Tuesday 29 November 2011

William Huxtable Ball, 1835-1927

William Huxtable Ball was the father of Thomas Huxtable Ball. William was born in the area of Filleigh or South Molton, Devon, England.

This is a map of the area of around Filleigh:


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and South Molton:


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Filleigh and South Molton are east of the city of Barnstaple, in the county of Devon.

His year of birth is given 1835 or 1837 in various documents. Since his birth predated civil registration in the UK, the actual date has been difficult to pin down. However, it is likely 1835 as he is shown in the Filleigh Baptisms Index 1813-1837, which appear in GENUKI, a "virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland." William appears in the Filleigh Indexes as being baptized on 6 Nov 1836, the son of Elizabeth Huxtable and John Ball, Tailor of South Molton.

Cheers, K.

Monday 28 November 2011

British Columbia City Directories

The staff of the New Westminster Public Library pointed out this great resource for British Columbia city directories online. The British Columbia City Directories site is a genenalogical and historical resource at the Vancouver Public Library. City directories, dating from 1860 to 1940, are available online, with the exception 1930 and 1932. Happy searching!

Cheers, K.

Sunday 27 November 2011

Thomas and Annie Ball - Final Resting Place

Thomas and Annie Ball were buried in the New Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, BC. This is a map of where the cemetery is located:


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Their headstone reads: Ball / Mother / Annie / 1877-1947 Father / Thomas / 1875 – 1941 / At Rest. The "/" represents a new line of text on the headstone or marker. The staff of the New Westminster Public Library kindly provided the transcription.

Cheers, K.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Annie's death in 1947

Annie Amelia (Turner) Ball passed away on 14 Apr 1947 at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, BC. Her Bowell Funeral Home record states that she died of chronic myocarditis. Myocarditis is a chronic inflammation of the heart muscle, usually caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections that reach the heart according to MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine).

As with some of the information provided by Granddad on Thomas' death certificate, there some discrepancies. Her address is given as Lee Street, White Rock, but I am not convinced that she had lived there for 33 of the 40 years she and Thomas had been in Canada. Likewise, her birth turns up in the birth registration indexes for Monmouthsire, Wales, not England (but don't forget that the Turners lived close to the Welsh/English border). As far as I am aware, she had only l sister (Alice (Turner) Boyle) and 1 brother (William Henry Turner) living back in the UK (in Cardiff and Swansea respectively) at the time of her death. Some of the names of her pallbearers are unfamiliar, but I suspect that they are related through her sisters who came to Canada with her - more mysteries to solve...

Cheers, K.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Thomas' death in 1941

According to the funeral record for my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball died, at home, in White Rock BC, on 6 November 1941. He and Annie must have moved sometime earlier in the year to White Rock. The staff at the Vancouver Public Library - Special Collections were able to confirm that Thomas did not appear in the 1941 city directories for Vancouver and the lower mainland of BC. I suspect that they may have moved in with friends or family. His daughter Gwen and son-in-law, Jack Hynds, were living in White Rock at time.

The Bowell Funeral Home record for Thomas Ball showed that he died at his residence, given as "Lee Street, White Rock, BC". Interestingly, the certificate states that he last worked in 1937. His death was sudden, likely due to occlusion of the coronary artery (arteriosclerosis).

The pallbearers were Hugh Sigismund (son-in-law and husband of Margery), Jack Hynds (son-in-law and husband of Gwen), Arthur Nursey (future husband to daughter Evelyn), J. Hewlett, R.E. Steed, and A. Hewlett (likely relatives on Annie's side of the family). Thomas was survived by 1 son (Granddad - William H. Ball), 3 daughters (Mrs. J. Hynds, White Rock, Miss Evelyn Ball, Vancouver, and Mrs. H. Sigismund, New Westminster), 3 grandchildren (Dad, Bill and Gwen's son), and 2 sisters in England (actually, Wales - but more about that later....)

Cheers, K.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Life in Burnaby, BC

The Great Depression brought about many changes for folk in Canada, including Thomas and Annie. In 1931, their address, in the Wrigley British Columbia Directory, is shown as 2017 Riverway, Burnaby BC. (The 1930 and 1932 directories for Greater Vancouver are not yet available). Riverway was renamed Marine Drive during the 1930s. This is an approximate location of their Burnaby address:


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and a current street view of their address:


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Annie and Thomas stayed at this address at least until 1940 (last available directory online).

In 1932, Thomas' occupation is shown as 'plumber'. In the 1933 directory, his occupation shown as a labourer at Shell Oil. While in 1934-1940, Thomas is again shown as a plumber, with no employer listed. Whether this meant that Thomas was self employed, I cannot positively determine without further research. Likely, the Depression meant work may have been less stable and secure for Thomas, as it was for everyone.

I do remember Dad telling me that Annie was always feeding someone at her kitchen table during the Depression and that Granddad and Thomas always worried about her safety and well being when the travelling poor came knocking at the door looking for a job or food. She always gave them a small job to do, usually in the garden, and fed them a meal, no matter how little was in the pantry for Thomas and herself. Dad said that she would say that the 'Lord would provide', and they managed to survive the Depression on the little that they had and shared with others. Dad recalled too that she had one of the most immaculate gardens in town.

Cheers, K.

Friday 18 November 2011

Later years in New Westminster

According to the city directories, Thomas and Annie lived at 1223-5th Avenue from 1909 to 1923. In 1924, they moved to 2107 6th Avenue. The 1924 Wrigley Henderson Amalgamated British Columbia Directory showed their address as being 6th Avenue and 20th Street and in later directories, it is shown as 2107 6th Avenue, New Westminster. This is a Google map of the location:


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And this is a street view of the address nowadays (location is approximate as the house number 2107 does not appear to exist today):


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From the directories, it appears that Thomas and Annie and their family lived at this address from 1924-1930. During their time in New Westminster, Thomas and Annie had 3 more children, all daughters: Gwendolyn Muriel Ball born in 1909, Evelyn Edith Ball born in 1913 and Marjory who was likely born in the late 1910s or early 1920s. What was it like to have raised a family so far from home? Did they ever feel homesick? I have always wondered.

Cheers, K.