100 YEARS OLD
______
Celebrated His One Hundredth
Anniversary
______
James Ballentine,
one of the oldest pioneers of Wood County and one of the best known residents
of this section on December 6 [sic] 1919, celebrated his one hundredth birthday
anniversary at his home in Williams district and a friend furnishes The News
with the following information regarding this venerable old gentleman.
Mr. Ballentine
was born in Blairsville, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, on December 6, 1819, and
came to Williamstown when a boy sixteen years of age.
At that early date there were but
five houses in the town. He lived there
for a number of years and then moved to a farm on
Mr. Ballentine
is in fairly good health and constantly does light work about his farm for
exercise. He is able to read without
glasses and never “wears a cane” to assist him in walking. He has a bright mind and a good memory and
can tell of the early days when he came to this community and of the various
improvements that have been made during the many years he has resided here.
Mr. Ballentine
is especially enthusiastic about the changes and improvements that have been
wrought in Williamstown and always greets his friends with a [illegible words]
likes to talk of by-gone days. He is
held in the highest esteem in the community where he resides and scores of
friends join in wishing him many happy returns of this anniversary.
[source:
Retrieved and transcribed by Nanci Headley Kotowski
from the January 7, 1920, issue of The Parkersburg News.]