Ball, John H.

Born: 1794-XX-XX New York

Flourished: Tremont, Illinois

John H. Ball was a circuit court clerk, retail clerk, and justice of the peace. In the 1840s and early 1850s, he was deputy clerk of the Tazewell County Circuit Court, where he was involved in numerous legal cases involving Abraham Lincoln and his partners. In 1850, he was living in Tremont and working as a clerk in a retail establishment. In the late 1850s, Ball moved to Logan County, Illinois, settling in Atlanta, where was served as a justice of the peace. In 1860, he was retired and living in Atlanta. He often signed his name as J. Henry Ball.

For Ball's cases involving Lincoln, search "Ball, J. Henry," The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org; Lawrence B. Stringer, History of Logan County Illinois (Chicago: Pioneer, 1911), 1:165; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Tremont, Tazewell County, IL, 140; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Atlanta, Logan County, IL, 5; Gravestone, Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta, IL.