working as a hotel-keeper and living with his wife in Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

He was still living in Mason City when he died of scrofula (from which he had been suffering for five years) on November 8, 1881, and was buried the following day in the GAR section of Elmwood cemetery in Mason City.

In 1885 his widow applied for and eventually received a pension (no. 895,581). Ellen remarried one Martin Mason in 1886 or 1887 in Nebraska. She came to find out later his real name was Martin Maurer and that he was already married. However, Martin reportedly divorced his first wife and then legally obtained a marriage to Ellen. He died in 1895 and she returned to Mason City where she was residing in 1919.

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