Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
David W. Ballard David W. Ballard David Wesley Ballard (February 21, 1824 – September 18, 1883) was governor of Idaho Territory from 1866 to 1870. Unlike many territorial governors of the Reconstruction Era, Ballard physically resided in his jurisdiction during his tenure. A physician by trade, Ballard actively practiced medicine in Boise throughout his tenure as territorial governor. Ballard was born in Bridgeport, Indiana. He studied medicine in his native town and graduated from the medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. He married Jane Eliza Rooker (1831–1891) in 1848 in Morgan County, Indiana. They had nine children: Lonner L., Oscar, Frank Rooker, Florence E.,