THOMAS BALLENGER

The following bio was taken from page 99 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Thomas Ballenger was born December 2, 1811 in South Carolina. He married as his first wife, Mary Wingo, in 1833, and to this union were born ten children. She died in South Carolina. Among these ten children, some came to Rusk County, Texas, and among them was a daughter, Judith Ann Ballenger, who married Cheeves Chapman. She died in 1856 and was the first person buried in the New Prospect Cemetery.

Another daughter was Sarah Elizabeth Ballenger, who first married Sherwood Strong, who died in 1862 in the Civil War. To this marriage was born one son, Thomas Ed Strong. T. E. Strong was a newspaper editor. He married Leona Keon. They were the parents of Bunyan Strong, Edgar Strong, and Imogene. Sarah then married Abner Benson (A. B.) Turner.

In a second marriage on September 28, 1853, Thomas Ballenger married Mary J. Landrum, and they were the parents of six children. This family came to Rusk County, Texas, about 1853, along with B. F. Montgomery, who also came from South Carolina. These two men, along with others founded the New Prospect Baptist Church. Both of them had been ordained deacons in the New Prospect Baptist Church (same name) in South Carolina. Thomas Ballenger served as Church Clerk from 1864 to 1885.

Submitted by Earl Young