KENTUCKY: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin & Kniffin, 4th ed., 1887 Green Co. JAMES L. BALE was born September 15, 1827, and is a son of John and Dimey (Lewis) Bale, to whom six sons and six daughters were born and raised. John Bale was a native of Green County, born in 1801; was a farmer and a miller, also a Baptist preacher, and died about 1843. He was a son of Jacob Bale, who came from New Jersey, was of Dutch descent, was one of the very first settlers of Green County, and erected one of the first mills in the county, on Brush Creek; he was an expert and skilled blacksmith, and in his early days made a great many axes of all kinds. Mrs. Dimey Bale was a daughter of Edward Lewis, who was an early settler of Green County, from Virginia; became an extensive farmer and large slaveholder, and served as justice, also sheriff of Green County for many years. James L. Bale, who was third in the order of birth, is a native of Green County, grew to manhood on the farm, and received a fair common English education. At the age of twenty-three he began life on his own account, and engaged in building flatboats and running a mill. In April, 1852, he was united in marriage to Mary E. McDonald, a daughter of Matthew and Tabitha (Gooch) McDonald, natives of Ireland and Green County, respectively. Mr. McDonald was brought to the United States when a child of seven years, became a miller, also carried on a farm, and was the owner of several slaves. He was a son of John McDonald, who came from Ireland with his family, and first settled in Kentucky, where he remained a few years, then moved to Missouri. Tabitha Gooch was a daughter of Thomas Gooch and Tabitha (Arthur) Gooch, both natives of Virginia, and were the earliest pioneers of Green County, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Bale had born to them eleven children, of whom they reared eight: Tabitha, Holland, Emily C. (deceased), Edward L., Lura M. (now Shields), Elizabeth F. (now Shields), Katie H. Young, Leona Leota Kann and Bennie P. After marriage Mr. Bale located on a farm in Hart County, Ky, of 120 acres; seven years later located on the hill near Osceola, where he owns two farms, one of 150 and another of 96 acres, which are well improved. He also owns 160 acres in Clark County, Kas., also a house in Appleton, Ky. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was a member of the Grange. In politics he is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for James K. Polk; he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. Bale Lewis McDonald Gooch Arthur Shields Young Kann Polk = Hart-KY Clark-KS NJ VA MO Ireland http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/green/bale.jl.txt