ICYMI: Ex-Slave, Soldier, Turned 'Greenlawn Pickle King' Honored

Huntington NY

27 June, 2021

10:31 AM

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GREENLAWN, NY — Samuel Ballton, a former slave who served in the Union Army during the Civil War prior to becoming Greenlawn's "Pickle King," was posthumously honored ahead of Juneteenth. Huntington Town officials, including members of the town's African American Historic Designation Council, African American Task Force, ancestors of Samuel Ballton, members of the Huntington NAACP, Harborfields School District, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Moses A. Baldwin Camp #544, and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865, joined to dedicate the east end of Boulevard Avenue after Ballton, according to a news release. "We are honored to recognize the unique American success story of former Greenlawn resident Samuel Ballton," Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said. "Born into slavery in Virginia in 1838, Mr. Ballton overcame great adversity and heroically rescued his wife from slavery soon after escaping it himself, then went on to serve in the Union Army for the remainder of the Civil War before settling in Greenlawn to become a successful farmer and landowner. Mr. Ballton had a hand in developing this growing community at the turn of the 20th Century and his life story reminds us all of what is possible in this great nation." Click here to read the full story.