Samuel Ballton was one of Greenlawn’s most important and well-known citizens.
Samuel Ballton was born in 1838 as
a slave in Virginia. During the Civil War, Ballton escaped from a Confederate
forced labor camp and reached safety across Northern Lines. He crossed enemy lines
twice to see his wife, with the second time being to aid in her escape where he
brought her to a Union-occupied area in Virginia. After ensuring her safety, he
continued his courageous acts by joining the Fifth Massachusetts Colored
Volunteers in 1864. He wanted to preserve his country and ensure the freedom of
his wife and self.
After the war ended, he settled
with his wife Rebecca and their family in Greenlawn. He first became a farmer
for the town’s wealthiest man, Charles D. Smith. He then became a share cropper
for Alexander Gardiner, who had the largest farm in Greenlawn. This is where
Ballton’s notoriety began where he grew record numbers of cucumbers and cabbage
which were extremely valuable due to the increase pickling and sauerkraut
plants near the railroad. This led to Ballton being known as Greenlawn’s Pickle
King, when he grew 1.5 million cucumbers in one season to be pickled.
Ballton’s success as a sharecropper
led him to other business ventures including real estate. He would get loans
and resell pickles for profit, then purchase land. He would then build houses
on the land and sell it to farmers for a small profit. He eventually proved his
worth, even though some hardships and trials.
By the turn of the century, Ballton
had proved to be a success in his community. He eventually learned to read and
write without any schooling. His home was estimated to be worth 5.5 thousand
(at the turn of century). He became a member of the William Lloyd Garrison
Chapter of the veterans of the rand Army and member of Greenlawn Presbyterian
Church. He died in 1917 as an outstanding founding member of Greenlawn and is
still viewed that way today.
Source:
Day, L. Samuel Ballton. In Between Ocean and Empire: An Illustrated History of Long Island (pp. 94-
95). Windsor Publications.
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