Balsley Family Genealogical Notes
January 23, 2025
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Origins of the Balsley Surname in Switzerland
The Balsley surname is of Swiss-German origin. In fact, genealogical sources note that Balsley is an Americanized form of the Swiss name Balzli, which itself was a pet form of the personal name Balthasar (Balsley Surname/Last Name: Meaning, Origin & Family History). This indicates that the family’s roots trace back to German-speaking Switzerland, and the name evolved as members emigrated and adapted to English. Early American records show several spelling variations of the name – for example Baltzli, Baltzley, Balzley, and even Balzey – reflecting attempts to phonetically spell the Swiss pronunciation (Balsley Surname/Last Name: Meaning, Origin & Family History) (BALTZLY-BALSLEY-POLSLEY Family with Other Variations of the ...). (On occasion, mis-transcriptions like “Baitsley” or similar have appeared in records, but these are understood to refer to the same Balzli/Balsley family.)
Immigration from Switzerland to America
The Balsley family’s presence in America begins with a Swiss couple from Canton Bern. Peter Baltzli (also recorded as Balzli/Balzley/Balsley in various documents) was born in Langnau im Emmental, Bern, Switzerland in 1728 (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). He married Elizabeth Gessler in Langnau around 1750 (Genealogy of the Baltzly-Balsley-Polsley family with other variations ...). Shortly thereafter, they emigrated from Switzerland to the American colonies. A passenger list from September 27, 1752 for the ship President (out of Rotterdam) records a “Peter Paltzly,” which is believed to be this same Peter Baltzli arriving in Philadelphia (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). (One compiled genealogy states the family came to America circa 1754 (Genealogy of the Baltzly-Balsley-Polsley family with other variations ...), but the 1752 ship record suggests an arrival by fall 1752.) The Baltzli family settled in Pennsylvania – specifically in Berks County. Peter Baltzli lived only a short time in America; he died in Reading, PA in October 1766 at about age 38 (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
Peter and Elizabeth’s children are the source of the various Balsley surname branches in America. Their Swiss surname Baltzli gradually took on different spellings among the next generation. Notably, one daughter, Anna Maria, kept the original form in America (married name Broadstock), and one daughter Elizabeth’s surname appears in records as Baltzley (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). But it was their sons who established the Balsley name (and a close variant Polsley) on this side of the Atlantic (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
Early American Generations and Name Changes
One of Peter’s sons, Christian Baltzli, was born in Pennsylvania in 1756 (near Reading in Berks County) (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Christian came of age during the Revolutionary War. Family history recounts that when he enlisted in the colonial militia, he anglicized his surname to Balsley – reportedly at the suggestion of provincial authorities – by adopting the spelling used by a relative from Holland (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). In other words, “Baltzli” became “Balsley” in the 1770s for Christian, and that spelling carried forward in his branch of the family. Christian Balsley served in the war (he was known in his company as “the Swiss”) and in 1778 he married Elizabeth Keinadt (Koiner) in Cumberland County, PA (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). The couple’s marriage is recorded on August 19, 1778 (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Due to opposition from the bride’s parents, the young couple moved to the village of Reamstown, PA for a time (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Eventually, Christian and Elizabeth settled in Augusta County, Virginia, where they raised a large family of eleven children (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Christian Balsley died in Virginia in 1837 at the age of 81 (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
It is through Christian’s line that the Balsley surname proliferated in America. However, Christian was not the only of Peter Baltzli’s sons to change or adapt the name. Jacob Baltzli, a younger brother of Christian, took a different route – his branch adopted the spelling Polsley. Jacob (born in Pennsylvania in 1763) moved to western Virginia (today West Virginia) (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). He married Margaret Haymond in 1791 in what was then Harrison County, VA (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), and had several children. In records and his descendants, his surname appeared as Polsley (even as some documents also showed Baltzli or Balsley for him) (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Jacob Polsley died in 1823 in Fairmont, VA (now West Virginia) (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). Thus, the Polsley surname in America traces to the same Swiss origin, diverging in spelling through Jacob’s line. Meanwhile, Christian’s branch continued with the Balsley spelling. (Another brother, Peter “II”, died as a Revolutionary War prisoner, and a half-brother John also existed, though less is documented about John (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).)
