Captain William Rankin Ballard was born to Levi Ward Ballard and Phoebe Anne McConnell[1] on August 12, 1847 in Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio and died on February 4, 1929 in Seattle, Washington.[2] He married Estella Thorndike on November 12, 1882 in Seattle.[3] Capt. Ballard was a Seattle pioneer, banker, and land developer.[4] The title Captain derives from his command of the boat Zephyr[5] that operated between Seattle and Olympia to the south. Capt. Ballard was one of the founders of the city of Ballard, Washington (incorporated in 1890) which was later annexed to the growing city of Seattle, Washington in 1907.[6]
