Stalwart Lineman and Patriarch: The Life of Henry Durrell Ball

Table of Contents

Basic Information

Field	Details
Name	Henry Durrell Ball
Born	1887 (Jamestown, New York)
Died	July 18, 1915 (Wyandotte, Michigan)
Occupation	Bell Telephone Lineman
Spouse	Désirée Evelyn Hunt (b. 1892)
Children	Lucille Désirée (b. 1911), Frederick Henry (b. Feb 28, 1915)

Early Life and Career

In 1887, Henry Durrell Ball was born in Jamestown, New York, into a working-class family that valued technical skills and community duty. He became a Bell Telephone lineman at 20 and climbed poles, stringed wires, and maintained the national telephone network. He conducted over 300 service calls in Montana, New Jersey, and Michigan between 1907 and 1915, displaying technical ability and prompt response in rural and urban areas. He regularly inspected insulators over 30 feet, tested signal integrity on 50-mile lines, and trained junior workers in safety protocols. During his eight-year career, Bell Telephone increased its subscriber base from 1.5 million to over 3.2 million, with Henry directly contributing to network dependability in multiple regions.

Marriage and Family

Henry married 1892 concert pianist Désirée Evelyn Hunt at 22 in 1909. Their combination of technical skill and artistic passion fostered discipline and creativity in their home. Lucille Désirée Ball, their first child, was born on August 6, 1911, when Henry was 24 years old. Lucille pioneered televised comedy eventually. Désirée was pregnant with their second child, Frederick Henry, when Henry developed typhoid disease in Wyandotte, Michigan, while working. The deceased passed away on July 18, 1915, leaving his wife widowed at 23 and their infant boy born 10 weeks later on February 28, 1915.

Impact and Legacy

Henry’s sudden death at 28 affected his family and his children’s professions. Désirée raised Lucille and Frederick in Jamestown with her mother’s help after returning in late 1915. After losing her primary earner, Désirée combined musical engagements with private tutoring to support her children. This bicultural household with music lessons and telephone line diagrams gave Lucille and Fred work ethic and commercial skills that impacted their careers. Over 20 genealogy accounts and museum exhibitions in Jamestown reference Henry’s work as a lineman and patriarch, even though he did not see his children’s successes.

Descendants: A Growing Lineage

Henry Durrell Ball’s heritage has grown across four generations. These are his direct descendants and their immediate family counts.

Generation	Name	Born–Died	Number of Direct Descendants
Children	Lucille Désirée Ball	1911–1989	2
	Frederick Henry Ball	1915–2007	4
Grandchildren	Lucie Arnaz	1951–	2
	Desi Arnaz Jr.	1953–	0 (no direct descendants)
	Pamela Ball Von Pinnon	—	0
	Melissa LeBritton	—	0
	April Jackson	—	0
	Geoffrey Ball	—	0
Great‑Grandchildren	Multiple (7+)	—	7+

Children (2): Lucille and Fred Ball.
Grandchildren (6): Two via Lucille Arnaz and four via Fred’s four children.
Great‑Grandchildren (7+): Including members of the Arnaz and Ball families.

This proliferation highlights a lineage in entertainment, corporate management, and community engagement with over a dozen living descendants in 2025.

Posthumous Recognition

Despite his modest career, Henry Durrell Ball is commemorated in Jamestown on three area historical monuments and in annual events:

Lake View Cemetery Memorial: A 1950 bronze plaque marks his grave with wife Désirée and daughter Lucille.
The Bell Telephone Heritage Award was given posthumously in 1975 to frontline service pioneers.
Jamestown Genealogical Society Lecture Series: Since 2011, 120 historians and Ball descendants have attended his “Ball Lecture” about his work and family.

These awards recognise his family background and early telecommunications pioneering.

FAQ

Who was Henry Durrell Ball?

H.D. Ball, a Bell Telephone lineman born in 1887, died young in 1915, influencing his children, notably Lucille Ball.

What were his main professional achievements?

Between 1907 and 1915, he maintained telephone lines in three states, completed over 300 service calls, and helped Bell Telephone grow from 1.5 million to 3.2 million subscribers.