B.A. Ballou Jewelry Manufacturing Company History
Barton Allan Ballou (1835–1922) was the founder of the jewelry concern B A Ballou & Co, which he headed for more than 50 years. Based in Providence and headquartered at 61 Peck Street in New York City, the concern had offices at 13 Maiden Lane in Chicago, 29 East Madison Street, and 704 Market Street in San Francisco.
Barton Ballou was a descendant in the sixth generation of Maturin Ballou, an immigrant who came to America from Devonshire, England, before 1645. Born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, October 25, 1835, Barton received his education in the country schools of Cumberland until he was nine years old, when his father died.
To help his widowed mother 12-year-old Barton had to take a job in a cotton mill, where he worked for about a year. He then learned to make shoes and practiced this craft until the age of 15. Then, he worked for a time as an apprentice at the Lyons & Rathburn jewelry factory in Providence.
Due to the Great Depression that plagued the jewelry industry following the financial panic of 1857, Barton Ballou traveled to New Hampshire. At the outbreak of the Civil War, when President Lincoln called for volunteers in 1861, he was one of the first to offer his services to the country.
Founding of BA Ballou Jewelry Manufacturing Company
After his tour of duty ended, Barton returned to New Hampshire in failing health. Fortunately, he recovered within a year and returned to Providence. In 1868, he acquired a stake in the company where he had learned his trade, which was later replaced by Rathburn & Richards.
On January 1, 1870, his son-in-law, John J. Fry, became his partner and bought the entire business, and the firm was renamed B A Ballou & Co. John Fry died in 1895, and soon after, Barton Ballou’s son, Frederick A Ballou, joined his father, but the firm’s name remained unchanged.
The business grew successfully, and on May 1, 1906, the company became B A Ballou & Co Inc, with a capital stock of $200,000. Barton A Ballou became president, William W. Middlebrook vice president, and Edgar C. Lakey (1871–1924) secretary. Barton’s son, Frederick A Ballou, became treasurer and later became general manager. These men subsequently managed the company for many years.
Incorporation of B A Ballou & Co
The company founded by Barton Ballou and his partners grew rapidly and soon became one of the state’s leading jewelry industries. Its success was largely due to the founder’s organizational skills, business acumen, and mastery of the intricacies of production processes.
Barton Allan Ballou
Notably, Barton made a significant contribution to the revolutionary development of jewelry manufacturing and received numerous patents for his inventions. He was a prominent figure in the jewelry world and served as a director of the New England Jewelers and Silversmiths Association. Ballou also served as a director of the Jewelers’ Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the National Chamber of Jewelers in New York.
B Ballou was president of the Dyer Street Land Co, which owned the vast brick block where the BA Ballou & Co factory was located for many years. He headed the Dyer Street Home for Aged and Married Couples and was a member of the executive committee of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was also a member of the Rhode Island School of Design, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and several other organizations.
Barton Ballou was married twice: the first time on May 7, 1858, in Providence to Miss Delia A. Wesley, with whom he had no children. After her death, he married a second time on November 28, 1867, to Miss Mary Rathbone, with whom he had three children. His son, Frederick A. Ballou continued his business.
Frederick A Ballou (1869 – 1949)
Although Ballou remained actively involved in the company’s affairs, he handed over practical management of the business to his son, Frederick A. Ballou in the 1920s.
The son of Barton Ballou, Frederick Ballou was a prominent figure in the Rhode Island jewelry business for many years. He received his education at Providence Commercial College before joining his father’s firm as a bookkeeper. He soon transferred to the mechanical section of the factory, where he worked for several years. After an apprenticeship, he became a salesman for the company. In 1896, he became a partner in the firm and later became its general manager.
Pyramid Button Co
In 1924, Frederick A Ballou, in partnership with George H. Roberts and Arthur M. Allen, founded the Pyramid Button Co with a capital stock of $100,000. The company manufactured collar buttons. It’s worth noting that Frederick’s interests were not limited to just one company.
For many years, Frederick A Ballou managed the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Co and the Old Colony Co-operative Bank. He also served as vice president of the Manufacturing Jewelers Export Co of New York and president of the Manufacturers Refining Co. He was also president of the Yale Jewelry Co., and from 1918, he was president of the Jewelers’ Manufacturers’ Trade Council.
Frederick A Ballou Jr (1893–1964)
His son, and Barton Ballou’s grandson, Frederick A Ballou Jr., also joined the family business, rising from apprentice to treasurer of B A Ballou & Co., Inc. In the late 1930s, he was president of the Jewelry Chamber of Commerce, and in 1944, he became president of R I Hospital Trust Co, a major Rhode Island bank.
In 1939, the company’s board of directors elected Roger T. Stafford as a director of B. A. Ballou & Co, Inc. Significant changes in the company’s management took place in 1960.
Thus, in July 1960, F Remington Ballou, son of Frederick A Ballou Jr, became vice president of B A Ballou & Co Inc. Ballou joined the firm in 1950 and served as assistant to the president since 1956. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, he was a director of the Jewelry Industry Council.
That same year, 1960, William H. Wagenknecht became treasurer of B A Ballou & Co. A graduate of Brown University, he joined the firm in 1936 as controller and was elected director that same year.
A Princeton graduate, Robert Zundel also held an important position at Ballou from 1944. He initially served as purchasing agent and secretary, becoming a director in 1945. In 1953, he was appointed plant manager, a position he continued to hold for many years.
B A Ballou & Co Inc went through several mergers with AM Wood Co Inc in 1960, 1982 and 1990, and ceased to exist, although some branches of the Ballou company remained active until 2005.
