Résumé

Partner, Balcomb and Rice, Architect and Engineer, Denver, CO, 1886-1897.

Postmaster, US Postal Service, Algodones, NM, 1901. Balcomb was appointed postmaster on 07/10/1901. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Roll #: 84; Archive Publication #: M841, accessed 01/11/2022.)

President, Southwest Oil and Gas Company, Albuquerque, NM, 1912. (See Worley's 1912 Directory of Albuquerque, NM, p. 90.)

Well-driller, Albuquerque, NM, 1913. (See Worley's 1913 Directory of Albuquerque, NM, p. 98.)

Relocation

Robert Gillmore Balcomb was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, to American parents, but lived in a great number of places across the US during his lifetime, spending the longest stretch in Denver, CO, during the 1880s and 1890s. Sources do not align as to Balcomb's birthplace. A US passport application for his son John C. Balcomb indicated that his father was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. a town on the southwestern tip of the peninsula, developed a fishing industry early on and by the 19th century had become a leading shipbuilding city in the Maritime Provinces. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 546; Volume #: Roll 0546 - Certificates: 24750-24999, 05 Jul 1918-08 Jul 1918, accessed 01/11/2022.) An Ancestry.com family tree, however, put his birthplace in Clementsport, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, about 118 km northeast of Yarmouth. (See Ancestry.com, "Kenneth Chester Balcomb (1891-1979)," accessed 01/11/2022.)

Balcomb immigrated to the US in the late 1860s, although different sources have provided different dates for his entry into the US. The 1900 US Census listed his entry into the US as 1867, while that of 1910 stated it was in 1850. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 0009; FHL microfilm: 1240999, accessed 01/11/2022 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Albuquerque Ward 4, Bernalillo, New Mexico; Roll: T624_913; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1374926, accessed 01/11/2022.) According to the 1920 US Census, he entered in 1869. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Algodones, Sandoval, New Mexico; Roll: T625_1079; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 111, accessed 01/11/2022.)

A Pima County, AZ, voter registration document of 1880 indicated that he had been naturalized on 09/17/1874 in CA. The 1920 US Census noted that he had been naturalized as an American citizen in 1875. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Algodones, Sandoval, New Mexico; Roll: T625_1079; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 111, accessed 01/11/2022.)

He apparently lived in San Diego, CA, c. 1875 through c. 1879, and was registered to vote in Pima County, AZ, on 10/11/1880. (See Source Citation Arizona History and Archives Division; Phoenix, Arizona; Great Registers (of Voters) Source Information: Arizona, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1866-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 01/11/2022.)

In 1890, Balcomb lived with his family on Hunt Street, between 5th and 6th Streets in Denver, CO. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information: Denver, Colorado City Directory, 1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Denver City Directory, 1890. Denver, CO, USA: Ballenger and Richards, 1890, accessed 01/11/2022.)

Four years after the death of his wife in San Diego, Balcomb made his home in Albuquerque, NM, where he worked as an architect and builder. He lived with his four children at 223 13th Street near the city's new central business district. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 0009; FHL microfilm: 1240999, accessed 01/11/2022.) Ten years later, he had moved to 317 14th Street where he lived with his children Marian, Spencer and Kenneth. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Albuquerque Ward 4, Bernalillo, New Mexico; Roll: T624_913; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1374926, accessed 01/11/2022.) By 1912, the four Balcombs had a house at 414 West Tijeras Avenue. (See Worley's 1912 Directory of Albuquerque, NM, p. 90.)

At age 69, the widowed civil engineer resided by himself in the farming community of Algodones, NM, in 1920. He owned the dwelling in which he lived. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Algodones, Sandoval, New Mexico; Roll: T625_1079; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 111, accessed 01/11/2022.)

He was buried at the Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.

Spouse

He wed Frances Marian Spencer (born 02/06/1852 in CA-d. 06/20/1896 in San Diego, CA). She died at her mother's house in San Diego at 1429 2nd Street. (See "Death of Mrs. R.G. Balcomb," San Diego Union, 06/21/1896, p. 5.)

Children

He and Frances had four children: John Carpron Balcomb (born 03/02/1878 in San Diego, CA-d. 11/25/1936 in New York, NY), Marian Balcomb (born 11/06/1882 in AZ-d. 04/19/1922 in San Diego, CA), Spencer Balcomb (born 01/10/1886 in CO-d. 07/13/1947 in Albuquerque, NM), and Kenneth Chester Balcomb (born 1891 in CO-d. 12/25/1979 in Apache Junction, AZ).

Marian worked as an Assistant Librarian at the Albuquerque Public Library in 1912. Spencer worked as a painter between 1910 and 1912, in the latter year for A. Chauvin's firm. (See Worley's 1912 Directory of Albuquerque, NM, p. 90.)