Bland Ballard

Bland Ballard served as a judge for the District of Kentucky from 1862 to 1879. Ballard was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, on September 4, 1819. He received his education at Shelby College in Shelbyville, Kentucky and Hanover College, in Indiana but spent most of his adult life in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1839, he read law under the guidance of James T. Morehead, and graduated in 1846 from the law department of Transylvania University. Ballard received a recess appointment from President Abraham Lincoln on October 16, 1861, to a seat vacated by Judge Thomas Monroe. President Lincoln again nominated Ballard to the same position on December 9, 1861. The U.S. Senate confirmed Ballard on January 22, 1862, and he served in the office until his death on July 29, 1879.