Clara Louisa Ballou was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 30, 1869. During her early 30s, she traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe, and when she returned in 1903, she married Joshua W. Nichols of Hathorne, Massachusetts, with whom she had two children, John and Florence. She died in Danvers, Massachusetts, on June 1, 1916. Her Aunt Carrie lived in Newton, Massachusetts, with her husband, George W. Miller.
From the guide to the Clara Ballou papers, Ballou, Clara papers, 1900-1903, 1902-1903, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)