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Ancestors of John James Balsinger

Generation No. 2

      2. Samuel Balsinger⁵, born January 01, 1853 in (Probably) Bern, Switzerland; died August 10, 1925 in London, Laural, KY ^6,⁷. He married 3. Rosa Bef. 1880 in Switzerland.

      3. Rosa, born Abt. 1858 in Switzerland; died May 22, 1929 in Christian Co. KY⁷.

Notes for Samuel Balsinger:
Sam and Rosie are listed in "The Colony Bernstadt in Laurel Co. KY at Beginning of 6th Year" by Paul Schenk, translated by S.A. Mory, Sr. Sam, Rosa "Rosie", and their son, Amos, emigrated to the Colony Bernstadt in Laurel County, KY in 1883, from Bern Canton, Switzerland.

The Colony had been decided upon on 25 February 1881 by three men sitting in a blockhouse in KY (Paul Schenk, Otto Brumer and ____). They had been looking over land and decided to go ahead and purchase a large track of timberland for the Colony in Laurel Co. KY. within five weeks the first colonist had arrived.

In the 17 February 1893 Mountain. Echo newspaper they noted that Valentine's Day was not celebrated in East Bernstadt. And the they shipped a lot of eggs, chickens, geese, turkeys, etc. from East Bernstadt.

Sam was a tall, handsome, bearded man who had a farm in Laural County KY. He was also a very harsh man. Rosie was in a sanitarium for many years, possibly from 1892. They were probably divorced as Sam remarried in about 1903 to Mary B. and Rosie didn't die until after 1910. Sam was Naturalized in 1885 in KY.

Shortly after the Balsinger family arrived from Switzerland another son, Ernest, was born ca 1883; followed by John J., born on 28 May 1884, London, Laural Co., KY. By the time of the 1900 KY census Sam was living alone - Amos, Ernest and John had left home and Rosie was living in an asylum. Sam was known as an unloving, hard, violent man, which caused his family to leave home at early ages and which might have been the reason Rosie stayed in the asylum for the rest of her life. Amos Balsinger became a successful tobacco farmer in Ky, Ernest was listed as a carpenter, while John started working for the railroad, eventually becoming a track foreman for the L&N Railroad.

Obituary:                   MR. SAM BALSINGER DEAD

"Mr. Samuel Balsinger, after an illness of more than a year, died at his home here Monday morning at 11:00 o'clock, at the age of 72 years, and following funeral services by Rev. W.R. Johnson, of the M.E. Church South, burial took place in Pine Grove cemetery Tuesday.

"Mr. Balsinger was a native of Bern Switzerland, but came to this country 43 years ago and has made this his home ever since. He was a member of the Dutch Reform Church and the Grentill (spelling??) Society. He is survived by a widow and three children by a former marriage. Mr. Amos Balsinger, of London, Mr. Ernest Balsinger, of Harlan and Mr. John Balsinger, of High Cliff."

When John was a young boy his father tied him to a tree and left him there. A neighboring farmer saw the young boy and untied him, at which time John left home. When he reached Rock Holds KY he met up with some railroad men. The Section Foreman, Tom Egner, shared his lunch with the boy and then took him home to live with him, treating him as a son for the rest of his life. His nickname for John was "Dutch".

John started working at age 16 as a Water Boy for the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) railroad. When a promotion to Section Foreman in Highcliff TN came up for bid, his friend and mentor, Tom Egner, put him in for it. John was then promoted to Section Foreman in Highcliff, Campbell Co, TN when that section of rail opened up.

Upon being transferred to Highcliff John soon had two sisters, Nannie & Doxie Mays, competing for his attention. Nannie, being the much more aggressive sister, won out and she and John were married. However, Dixie continued to love John the rest of her life and treated his children as her own.

Maude Balsinger, Sam's granddaughter, recalled once going to visit her grandfather's farm when she was a young girl. It had been raining heavily and they had to ford a raging river in the wagon to reach the farm from London. She said that she had never been so scared, but that her grandfather, Sam, just seemed to take it in stride, which was a great comfort to the rest of the family.

