*This page has limited information and could use additional sources.*
Minos Newton Balch (Nov. 11, 1823 - Jun. 7, 1885) was likely born in Panola County, Mississippi to John Bloomer and Sarah (Cook) Balch [1]. Little information is available about Minos' early life from 1823 until he married Elizabeth A. Baker [2] (one source provides the name Mary Baker for his wife [1]) in 1850.
Minos and his first wife, Elizabeth Baker, would have a son named Marcellus and a daughter they named Mary E. Elizabeth died in 1853, possibly because of childbirth, after only three years of marriage. It would be another three years before Minos would marry Mary Elander in 1856. In 1858 Minos and Mary were living in Poinsett County, Arkansas and together they had five children. Sometime between 1858 and 1861 Minos and Mary would resettle in Jackson County, Arkansas. It was in Jackson County where, according to some sources, the town of Balch was named for Minos one of the area's earliest settlers.
Minos: Confederate Soldier
In 1861, at the outset of the civil war, Minos would enlist in the Confederate Army. Between 1861 and their eventual surrender in 1865 Minos would serve in the Ambulance Corps. In April, of that year, Minos and the confederate forces he served with surrendered at Goldsboro, North Carolina (an important railroad junction).
The Final Years:
Minos would live for an additional 20 years after the end of his civil war experience in 1865. Little information is currently available to detail what happened in the years between 1865 and his eventual death on June 7, 1885.
Genealogy of Minos:
Father: John Bloomer Balch
Mother: Sarah Cook
Wife1: Mary Baker
Married: 1850
Children:
1. Marcellus
2. Mary E.
Wife2: Mary Elander
Married: 1856
Children:
1. Margaret
2. John
3. Emily J.
4. William Roscoe
5. Mary C.
Primary Sources/Links:
