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William Riley Bales

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Birth	:	28 Feb 1826 Mooresville, Morgan County, Indiana, USA
Death	:	10 Apr 1877 Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Mental Health Institute Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.9517890, -91.5406290
Plot	:	No individual marker
Description	:	William Riley Bales, known as Riley, was the youngest child of William Bales/Bails/Beals (1783-1861) and Sarah Dicks/Dix (1788-1864), Orthodox Quakers who were early participants (1812) in "The Great Migration" anti-slavery movement from North Carolina, a slave state, to the free Indiana Territory. Riley was born on 28 February 1826 near Mooresville, Indiana, based on the BLM Land Patent for an 80-acre homestead at E1/2SE, Sec 25, Twp 14-N, Range 1-E, 2nd PM, Morgan County, Indiana, issued to his father, William Bales, on August 20, 1823 (file 877) from the federal land bureau at Terre Haute, Indiana. According... Read More	William Riley Bales, known as Riley, was the youngest child of William Bales/Bails/Beals (1783-1861) and Sarah Dicks/Dix (1788-1864), Orthodox Quakers who were early participants (1812) in "The Great Migration" anti-slavery movement from North Carolina, a slave state, to the free Indiana Territory. Riley was born on 28 February 1826 near Mooresville, Indiana, based on the BLM Land Patent for an 80-acre homestead at E1/2SE, Sec 25, Twp 14-N, Range 1-E, 2nd PM, Morgan County, Indiana, issued to his father, William Bales, on August 20, 1823 (file 877) from the federal land bureau at Terre Haute, Indiana. According to the Minutes and Marriages of the White Lick Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Mooresville, Morgan County, Indiana, William Riley Bales was "disowned for joining another [religious] society" - the Methodist Episcopal Church - on April 13, 1842. (The same Quaker group had previously "disowned" his brothers Nathan, Jonathan, Bowater, and Eleazer for various meeting infractions in prior years.) He left the state later in 1842, at age 16, and settled in southeastern Iowa near other members of his family according to the 1856 State Census of Iowa. Riley's first marriage took place in Richland, Keokuk County, Iowa on June 29, 1844, to Martha Towell/Towel (1828-1869). (Note: Seven years earlier, his brother John Bales had married his wife's sister, Sarah "Sallie" Towell/Towel, in Indiana. -- Martha and Sarah Towell were born in Virgina. Shortly after their family moved to Indiana, both parents died and they became orphans at a very young age. According to Sarah's obituary, the sisters were raised by Samuel Moore, a successful businessman and founder of the town of Mooresville, Indiana, whose wife Eliza was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church.) From this marriage, eight children were born: 1.) William Dayton (1845-1880); 2.) Zachary "Taylor," after his marriage known as "Zachariah T." (1848-1906); 3.) John Wesley "Wes" (1849-1925); 4.) Margaret Priscilla "Maggie" (1852-1926); 5.) Milton "Harvey" (1855-1922); 6.) Alice V. (1858-1863); 7.) Riley "Elmer" (1861-1896); and 8.) Charles Albert (1869-1957). Riley's wife Martha died in November 1869, at age 41, probably of complications due to childbirth. She is buried at Salem Cemetery in Mercer, Mercer County, Missouri. The 1870 U.S. Census shows their 7 month old son Charles in the care of his deceased wife's uncle and aunt, Isaac and Margaret (Page) 'Towel', and their daughter, Mary Jane, his future wife, with her two youngest children living in the same household. Riley's second marriage was in Mercer County, Missouri in 1870, to his first wife's cousin, Mary Jane (Towell/Towel) Clampitt (1836-1920), who was divorced from John Nicholson Clampitt. From this marriage, two children were born: 9.) Mary Frances (1872-1911); and 10.) Lulu "Pearl" (1876-1961). Riley was a member of the Iowa State Militia from before March 1852 to after July 1856. When the Civil War began, he took the call and mustered into the Union Army on July 16, 1861, at age 35. He served as a Private in the 7th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company K, with his oldest son William Dayton Bales, his brother Jonathan Levi Bales, and three nephews who were sons of his brother John Bales: William Worthington, Zachariah, and David S. Bales. (Riley's second son, Zachary Taylor Bales, served separately in the 7th Regiment Iowa Cavalry, Company D, which fought in the Indian Wars on the northern plains.) The history of the 7th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry has been called among "the most brilliant in the state or the nation." The unit engaged in more than 35 battles in Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia during Riley's time of service in the Civil War, including many of the great battles that became decisive turning points. In 1861 and 1862, through the Battle of Shiloh, the regiment was one of several jointly lead by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant (future 18th U.S. president), followed next by General William Rosecrans, and throughout 1864, by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, some of the most highly regarded leaders of the Union Army. Of the fifty Infantry Regiments from Iowa, no other unit of troops exceed its numbers for mortality on the battlefield. Major battles in which "Riley W. Bales" fought include: • Battle of Belmont (Missouri), November 7, 1861. • Battle of Fort Henry (Tennessee), February 6, 1862. • Battle of Fort Donelson (Tennessee): more than 16,000 casualties, February 11-16, 1862. • Battle of Shiloh (Tennessee): more than 23,500 casualties, including 3,400 killed, 16,000 wounded, and 4,000 missing/captured, April 6-7, 1862. • Second Battle of Corinth (Mississippi): 7,000 casualties, October 3-4, 1862. • Battle of Resaca (Georgia): 7,000 casualties, May 13-15, 1864. • Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (Georgia): 4,000 casualties, June 27, 1864. • Battle of Atlanta (Georgia): 9,000 casualties, July 22, 1864. Described as a "stout, able-bodied man," Riley was on active duty throughout the war. He sustained no physical injuries during his service. However, he was treated for pneumonia for one month at a field hospital at Corinth, Mississippi during March-April 1863. He also "received a vaccine that proved to be poisonous to several members of [his] Company," according to an affidavit by Timothy Spence, his Captain, recorded in the pension file of his son, William Dayton Bales. --- Riley's closest Army companion stated that after this time, "he complained with his head" and when he returned to his division, "he allways [sic] after that complained of his head hurting him." Riley was discharged from the Iowa 7th Infantry following the capture of Atlanta, thus, not participating in Gen. Sherman's final March to the Sea. He mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky on August 10, 1864, having served three years and one month as a soldier in the Union Army. When he first moved to Iowa in 1842, Riley raised crops in Richland, Keokuk County, Iowa. In 1855, he bought a homestead nearby, in Brookville, Jefferson County, Iowa, where his parents, William and Sarah (Dicks) Bales, lived with him, his wife, and seven children (see 1860 U.S. Census). During Riley's three-year absence as a soldier, his father died (buried at Friends Cemetery in Richland). In October 1864, two months after his return, his mother died while in Henry County (buried in Mount Pleasant). Riley sold his Iowa farm soon thereafter. He and his family settled near Mill Grove, Mercer County, Missouri, where his son Charles from his first marriage and his two daughters from his second marriage were born. Riley was admitted as a patient to Mount Pleasant Hospital for the Insane in Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, due to severe headaches in 1872, when he was 46 years old. The recorded cause was "the effects of brain fever and diarrhea," according documents in his military files at the National Archives. He was released and readmitted to the hospital at least one other time, in about 1875. (The birth of his daughter Lulu "Pearl" in Mercer County, Missouri, in May 1876, is evidence of this.) Hospital records state Riley was widowed by his first wife, and he was separated from his second. (Mary Jane abandoned her stepchildren and daughter Mary Frances. She kept only her infant daughter Lulu Pearl with her - with whom she was possibly still pregnant - and returned to using her first married name, Clampitt. She married Robert McCloud (1836-1910) probably in Mercer County, Missouri, in about 1883, later moving with him to Putnam County, Missouri and to Weatherford, Oklahoma. In the final months of her life, in 1920, Mary Jane went to Dodge City, Kansas to live with her son Albert Clampitt. She is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City.) William Riley Bales died at Mount Pleasant Hospital for the Insane of an "apoplectic attack or cerebral hemorrhage" on April 10, 1877, at age 51. He is buried on its grounds, known as Mental Health Institute Cemetery. As with nearly all patients of this institution, his grave is unmarked. Three of his minor children filed claims for Civil War soldier survivors' pension benefits and continued to contact members of Congress about their case as late as June 1946. However, all claims were denied.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is William Riley Bales's memorial?
William Riley Bales's memorial is located at: Mental Health Institute Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA.
When did William Riley Bales death?
William Riley Bales death on 10 Apr 1877 in Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the William Riley Bales's memorial?
Latitude: 40.9517890
Longitude: -91.5406290

