Ella Maria Ballou

Ella Maria Ballou (November 15, 1852 - July 29, 1937)[1] was an American writer who worked as a stenographer, reporter, and essayist. She started her career as a teacher, but finding the compensation for women in this vocation so small, she took up the study of shorthand and became so proficient that she went into the courts and wrote evidence and arguments until she became noted among attorneys. In 1885, upon the numerous applications of the Rutland County Bar, Judge W. G. Veazey in the Vermont Supreme Court, appointed her Official Reporter of the Rutland County Court. She was the first woman to hold such a position in the state of Vermont, and it is believed, in the United States. She also did some literary work.[2]

Ella Maria Ballou
Born	Ella Maria Ballou November 15, 1852 Wallingford, Vermont, U.S.
Died	July 29, 1937(1937-07-29) (aged 84)
Occupation	writer
Language	English
Nationality	American
Genre	stenography, court reporter, essaies

Early years and education

Ella Maria Ballou was born in Wallingford, Vermont, November 15, 1852, and has spent her life in her native State. She was educated in the Wallingford high school.[3]

Career

Immediately after leaving school, she began teaching, in which vocation she was successful, but was rebellious over what she considered the injustice of requiring her to accept for equal service a much smaller compensation than was paid to a man of equal or less ability. After a few years of labor as a teacher, she learned shorthand and adopted it as a life-work. The persistence and thoroughness that had been a characteristic of her girlhood manifested itself in her work, and she went into the courts and wrote out evidence and argument until she became noted for accuracy and skill, and in 1885, upon the unanimous application of the Rutland County Bar. Hon. Wheelock G. Veazey, Judge of the Supreme Court, appointed her the official reporter of Rutland County Court. Hers was the first appointment of a woman as official stenographer in Vermont, if not in the United States, her success in her work has been marked and she has also been appointed official reporter of the adjoining county of Addison.[3]

When not in court, Ballou did general work in her profession. She also did some literary work in the line of essays and addresses. Ballou was a practical example of what may be done by women, and while she earnestly claimed her rights as a woman and her full right to have as much pay for her labor as is paid to a man for the same service, she did not support suffrage or hold office. [3] She is buried at the Ballou-Tifft Lot in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.[4]

References

1. "Ballou Surname Index: Genetic Reference Guide Photographs". ancestorarchive.org. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
2. Logan 1912, p. 899.
3. Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 51.
4. "Ella Maria Ballou". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 10 July 2017.

Bibliography

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Logan, Mrs. John A. (1912). The Part Taken by Women in American History (Public domain ed.). Perry-Nalle publishing Company. p. 899.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. p. 51.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Works by or about Ella Maria Ballou at Internet Archive