William Decatur Ballew was born in Finley Towship, somewhere in South Carolina in 1833, he was the son
of Marvel Ballew and Heathy? In 1853 Marvel Ballew bought land in Roane Co. Tennessee near Kingston.
William D. Ballew Married Lurina J. or Isabella Deavers, two sources on her first name, on May 7, 1857.
William was a private with Company D. (Biffies) 19th Tennessee Cavalry. He was known to be a prisoner and also
had gone Awol from the service. The record we have on his matter of being AWOL, that his whereabouts are known,
actual statement said he is probably at home! Family tradition has it that he was AWOL three times and each time
a baby was born nine months later. William and his wife had ten children. They are:

Martha E. b. July 29, 1859
Sarah Jane b. March 18, 1861
Marvel Joseph b. May 14, 1862
William Allen b. November 1, 1864
Henry P. b. Sept. 6, 1866 died young
James Frank b. July 1, 1868
Alice Laura b. April 2, 1870
Annie Isabel b. April 1, 1871
Hettie Savannah b. Aug. 13, 1875
Letha Ballew b. Oct. 3, 1879

Lurina/Isabella died in childbirth on Oct 3, 1879 giving birth to twins.

Marissa Jane Bray, at the tender age of 16, married William in Kingston, on March 7, 1880.
Two years later the family set out by covered wagon for Douglas County. Mo. William and Jane's first
child was born in Mansfield, they settled on land at Bryant Mo. where the rest of their children were born.

Their children are,

Mary Magdelene b. Jany 28, 1883 died young
Garrett Haynes b. July 27, 1885
Estella b. July 10. 1888
Robert Tanzy b. Jan. 29, 1891
Verda Jewell b. May 8, 1893
Violet May b. June 12, 1896
Roy Ammom b. March 9, 1899
Ray Fielden b. Dec. 30, 1901
Rose Marie b. Feb. 19, 1905
Kenneth Paul b. Oct. 24, 1908

A patent for their homestedad of 153 acres is dated April 16, 1893 and signed by President Grover Cleveland.
Their major cash crop were timbers cut for the railroad. Jane and William had ten children together,
all of whom attended Hicks school near Bryant. William lived for 78 years and 13 days. Jane later married
a Taylor C. Caroll. William died in 1911 and he left a legacy of 20 children and 84 Grandchildren.
That number of Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren has grown considerably over the ensuing decades.

In 1994 it was known that Rose Marie Ballew Dilsaver was the only child of William Ballew still living.