Person:James Ball (95)

Corydon, Pennsylvania: The Drowned Town The once idyllic tree line streets of Corydon, Pennsylvania were once home to a small community just south of the New York State border. Where life went on like normal for residents who lived there. The railroad tracks which cut through the middle of town moving south toward commerce, past the railroad depot and through Bradford and Church Streets would often break the silence of a warm summer day. Nestled against the Allegany River Corydon was the perfect home town where one could walk down Bradford Street and go to the Hardware store and walk over to the Corydon post office to send letters to relatives out in the world. But in 1965 Corydon ceased to exist. Making way for progress Corydon fell victim to the Kinzua Dam project when the Army Corp of Engineers flooded the area wiping out idyllic streets and once loved homes. Now the town of Corydon lies beneath the water forever slumbering in the depths. Since 1965 the town disappeared from the map and what was left of the surrounding area was incorporated into other nearby townships. However, in 1998 the unexpected happened. Thirty-three years later after lying underneath 20 -100 feet of water Corydon re-emerged from the depths. A drought that was causing the outlying townships to conserve water reduced the amount of water that lay over Corydon. In time broken gravestones emerged from the water over where the cemetery on Bradford Street used to be. Tree stumps that lined the idyllic streets peeked out from the water. Roads leading nowhere appeared along with crumbling remains of buildings. Corydon came back from the murky depths. In time, with the drought a distant memory, the water rose again and Corydon was committed back to the depths of the water. In time it may come back again. So if you are ever on a hillside looking at the reservoir enjoying the calm cool water and you see something sticking out of the water. It just may be the drowned town of Corydon, PA.

(Research):James C. Ball may be the father of Jefferson Davis Ball. Jefferson Davis Ball was born in Madison County, New York in 1826. He named his oldest daughter Julia for his sister. James Ball was living in Brookfield, Madison, New York in the 1830 census and had a son in the right age group to be Jefferson. He also had a daughter named Julia. The difficulty is that his wife Juliana Cross is not old enough to have been Jefferson's mother. Another concern is that James had a son named James born in 1829. Traditionally the oldest son is named for the father but James was either from his second marriage or a younger son of his first. If I can find a first marriage for James or his Will I will be better able to say if he is the father of Jefferson Davis Ball.

Other Ball's in the 1830 census with sons under 5 years old were: Stephen Ball of Smithfield, Madison, New York Jene Ball of Lenox, Madison, New York Justin Ball of Brookfield, Madison, New York (James' brother)

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Moses Ball Family Group Sheets.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Pennsylvania, McKean. 1850 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images (3). (http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=8054&iid=PAM432_795-0701&fn=James&ln=Ball&st=r&ssrc=&pid=6728932: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
   M432, roll M432_795, Corydon, p. 20, dwelling 298, family 298, James Ball, accessed 28 Jun 2009.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} New York, Chautauqua. 1840 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images. (http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8057&path=New+York.Chautauqua.Villanova.1: National Archives and Records Administration, 2010)
   M704, roll 299, Villanova, p. 272, line 3, James Ball, accessed 9 Jan 2011.
4. ↑ 1880 U.S. Census (1). (Location: California State Library, California Room, 900 N. St., Sacramento, CA)
   J.D. Ball's father born in New York.
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 Pennsylvania, McKean. 1860 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images. (http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7667&path=Pennsylvania.McKean.Corydon.1: National Archives and Records Administration, 2009)
   M653, roll M653_1138, Corydon, p. 670, dwelling 1056, family 1026, James Ball, accessed 30 Sep 2010.
6. ↑ New York, Cattaraugus. 1870 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images. (http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7163&path=New+York.Cattaraugus.Perrysburg.1: National Archives and Records Administration, 2009)
   M593, roll M593_909, Perrysburg, p. 448B, dwelling 283, family 279, Cyrus J. Cross, accessed 30 Sep 2010.

   James is not living with the family in the 1870 census.

7. ↑ Sutton, Dee. E-mail correspondence with Ronna Dumas. Privately held by Dumas, ((E-ADDRESS) MAILING ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,
   10 Sep 2011>, "Re: Julianna Medbery 1812-1895,".

   She was again married to James Ball in 1842, with whom she lived until 1861, and to whom several children were born.

   This is supposed to be in the Winona Daily Republicam, 13 May 1895. However I don't believe this is the correct issue. The top part of the obituary is the same wording as in the 13 May 1895 issue but the format is different and the paragraphs following it are not there.

8. ↑ New York, Madison. 1830 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images. (http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8058&path=New+York.Madison.Brookfield.1: National Archives and Records Administration, 2010)
   M19, roll M19- 93, Brookfield, p. 211, line 21, James Ball, accessed 17 Sep 2010.
9.   Ronna Dumas. Dumas-Morris Ged File from RootsWeb.
10.   "Corydon, Pennsylvania: The Drowned Town," database, Chautauqua Ghosts . ((http://www.chautauquaghosts.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28:corydon&catid=11:stories&Itemid=22))
    ).
11. ↑ Free White Males under 5 (3)?, Jefferson and James, 20-30 (1) James, Free White Females 15-20 (1), 20-30 (1), 50-60 (1)
12. ↑ Free White Males under 5 (1), 10 to 14 (2), 30 to 39 (1). Free White Females under 5 (1) 5 to 9 (1), 30 to 39 (1)
13. ↑ Also living in the household were Amasa Cross, age 20, Cyrus Cross, age 17, Nathan Cross, age 14 and Julia Cross, age 12. Value of real estate owned $300.00.
14. ↑ Occupation: Farmer. Also living in the household were Joel Cross, age 30, Cyrus Cross, age 29.. No value of real estate listed. Personal estate value was listed as $617.00.