Bland Ballard (September 4, 1819 – July 29, 1879) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky.

Bland Ballard
A man in his fifties with thinning hair and a rather prominent nose. He is wearing a white shirt, black tie, and black jacket, and leaning against a black object to the left
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky
In office
October 16, 1861 – July 29, 1879
Appointed byAbraham Lincoln
Preceded byThomas Bell Monroe
Succeeded byWilliam Hercules Hays
Personal details
Born
Bland Ballard

(1819-09-04)September 4, 1819
Shelby County, Kentucky
DiedJuly 29, 1879(1879-07-29) (aged 59)
Louisville, Kentucky
Resting placeCave Hill Cemetery
Louisville, Kentucky
RelativesBland Ballard
EducationTransylvania University
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Education and career

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Tombstone of Bland Ballard in the Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.

Born on September 4, 1819, in Shelby County, Kentucky,[1] Ballard received his basic education at Shelby College in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana.[2] Ballard read law[1] in the office of Judge James Turner Morehead to enter the Kentucky Bar in 1840,[2] and later graduated from the law department of Transylvania University in 1846.[1] He entered private practice in Shelbyville in 1840.[1] He continued private practice in Louisville, Kentucky from 1840 to 1861,[1] in partnership with Henry Pirtle, who later served as Chancellor of the Louisville Chancery Court.[2] Ballard served as a city councilman of Louisville.[1] Ballard was connected with the business interests of Louisville and took an active interest in the city and its institutions.[2]

Federal judicial service

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Ballard received a recess appointment from President Abraham Lincoln on October 16, 1861, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky vacated by Judge Thomas Bell Monroe,[1] who had resigned to take a seat in the Congress of the Confederate States.[2] He was nominated to the same position by President Lincoln on December 9, 1861.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1862, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on July 29, 1879, due to his death in Louisville.[1] He was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.[3]

Tenure on the court

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Ballard quickly reorganized the court and insured that the federal court system in Kentucky would continue without disruption.[2] "His district was responsible for more indictments for treason and conspiracy than perhaps any other" and he was "regarded as fair-minded and guided by the law, not prejudice.[2] He was opposed to slavery and strongly supported the Union".[4] The years immediately following the Civil War saw a great increase in cases filed in the district court from questions growing out of the war, especially the internal revenue law and bankruptcy law.[2]

Notable case

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Ballard oversaw the trial and conviction of two White men who slaughtered and mutilated a family of African Americans before it was appealed to the United States Supreme Court in Bylew v. United States.[5]

Other service

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In addition to his duties as district judge, Ballard served as president of the Kentucky National Bank and the Cave Hill Cemetery Company and was active in various civic organizations.[4]

Family

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Ballard was the son of James and Susannah (Cox) Ballard and nephew of the Kentucky pioneer Bland Ballard.[2] On December 16, 1846, Ballard married Miss Sarah McDowell.[2] They had five children.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bland Ballard at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "History of the Sixth Circuit". Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Archived from the original on 2009-01-18.
  3. ^ "Judge Ballard Dead." The Courier-Journal (July 30, 1879); Judges of the United States. 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1983). The grave is located in Section G, Lott 22, Cave Hill Cemetery.
  4. ^ a b The Biographical Encyclopedia of Kentucky (Cincinnati: J. M. Armstrong & Company, 1878), p. 15.
  5. ^ "The Family of Jack and Sallie Foster [Blyew v. United States]· Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". Notable Kentucky African American Database. Reinette Jones & University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved 31 December 2023. The trial was held in U.S. Court for the District of Kentucky before Judge Bland Ballard.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky
1861–1879
Succeeded by