Family Members:

Parent

(unknow - unknow)

Spouse

Siblings

(unknow - unknow)

Eleazer Bales

(1823 - 1901)

Children

John Wesley “Wes” Bales

(1849 - 1925)

Margaret Priscilla “Maggie” Bales Bryan

(1852 - 1926)

(unknow - unknow)

Charles Albert Bales

(1869 - 1957)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Forest Home Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9534000, -91.5444000

2. Saint Alphonsus Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9532000, -91.5454000

3. Willeford Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9447000, -91.5309000

4. Mount Pleasant Old City Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9651070, -91.5545425

5. Irishtown Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9559510, -91.5632770

6. Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9319305, -91.5121613

7. Barton Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9480000, -91.5800000

8. Menefee Family Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9918840, -91.5295890

9. Abraham Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9082830, -91.5149970

10. Short Family Burials
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9352500, -91.6019800

11. Scott Pioneer Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.0020550, -91.5524630

12. Faulkner Cemetery
Oakland Mills, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9207000, -91.5966000

13. Ebenezer Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9944743, -91.4973811

14. Robinson Pioneer Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9788610, -91.6060640

15. Pickard Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8959330, -91.5578480

16. Oakland Mills Cemetery
Oakland Mills, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9340000, -91.6183000

17. Wellbourne Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.0165310, -91.5543310

18. Carnahan Pioneer Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8860500, -91.5366880

19. McDowell Cemetery
Salem, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8959330, -91.5894990

20. Brooks Cemetery
New London, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9169502, -91.4426422

21. Richwoods South Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.0177000, -91.6115000

22. Oak Grove Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.0323982, -91.5813522

23. Pleasant Point Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9448000, -91.6545000

24. Cedar Creek Cemetery
Salem, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8983002, -91.6307983