Variations in early records: It’s worth noting that early records use a variety of spellings for this family. The compiled Genealogy of the Baltzly-Polsley Family (1939) by K. A. P. Bryan documents spellings like Balzey, Baltzle, Pantzly, etc., which correspond to the same family (BALTZLY-BALSLEY-POLSLEY Family with Other Variations of the ...). Many of these variations arose from phonetic spellings by English-speaking clerks. By the early 1800s, Balsley (for Christian’s descendants) and Polsley (for Jacob’s) had become the standard family surnames, in addition to Baltzley which some branches used.
19th Century Migration and U.S. Records
In the generations after the Revolutionary War, members of the Balsley family spread out from Pennsylvania and Virginia into the developing frontier of the United States. Genealogical and census records show their movement westward. For example, Jacob Balsley (likely a son or close relative of Christian or his brother) was born about 1776, probably in Fayette County, PA (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). He appears in the 1810 U.S. Census for Menallen Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), and by the 1840 U.S. Census he is listed in Washington Township, Blackford County, Indiana (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). This indicates that part of the family moved from Pennsylvania into the Midwest (Ohio/Indiana) as the frontier opened. Jacob Balsley died in 1848 in Blackford County, Indiana (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), and is buried in a family plot there (the Balsley Cemetery in Hartford City) (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
One of Jacob’s sons, John Balsley, was born in Ohio in 1802 during the family’s westward migration (John Balsley (1802-1871) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). John later settled in Indiana as well; he died in 1871 (records indicate he is buried in Kosciusko County, IN) (John Balsley (1802-1871) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). John Balsley’s children continued this lineage. Notably, John had a son born in 1846 (listed as William Balsley on some documents) who lived in Indiana (John Balsley (1802-1871) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). This son is recorded in other sources as Benjamin Lewis Balsley (1846–1920) (Ben Randall Balsley (1881-1949) - Find a Grave Memorial). Benjamin L. Balsley married Harriett Sophrona Hodges and they remained in the Midwest through the late 19th century – he is the same person who died in 1920 in Indiana (William Balsley | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
From Indiana, one branch of the family made a jump to the West Coast in the early 20th century. Two of Benjamin L. Balsley’s sons illustrate this move: Charles Olin Balsley (born 1878) and Benjamin “Ben” Randall Balsley (born 1881). Charles O. Balsley grew up in Indiana but eventually relocated to California; he died in Los Angeles in 1957 and was buried in Santa Monica’s Woodlawn Cemetery (Charles Olin Balsley (1878-1957) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). His younger brother Ben Randall Balsley was born in Illinois (the family lived briefly in Illinois in the 1880s) (Ben Randall Balsley (1881-1949) - Find a Grave Memorial) and later also settled in southern California. Ben R. Balsley married Lynette Leavitt in 1904 (Floyd Balsley Family History Records - Ancestry®) and lived for a time in Pennsylvania (they had a child in Allegheny County, PA in 1919) (Floyd Balsley Family History Records - Ancestry®), but ultimately he too moved to Los Angeles. He died in 1949 in the L.A. area (Ben Randall Balsley (1881-1949) - Find a Grave Memorial). According to his memorial, Ben Randall Balsley was a son of Benjamin Lewis Balsley (1846–1920), confirming the Indiana-to-California generational link (Ben Randall Balsley (1881-1949) - Find a Grave Memorial).
