Descriptive Summary
Ballinger and
Associates
Ballinger and Associates
Collection
1836-1907
1854-1907Materials
are inEnglish.
MSS 0043
92 document boxes (38.5
linear feet)
Houston Metropolitan Research Center,
Houston Public Library
Scope and Contents
The collection of the Galveston law firm of Ballinger and Associates
is a large holding of nineteenth century correspondence relating to economic,
legal and political affairs of Texas, particularly the Gulf Coast area. The
name of the firm varied during the 1855-1907 period of this collection.
Partnerships included those of Ballinger and Jack, Ballinger and Mott, Willie,
Campbell and Ballinger, Terry, Ballinger and Smith, and Terry, Cavin and Mills.
For archival purposes all will be referred to as Ballinger and Associates. The
collection also contains a volume of letters to Thomas M. League and the
1875-1876 correspondence of the law firm of Willie and Cleveland. The
University of Houston deposited the Ballinger papers in the HMRC in January,
1977.
Biographical Note
Born in Barboursville, Kentucky, in 1825, William Pitt Ballinger moved
to Galveston in 1845 to study law with his uncle, James Love. In 1850 he became
the United States district attorney for the Texas district leaving that office
in 1854 to organize the Galveston firm. Soon a leading attorney in the city,
Ballinger served as legal counselor for the Galveston Wharf Company and
strongly supported the island's economic growth. As a moderate-minded
conservative Ballinger refused to take a stand on the gubernatorial conflict
between Runnels and Houston in 1859 but he later helped to organize the
Bell-Everett Club of the Constitutional Union Party. After seccession he served
as receiver for the Confederacy at Galveston until the end of the Civil War
when he went to New Orleans to negotiate the surrender of Texas. Although he
declined two appointments to the Texas Supreme Court Ballinger did accept
membership to the Judicial Committee of the Constitutional Convention of 1875.
He died January 20, 1888.
Arrangement
The collection of incoming correspondence to the Ballinger firm is
arranged chronologically followed by outgoing correspondence and by the volumes
relating to Thomas M. League and Willie and Campbell. Within each of the ninety
boxes the letters are usually, but not always, arranged alphabetically and
sometimes indexed at the beginning of the volume. A separate index is
available. It is complete and listed by correspondent up to Box 68 where it
becomes selective and listed by either correspondent or subject. Correspondence
for 1856, 1864, 1897 and A though K of 1898 is missing. Up to Box 56 (1887)
contents of most letters are summarized on the backs of the letters. The papers
include information concerning slavery, seccession, the Civil War, the
Buckley-Bell controversy, Texas politics, railroads, navigation companies and
land development.
Use Restrictions
None
Preferred Citation
Ballinger and Associates Collection. Houston Metropolitan Research
Center, Houston Public Library.
Processing Information
Processed by Pam Barron, Jan. 3, 1978.
Index Terms
Organizations:
Ballinger and
Associates
Baker, Botts and
Baker
Citizen's Electric Light
and Power Company (Houston, Tex.)
Galveston City Railroad
Company
Galveston Wharf
Company
Galveston, La Porte, and
Houston Railway Company
Gulf, Colorado, and Santa
Fe Railroad
Houston & Texas
Central Railway Company
International and Great
Northern Railway Company
Missouri Pacific Railroad
Company
Missouri, Kansas and
Texas Railway Company
New York & Texas
Steamship Company
San Antonio and Aransas
Pass Railway Company
Subjects:
Elections--Texas
Fires--Texas--Galveston
Freedmen--Texas
Immigrants--Texas
Lawyers--Texas--Galveston
Railroads--Texas
Reconstruction--Texas
Secession
Slavery--Texas
Slave
insurrections--Texas
Texas--History--Civil War,
1861-1865
Texas. Constitutional
Convention (1875)
Yellow
fever--Texas--Galveston
Places:
Galveston
(Tex.)--History--19th century
Other Names:
