Lillian "Lillie" Stella Acer Ballagh Farmer (died April 30, 1938) was the founder of Matinee Musical Club, Los Angeles.

Early life

Lillian "Lillie" Stella Acer was born October 30, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, the daughter of John Acer and Maria Foster.

Career

Before moving to Southern California, Ballagh was for three consecutive years the president of the Schumann Club in Chicago. Ballagh was the founder of Matinee Musical Club in 1908. She aspired to an unbroken record of paying for services of artists appearing on the club's program. Matinee Musical adhered to its original aim and was the first club of the kind in Los Angeles to take that stand. In that way, musicians were encouraged and music was advanced in the community. She was the national chairman of Colonial Relics of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. A wealthy widow in May 1925, Ballagh engaged further in the real estate operations of her late husband with success. She was a member of the

Friday Morning Club The Friday Morning Club building is located in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It was the second home of the women's club also named the Friday Morning Club (FMC), for 61 years. The large and elaborate six−story clubhouse was designed by arch ...

, the

Ebell of Los Angeles The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit housed in an historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, California, Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms ...

, the Wa-Wan Club, the

Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor who lived in British America from 1607 to 1775, and was of service to the colonies by either holding public office, being in th ...

and Southern California Woman's Press Club.

Personal life

Ballagh moved to California in 1907. She had a summer home at Palisades, State Highway, Santa Monica, California and a winter home at 308 N. Louise St., Glendale, California. She also had a country home, Ballagh Lodge, on Malibu Road. Lillie Stella Acer married James Henry Ballagh (1851-1925) on April 25, 1883, in Ontario. Ballagh was a pioneer real estate operator. They had two children: Roy Acer and James Courtenay (1889-1966). She was a widow in 1925 and, on June 26, 1929, she married a second time to Frank Edward Farmer of San Diego, executive of the Bell-Lloyd Corporation. She died on April 30, 1938, and is buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Ca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballagh, Lillie Stella Acer 1938 deaths Colonial Dames of America Daughters of the American Revolution people Philanthropists from New York (state) People from Rochester, New York