Historical records highlighting this migration:
- 1752 (Immigration) – Passenger list of the ship President shows “Peter Paltzly” arriving in Philadelphia (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
- 1750s (Marriage) – Church records in Switzerland note Peter Baltzli marrying Elizabeth Gessler in Langnau ~1750 (Genealogy of the Baltzly-Balsley-Polsley family with other variations ...).
- 1778 (Marriage) – Cumberland Co., PA marriage of Christian “Balsley” (Baltzli) to Elizabeth Keinadt on Aug. 19, 1778 (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
- 1810 (Census) – Jacob Balsley listed in Menallen Twp, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania (U.S. Census 1810) (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
- 1840 (Census) – Jacob Balsley listed in Blackford Co., Indiana (U.S. Census 1840) (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
- 1791 (Marriage) – Jacob “Polsley” (Baltzli) marries Margaret Haymond in Harrison County, VA (WV) (Jacob (Baltzli) Polsley (1763-1823) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) – beginning of Polsley branch.
- 1930s (Death) – Charles O. Balsley buried 1957 in Santa Monica, CA, showing the family’s presence on the West Coast (Charles Olin Balsley (1878-1957) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
Modern Lineage Related to Ben, Toby, Debbie, and Chris Balsley
The individuals mentioned – Ben Burton Balsley (born 1932), Toby Balsley (born May 2, 1962), Debbie Balsley (born May 25, 1964), and Chris Balsley (born 1959) – are part of the later generations of this same family. Ben Burton Balsley in particular is a descendant of the Balsley line that migrated to California. He was born April 23, 1932 in Santa Monica, California (Falleció el Dr. Ben Burton Balsley, Doctor Honoris Causa de la UDEP » UDEP Hoy), at a time when his family had settled on the West Coast. (This suggests he likely descends from one of Ben Randall Balsley’s children – the timing and location align, as Ben Randall’s family was in Santa Monica by the 1930s.) Ben Burton Balsley went on to become a scientist and professor; he eventually resided in Colorado. He passed away in 2013 in Boulder, CO (Ben Balsley Obituary (2013) - Boulder, CO - The Daily Camera).
Ben Balsley’s children carry on the family lineage into the present day. According to family records, he had at least three children: Chris Balsley (born 1959), Toby Balsley (b. 1962), and Debbie Balsley (b. 1964). These individuals represent the contemporary generation of the Balsley family. While detailed public records on them are limited (as they are living persons), their births in the late 1950s and early 1960s place them firmly as the latest branch of a family tree whose roots reach back to 18th-century Switzerland. In other words, from the immigrant Peter Baltzli of Langnau, Switzerland – through Christian Balsley of Revolutionary-era Virginia – down to Ben Balsley and his children in the 20th century, the Balsley family’s genealogical trail is documented through a variety of sources: Swiss parish registers, ship passenger lists, American church and county records, U.S. census data, published family genealogies, and modern vital records. Each piece contributes to a well-established lineage connecting the present-day Balsleys to their Swiss origins (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree).
Sources: Historical and genealogical information is drawn from the Genealogy of the Baltzly-Balsley-Polsley Family compiled by Katherine Bryan (1939) (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), which details the family’s Swiss origin and American descendants, as well as from primary records (passenger lists, census entries, marriage records, etc.) cited above. Key reference entries include the Dictionary of American Family Names (Balsley Surname/Last Name: Meaning, Origin & Family History) for surname origin, FamilySearch and WikiTree entries for Peter Baltzli’s 1750 marriage and 1752 immigration (Genealogy of the Baltzly-Balsley-Polsley family with other variations ...) (Peter Baltzli (1728-1766) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), Revolutionary War pension and county history references for Christian Balsley’s life and name change (Christian (Baltzli) Balsley (1756-1837) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree), and U.S. Census data from 1810 and 1840 tracking the family’s migration to the Midwest (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) (Jacob Balsley (abt.1776-1848) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). These records collectively paint a picture of the Balsley family’s journey from Switzerland to America and across the continent, preserving their name through slight variations and generations of time.