Ballinger and Associates Collection MSS.0043
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | Ballinger and Associates | |
| Title: | Ballinger and Associates Collection | |
| Dates: | Bulk, 1854-1907 | |
| Dates: | 1836-1907, bulk dates 1854-1907 | |
| Identification: | MSS.0043 | |
| Quantity: | 38.5 Linear feet, 90 document boxes | |
| Language: | Materials are in English. | |
| Repository: | Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library | |
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 secession, 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.
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.
Arrangement | ||
| The collection of incoming correspondence to the Ballinger firm is arranged chronologically followed by outgoing correspondence and 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) the contents of most letters are summarized on the backs of the letters. The papers include information concerning slavery, secession, the Civil War, the Buckley-Bell controversy, Texas politics, railroads, navigation companies and land development. | ||
Restrictions
Use Restrictions
None
Index Terms | ||
| Baker, Botts and Baker | ||
| Citizen's Electric Light and Power Company (Houston, Tex.) | ||
| Coke, Richard | ||
| 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 | ||
| Houston, Sam, 1793-1863 | ||
| International and Great Northern Railway Company | ||
| Johnston, Albert Sidney | ||
| Missouri Pacific Railroad Company | ||
| Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company | ||
| New York & Texas Steamship Company | ||
| San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway Company | ||
| Elections--Texas | ||
| Fires--Texas--Galveston | ||
| Freedmen--Texas | ||
| Galveston (Tex.)--History--19th century | ||
| Immigrants--Texas | ||
| Lawyers--Texas--Galveston | ||
| Railroads--Texas | ||
| Reconstruction--Texas | ||
| Secession | ||
| Slave insurrections--Texas | ||
| Slavery--Texas | ||
| Texas--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 | ||
| Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875) | ||
| Yellow fever--Texas--Galveston | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Ballinger and Associates Collection. Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.
Processing Information
Processed by Pam Barron, Jan. 3, 1978.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal correspondence | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 89 | Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal correspondence: 1836-1837; 1853-1860; 1865. | ||||||||||||
Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 90 | Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence: 1875-1876. | ||||||||||||