Bals Family History

“Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal.”


Welcome to my genealogical research website focused on the Baltz / Balz / Bals lineage
The site is and probably always will be, a work in progress, which I work on in my spare time. I started it in October 2025.


Purpose
The purpose of this site is to organize and understand my genealogical research, as well as collaborate with fellow researchers and/or distant relatives in a quest to assemble a vast puzzle in order to retain and pass down the family history.
Like many family historians, I started on the well-known sites like Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch, but quickly became frustrated. Multi-tiered paywalls for document access and storage capacity, strangers editing my tree with incorrect data, and the inability to curate the information as I desire … I found it all extremely limiting.
On that note … if you as a researcher find a file, ALWAYS save a local copy. NEVER assume it will always be available online.


Introduction
My name is Bryan Bales and I am a Great-Great-Grandson of Peter Ferdinand Bals, who immigrated to Nebraska, USA from Schmerlecke, Germany in 1885.
I was born and raised in Iowa and I currently reside in Massachusetts. My Father legally changed the surname from Bals to Bales in 1974/1975.

Jürgen Baltz > Tonnies Baltz > Johannes Antonius Baltz > Franziscus Henricus Baltz > Johannes Henricus Baltz > Franziskus Josephus Balz > Theodor Balz > Peter Ferdinand Balz/Bals > William Ferdinand Bals > Elmer “Bud” Fredrick Bals > Larry Bals/Bales > Bryan Bales


Collaboration
If you have family history information, I would absolutely welcome the knowledge. My only request is that you provide sources if able, so that it can be factually verified.

Photos: Individuals and families, houses and farms, artifacts and possessions. Please include as much detail as possible [Full names of people, location names, artifact data and ownership, etc]
Documents: Ship passengers lists, emigration/immigration records, military records, marriage records, death records, etc. I’m especially interested in the initial emigration records of Ferdinand and Henry coming to America in the mid to late 1880s.
Information: Family stories and facts. Ex. Why did the surname change? Who brought Bertha Bals to the USA? Who came to America before Ferdinand?
Corrections: Surely I’ve made data entry mistakes [especially spelling errors], so if you catch one and want to help me get it fixed, no offense will be taken.

I’m currently 50 years old with no children, so I’m also looking for the younger generation historian to “take over the work” once I’m gone.


Contact
Fill out the contact form below and I’ll promptly get back to you via email.