Ball, Phinehas, 1824-1894

Phinehas Ball (1824-1894), the son of Manasseh Sawyer and Clarissa (Andrews) Ball, was born on 18 January 1824 in Boylston, Mass. He married, in 1848, Sarah Augusta Holyoke ( -1864), of Marlborough, Mass.; they had two children. In November 1865, he married Mary Jane Otis, daughter of Benjamin B. Otis.

Ball received little formal education; attending the winter's district schools until the age of sixteen and attending two terms at a boarding school in Berlin, Mass., 1841-1842. During the winter of 1840, he was taught surveying by an uncle in Rhode Island, using an old compass which had belonged to this great-great-grandfather.

Before moving to Worcester, Mass., in 1846, Ball taught school in neighboring towns and worked at surveying and other jobs. After moving to Worcester, he took up the occupation of civil engineer. From 1849 until 1860, Ball was in partnership with Elbridge Boyden (1810-1898) under the firm name Boyden & Ball, architects and engineers. Under the mayoral administration of Daniel Waldo Lincoln (1813-1880), 1863 to 1865, Ball was able to plan and construct the water works from Lynde Brook in Leicester, Mass., to Worcester. He was a member of the City Council, elected mayor for the year 1865, and was water commissioner from 1863 to 1867 and city engineer from 1867 to 1872. He was responsible for instituting and advancing an extensive sewer system in Worcester. This success and experience lead Ball to construct or report on other similar undertakings in Massachusetts and throughout New England.

In 1869, Ball became interested in the manufacture of water meters and appliances, some of which he had patented, and the Union Water Meter Company was formed, with which he maintained his connection as president until his death, on 19 December 1894.