Associate Justice, Texas Supreme Court, 1874
William Pitt Ballinger was born in Barboursville, Kentucky, on September 25, 1825, into a family in which political life was a tradition. His grandfather had been an early settler in Kentucky, and served as the first clerk of Knox County and as a Kentucky state senator. His father spent much of his life as the clerk of courts in Knox County and served as a member of the Kentucky Legislature. Ballinger attended public schools and received two years of college at St. Mary's College near Lebanon, Kentucky, followed by training in his father's office. In 1843 he moved to Galveston at the invitation of his uncle, Judge James Love, and studied law in his office.
Ballinger served in the Mexican War, rising to the rank of adjutant of Albert Sidney Johnson's regiment. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 and joined the practice of Jones and Butler, the largest law practice in Galveston. In 1850 he was appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Texas.
Ballinger's reputation as a leading trial lawyer and his expertise in tort and railroad law were known nationally, and among his clients was railroad magnate Jay Gould, who in 1881 traveled to Galveston in his private railcar to meet with Ballinger for legal advice.
William Pitt Ballinger was nominated to the Texas Supreme Court in 1874, but he declined the position the same day. He died on January 20, 1888.
Barr, Alwyn. Revolutionary Changes in Civil War Texas,
The Texas Heritage 86. Ben Procter and Archie P. McDonald, eds. (St. Louis, Missouri: Forum Press, 1980).Moretta, John Anthony.
William Pitt Ballinger: Texas Lawyer, Southern Statesman, 1825-1888 (Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, 2000).
