Nathaniel A. Balch (1808-1894)

Educator and Attorney

Nathaniel A. Balch was born in Athens, Vermont, in 1808. Before a street was named in his honor many years later for his many professional and civic contributions to Kalamazoo, the New England Yankee attended primary school when he was not assisting his father with farming responsibilities. His educational aptitude was such that his successful role as student soon transitioned into a position as a teacher for a district school. His time as an instructor lasted for several more years, during which time he would teach during winter months. In 1835, he graduated from Middlebury College before taking over as principal of Bennington Academy, a school he oversaw for two years. When not administering Bennington, Balch continued to achieve as a scholar by earning a second masters degree, focusing on law, but also in an attempt to be well-rounded, took courses in medicine and theology.

In the fall of 1837, Balch and his brother Samuel arrived in Kalamazoo, where he immediately became manager of the Huron Institute (later named Kalamazoo College). The nascent institution, having informally opened a year before under the management of a “Mr. Harvey”, was now seeking his replacement in July of 1837. It appears that Balch was not the college’s first choice. According to a letter sent from Jeremiah Hall to the Rev. John Alden of Shelburn Falls, Massachusetts, it was Hall’s hope that Alden would accept the position as superintendent. It is not known if Alden declined or never responded to Hall’s correspondence. A “Nathan Marsh” was selected in late July to oversee the school’s management, but Marsh seems to have been placed in the position temporarily, and little is known about his appointment. By late October, Balch had accepted the superintendent position.

“N.A. Balch was an extraordinarily liberal and influential citizen, deeply religious, and keenly interested in the material, educational and spiritual welfare of this community.”

“The Balch administration placed the school on a high plane of efficiency and scholarship.”

–Centennial History of Kalamazoo College, p. 26-27

 

Balch’s term as the head of Kalamazoo’s first college was a brief one, leaving for Marshall, Michigan, a year later to teach mathematics at the brand new Marshall College. But after only two years, this college failed to become viable, and Balch returned to Kalamazoo to pursue a career in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, and in 1842 was elected the prosecuting attorney for both Kalamazoo and Barry County.

“In the early history of the Kalamazoo Bar Association he was unanimously elected president, a position which he filled for more than twenty-five years with credit to himself and benefit to the association. During his long practice in this state he was engaged in many murder trials and others of wide renown, and in them he often measured swords with some of the most eminent men in the profession; and he has been associated, from time to time, with a number of the leading lawyers of the state in partnership.

–Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Michigan, p. 564

In 1846, the longtime Democrat was elected to the state senate, and in 1857, he was appointed the postmaster of Kalamazoo, a role he discharged “with accustomed vigor, ability and integrity.” Prior to Kalamazoo’s incorporation as a city in 1884, Balch served as the village president from 1869-1870. Balch’s intellectual curiosity led to his role as president of the Kalamazoo Lyceum, a group of men devoted to debating the issues of the day.

In his personal affairs, Balch was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. He married twice, first to Sarah Chapin, who died of consumption in 1848. A year later, he married Elizabeth E. Dungan. Though most of his children died young, his daughter Anna would go on to marry John denBleyker, the oldest son of Dutch immigrant Paulus denBleyker. Balch resided in a handsome Italianate home on the corner of S. Rose and W. South Street, which later became the Park Club before being torn down around 1926. He was a landowner of a large swath of what today is the West Douglas Neighborhood. Balch died on 1 February 1894, and is buried in Mountain Home Cemetery.

Written by Kalamazoo Public Library staff, Ryan Gage, April 2024