(Note: in June 1998 Vicky (NKanarr@aol.com) wrote that her family had a Nora Estelle Balsinger born 9/20/1875 and died 9/27/1964. She was the daughter of Samuel Balsinger and Emily C. Shumaker. Nora's siblings (that she knew of) were John J. born 1886; Ernest born 1881; Meade born 1877; and Lottie born 1873. Nora Balsinger married Rev. John Ellsworth Kanarr.

More About Samuel Balsinger:
Fact 1: August 10, 1925, Death Certificate

Notes for Rosa:
Rosa Balsinger was a resident of Western State Hospital, Hopkinsville KY at the time of her death, 22 May 1929. Date of birth was given as 1858, Switzerland. Her parents were not listed and the informant was County Court Papers, Laurel Co. KY. She was also listed as married at the time, although by then Samual had remarried. She died of a Carimoma of right breast. She was also listed as living there 37 years, 3 months and 22 days.

Children of Samuel Balsinger and Rosa are:

Amos Balsinger ⁸, born May 30, 1880 in Switzerland; died September 16, 1960 in London, Laural, KY ⁹; married Flora Alice McDaniel January 22, 1898 in London, Laural, KY.

Notes for Amos Balsinger:
Amos and Flora are buried in the McDaniel cemetery., London KY. By 16 Sep 1960 they had 43 grandchildren and 50 great grandchildren. They were members of the Laurel Chapel Christian Church (Amos for 50 years).

Amos was a tobacco farmer in Laural County, KY.

Clipping from newspaper:

"AMOS BALSINGER, 80, DIES AT MARYMOUNT
"Amos Ballsinger, 80, London Route 5, died at 8:50 a.m. September 16 at the Marymount hospital.
"A native of Switzerland, born May 30, 1880, he migrated to this country in his youth with his parents Sam and Rosie Balsinger and in Laurel County on Jan. 22, 1989 he was married to Flora McDaniel, who survives.
"Also surviving are three daughters and six sons: Mrs. Freda Wilder, Route 5; Mrs. Maude Parson, Route t; Trula Rush, Connersville, Ind.; Vincent Balsinger, Madell, Okla.; Pearl Ballsinger [sic] Bradenton, Fla.; Estill Balsinger, Sarasota, Fla.; Layton and Charles Balsinger, Hamilton; Samual Ballsinger [sic], Louisville; forty-three grandchildren and a brother, John Ballsinger [sic], Madisonville, Tenn.
"Funeral services were conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Laurel Chapel Christian Church, of which he had been a member for fifty years, by the Revs. Grant Reid, Thermon Jones, Morgan Williams and Henry Campbell. Interment followed in The McDaniel Cemetery, London Route 5, by the House Funeral Home, Pallbearers were grandsons."

1910 Laural County KY Census:

Name Age Birth, Father, Mother Comment
Amos Balsinger 28, married 11 years, OH GER GER Farmer
[parents wrong birth place]
Flora 26, m. 11 years KY KY KY
Fred 10 KY OH KY
Freda 8 KY OH KY
Vincent 6 KY OH KY
Verna 4 KY OH KY
Maude 8/12 KY OH KY

As of August 1998, Susie Balsinger thinks that the only children of Amos still living are Maude Parsons and Pearl Balsinger, although at this time Pearl is very ill.

ii.

Ernest Balsinger ¹⁰, born May 1883 in London, Laural, KY; died Bef. September 1960; married Ellen McCoy December 06, 1903 in Laural Co., KY.

Notes for Ernest Balsinger:
In the 1910 census, Ernest was listed as a carpenter. They had an infant who died before 1910.

Ernest was not listed as living in his brother's, Amos, obituary, September 1960, so presume he had died by then.

Notes for Ellen McCoy:
In the 1910 Laural County KY census a Louis McCoy, widow, 47, 6 children, 5 living, born KY - Innkeeper (Boarding). She had the following listed:
James, 16, KY, IRE, KY, Coal Miner
John, 15, KY, IRE, KY, Coal Miner
Renus, 6, KY, IRE, KY
Flynn, Charles, 27, Boarder
Ross, Martha, 57, Cook (servant)

It is possible that this could be Ellen's mother.

iii.

John James Balsinger, born May 28, 1884 in London, Laural, KY; died May 16, 1964 in Sweetwater, Monroe, TN; married Mabel Anne 'Nannie' Mays Abt. 1909 in Highcliff, Campbell, TN.

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