Reverend Timothy Horton Ball was born on February 16, 1826, and died on November 8, 1913. He was a minister, teacher, historian, and author whose love of history, natural resources, and mankind led him to record events past and present, writing many of his notes on the pommel of his saddle and also walking the county in search of information. He preserved the history of Clarke County in written form for future generations as a vital resource record for the present and future. He is buried in the Creighton Cemetery one quarter mile northwest.