Joseph Balch

by


Silversmith/engraver Joseph Balch is said to have been born in 1760 or '65. We seek definitive documentation on his origins, training, and path to Albany.

He probably was of New England background. A future silversmith named Joseph Balch was born in Hartford, Connecticut in February 1760. Thus, he would have been a son of Ebeneezer and his second wife Lois Belden Balch. His father was a silversmith and clockmaker.

Joseph is said to have served in the Revolutionary army as a drummer boy.

In June 1784, an Albany newspaper advertized that Balch & Fryer had "opened a shop near the north gate, for the purpose of carrying on the gold and silversmith's business." However, his Albany sojourn appears to have lasted but a decade.

In 1786, he married Mary Watson in Weathersfield, Connecticut . Their family included seven children.

By 1794, he had re-located to Williamstown, Massachuesetts.

In 1810, he removed to Johnstown, New York where he died in December 1855.

Family-based resources noted that Joseph Balch "was a thorough Christian and gentleman. His memory was retentive and he was always abreast of the times. His faculties he retained to the last."


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The brief Albany life of Joseph Balch has no CAP biography number. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted 4/20/13; updated 7/22/13