Ballinger and Associates Collection: An Inventory of Their Records at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.


Descriptive Summary
	Creator	Ballinger and Associates
	Title:	Ballinger and Associates Collection
	Dates:	1836-1907
	Dates:	1854-1907
	Collection Number	MSS 0043
	Extent	92 document boxes (38.5 linear feet)
	Language	Materials are inEnglish.
	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 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.

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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.

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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.

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Restrictions

Use Restrictions

None

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Index Terms

		Johnston, Albert Sidney
		League, Thomas Massie, 1808-1865
		Williams, Samuel May, 1795-1858
	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

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Incoming Correspondence
box	folder
1	1	Ab-Ay October - December, 1854;1855
	2	Ba-Be October - December, 1854;1855
	3	Bi-Bu October - December, 1854;1855
	4	Ca-Ch October - December, 1854;1855
	5	Ch-Co October - December, 1854;1855
	6	Co-Cu October - December, 1854;1855
	7	Da-Do October - December, 1854;1855
	8	Du-Dw October - December, 1854;1855
	9	Ea-Gid October - December, 1854;1855
	10	Gil-Gr October - December, 1854;1855
box	folder
2	11	Ad-Co 1857
	12	Co-Gl 1857
	13	Go-Ho 1857
box	folder
3	14	Ir-La 1857
	15	La-Ly 1857
	16	Ma-McKe 1857
	17	McKi-Mo 1857
	18	Mu-Pa 1857
	19	Pa-Pot 1857
	20	Pow-Ru 1857
box	folder
4	21	Ru-St 1857
	22	St-Tu 1857
	23	Tu-Yo 1857
box	volume
5	1	Abrams-Davis 1858
	2	Davis-Ireland 1858
box	volume
6	1	Jack-Sykes 1858
box	volume
7	1	Abrams-Frothingham 1859
box	volume
8	1	Gaither-Procter 1859
box	volume
9	1	Race-Ziner 1859
box	folder
10	24	Ad-Be 1860
	25	Be-Br 1860
	26	Br-Ch 1860
	27	Ch-Cu 1860
	28	Da-Du 1860
	29	Du-Fr 1860
box	volume
11	1	Gamble-Owings 1860
box	volume
12	1	Paddock-Zinck 1860
box	volume
13	1	Abercrombie-Jones 1861
box	volume
14	1	Kendall-Young 1861
box	volume
15	1	Ayres-Williams 1862
	2	Allen-Williams 1863
box	volume
16	1	Adams-Guess 1865-1866
box	volume
17	1	Haber-Murdock 1865-1866
box	volume
18	1	Neil-Young 1865-1866
box	volume
19	1	I-J; A-C 1867
	2	H-L 1867
box	volume
20	1	M-P 1867
	2	Q-V 1867
	3	W-Y 1867
box	volume
21	1	A-B 1868
	2	C-F 1868
box	volume
22	1	G-J 1868
	2	I-M 1868
box	volume
23	1	N-R 1868
	2	S-W 1868
box	volume
24	1	A-D 1869
box	volume
25	1	E-J 1869
box	volume
26	1	K-P 1869
	2	Q-Y 1869
box	volume
27	1	A-D 1870
box	volume
28	1	E-J 1870
	2	Q-Z 1870
box	volume
29	1	A-D 1871
	2	E-L 1871
box	volume
30	1	M-R 1871
	2	S-Y 1871
box	volume
31	1	A-F 1872
box	volume
32	1	G-O 1872
box	volume
33	1	P-Y 1872
box	volume
34	1	A-F 1873
	2	G-Pal 1873
box	volume
35	1	Par-Z 1873
box	volume
36	1	F-L 1874
	2	M-R 1874
box	volume
37	1	S-Y 1874
box	volume
38	1	A-G 1875
	2	H-O 1875
box	volume
39	1	P-Y 1875
box	volume
40	1	A-G 1876
box	volume
41	1	H-M 1876
	2	N-Y 1876
box	volume
42	1	A-E 1877
	2	F-M 1877
box	volume
43	1	N-Y 1877
box	volume
44	1	A-F (not in order) 1878
	2	H-O 1878
box	volume
45	1	P-Y 1878
box	volume
46	1	A-H (I-Z missing) 1879
box	volume
47	1	A-H 1880
box	volume
48	1	K-S 1880
	2	T-Y 1880
box	volume
49	1	A-H 1881
	2	I-W 1881
box	volume
50	1	I-Y (A-H missing) 1882
box	volume
51	1	A-W 1883
box	volume
52	1	A-H 1884
box	volume
53	1	I-Y 1884
box	volume
54	1	A-H 1885
	2	K-L 1885
	3	J-W 1885
box	volume
55	1	A-H 1886
	2	I-W 1886
box	volume
56	1	C-H (A-B missing) 1887-1888
box	volume
57	1	I-R 1887-1888
	2	S-Z 1887-1888
box	volume
58	1	A-C 1889
box	volume
59	1	D-O 1889
	2	P-Z 1889
box	volume
60	1	A-E 1890
	2	F-P 1890
	3	R-Z 1890
box	volume
61	1	A-K 1891
	2	L-Z 1891
box	volume
62	1	A-K 1892
	2	L-Z 1892
box	volume
63	1	Aransas Pass and Houston and Texas Central Railway Companies. 1889-1892
	2	International and Great Northern Railway Company; Houston and Texas Central Railway; Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. 1891-1892
box	volume
64	1	A-K 1893
	2	L-Z 1893
box	volume
65	1	A-K 1894
	2	L-Z 1894
box	volume
66	1	A-K 1895
	2	L-Y 1895
box	volume
67	1	A-K 1896
	2	L-Z 1896
box	volume
68	1	L-Z 1898
box	volume
69	1	A-K 1899
box	volume
70	1	L-Z 1899
box	volume
71	1	Correspondence Concerning Galveston City Railroad: A-Z. Statement of Liabilities, Earnings and Expenses. 1897-1901
box	volume
72	1	A-H 1900
box	volume
73	1	I-Z 1900
box	volume
74	1	A-H 1901
box	volume
75	1	I-Z 1901
box	volume
76	1	I-Z 1902
box	volume
77	1	A-K 1903
box	volume
78	1	L-Z 1903
box	volume
79	1	A-G 1904
	2	H-Z 1904
box	volume
80	1	A-H 1905
	2	I-Z 1905
box	volume
81	1	H-L 1906
box	volume
82	1	M-Z 1906
box	volume
83	1	A-H 1907
	2	I-Z 1907

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Outgoing Correspondence

box

Indexed. 1855,1870,

box

(Partial) Indexed. October, 1877-November, 1878;1880-1881

box

C.C. and Santa Fe Railroad. Indexed. July 5, 1880-April 8, 1884.

box

Indexed. December 21, 1899-February 21, 1900;Feb. 21, 1900-May 21, 1900;September 7, 1900-December 24, 1900.

box

Indexed. December, 1900-March, 1901;March, 1901-May 1901;May, 1901-August, 1901.

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Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal correspondence

box

Thomas M. League, Incoming legal and personal correspondence: 1836-1837;1853-1860;1865.

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Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence

box

Willie and Cleveland, Incoming Correspondence: 1875-1876.

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