Ballinger, William Pitt,
1825-1888
Coke, Richard
Houston, Sam,
1793-1863
Johnston, Albert
Sidney
League, Thomas Massie,
1808-1865
Williams, Samuel May,
1795-1858
Container list (See Archivist for Complete Index)
Incoming Correspondence
1
1
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Ab-Ay
1
2
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Ba-Be
1
3
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Bi-Bu
1
4
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Ca-Ch
1
5
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Ch-Co
1
6
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Co-Cu
1
7
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Da-Do
1
8
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Du-Dw
1
9
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Ea-Gid
1
10
October -
December, 1854;
1855 Gil-Gr
2
11
1857 Ad-Co
2
12
1857 Co-Gl
2
13
1857 Go-Ho
3
14
1857 Ir-La
3
15
1857 La-Ly
3
16
1857 Ma-McKe
3
17
1857 McKi-Mo
3
18
1857 Mu-Pa
3
19
1857 Pa-Pot
3
20
1857 Pow-Ru
4
21
1857 Ru-St
4
22
1857 St-Tu
4
23
1857 Tu-Yo
5
1
1858 Abrams-Davis
5
2
1858 Davis-Ireland
6
1
1858 Jack-Sykes
7
1
1859
Abrams-Frothingham
8
1
1859
Gaither-Procter
9
1
1859 Race-Ziner
10
24
1860 Ad-Be
10
25
1860 Be-Br
10
26
1860 Br-Ch
10
27
1860 Ch-Cu
10
28
1860 Da-Du
10
29
1860 Du-Fr
11
1
1860 Gamble-Owings
12
1
1860 Paddock-Zinck
13
1
1861
Abercrombie-Jones
14
1
1861 Kendall-Young
15
1
1862
Ayres-Williams
15
2
1863
Allen-Williams
16
1
1865-1866 Adams-Guess
17
1
1865-1866 Haber-Murdock
18
1
1865-1866 Neil-Young
19
1
1867 I-J; A-C
19
2
1867 H-L
20
1
1867 M-P
20
2
1867 Q-V
20
3
1867 W-Y
21
1
1868 A-B
21
2
1868 C-F
22
1
1868 G-J
22
2
1868 I-M
23
1
1868 N-R
23
2
1868 S-W
24
1
1869 A-D
25
1
1869 E-J
26
1
1869 K-P
26
2
1869 Q-Y
27
1
1870 A-D
28
1
1870 E-J
28
2
1870 Q-Z
29
1
1871 A-D
29
2
1871 E-L
30
1
1871 M-R
30
2
1871 S-Y
31
1
1872 A-F
32
1
1872 G-O
33
1
1872 P-Y
34
1
1873 A-F
34
2
1873 G-Pal
35
1
1873 Par-Z
36
1
1874 F-L
36
2
1874 M-R
37
1
1874 S-Y
38
1
1875 A-G
38
2
1875 H-O
39
1
1875 P-Y
40
1
1876 A-G
41
1
1876 H-M
41
2
1876 N-Y
42
1
1877 A-E
42
2
1877 F-M
43
1
1877 N-Y
44
1
1878 A-F (not in
order)
44
2
1878 H-O
45
1
1878 P-Y
46
1
1879 A-H (I-Z
missing)
47
1
1880 A-H
48
1
1880 K-S
48
2
1880 T-Y
49
1
1881 A-H
49
2
1881 I-W
50
1
1882 I-Y (A-H
missing)
51
1
1883 A-W
52
1
1884 A-H
53
1
1884 I-Y
54
1
1885 A-H
54
2
1885 K-L
54
3
1885 J-W
55
1
1886 A-H
55
2
1886 I-W
56
1
1887-1888 C-H (A-B missing)
57
1
1887-1888 I-R
57
2
1887-1888 S-Z
58
1
1889 A-C
59
1
1889 D-O
59
2
1889 P-Z
60
1
1890 A-E
60
2
1890 F-P
60
3
1890 R-Z
61
1
1891 A-K
61
2
1891 L-Z
62
1
1892 A-K
62
2
1892 L-Z
63
1
1889-1892 Aransas Pass and Houston and Texas
Central Railway Companies.
63
2
1891-1892 International and Great Northern
Railway Company; Houston and Texas Central Railway; Missouri, Kansas and Texas
Railway.
64
1
1893 A-K
64
2
1893 L-Z
65
1
1894 A-K
65
2
1894 L-Z
66
1
1895 A-K
66
2
1895 L-Y
67
1
1896 A-K
67
2
1896 L-Z
68
1
1898 L-Z
69
1
1899 A-K
70
1
1899 L-Z
71
1
1897-1901 Correspondence Concerning Galveston
City Railroad: A-Z. Statement of Liabilities, Earnings and
Expenses.
72
1
1900 A-H
73
1
1900 I-Z
74
1
1901 A-H
75
1
1901 I-Z
76
1
1902 I-Z
77
1
1903 A-K
78
1
1903 L-Z
79
1
1904 A-G
79
2
1904 H-Z
80
1
1905 A-H
80
2
1905 I-Z
81
1
1906 H-L
82
1
1906 M-Z
83
1
1907 A-H
83
2
1907 I-Z
Outgoing Correspondence
84
1855,
1870, Indexed.
85
October,
1877-November, 1878;
1880-1881 (Partial) Indexed.
86
July 5,
1880-April 8, 1884. C.C. and Santa Fe Railroad. Indexed.
87
December
21, 1899-February 21, 1900;
Feb. 21,
1900-May 21, 1900;
September
7, 1900-December 24, 1900. Indexed.
88
December,
1900-March, 1901;
March, 1901-May
1901;
May,
1901-August, 1901. Indexed.
Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal
correspondence
89
Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal
correspondence:
1836-1837;
1853-1860;
1865.
Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence
90
Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence:
1875-1876.