Wednesday 3 October 2012

Food for thought about North Devon emigration

A few weeks a ago, the August 2012 edition of the Devon Family Historian landed in my mailbox - always a welcomed event and interesting read. Published by the Devon Family History Society, the journal is a fascinating glimpse into the research of other Devon family researchers and a record of the Society's events and activities.

I found this edition particularly interesting as the lead article, Faith, Fish, Farm or Family: Motivations for Emigration from North Devon, 1830-1900, by Janet Few, challenged readers to rethink their preconceptions about the reasons why our ancestors might have left their Devon homes. Few outlined clues to consider when evaluating why a family member moved - including date of migration, conditions at new/old locations, life stage, migration companions, occupations in old/new locations, and religion. She also lists reasons for emigration, ranging from economic, educational, familial, religious, political and social. Few then recounts her family's migration story to Canada. Their end destinations, Mariposa (near Peterborough)and Toronto, are well known to me (I grew up in the west end of Toronto). According to the research quoted by Few, 434,806 people left via a Devon port between 1840-1900. Nationally, 75% of Victorian emigrants moved to America, but Devonians headed for Australiasia, but in the case of those from North Devon, their destination was Canada.

Few's article has gotten me thinking about why William Huxtable Ball left Devon in the late 1858-1860. Was it for economic reasons? Were there other Ball family members who lived in the Gower area? Were there religious tensions? What was happening in North/South Molton and in the Gower which might have contributed to a push or pull out of Devon?

Always something to think about and more research to do!

Cheers, K.

Sunday 30 September 2012

Matilda Ball's Second Marriage and the elusive William Henry Ball

Tracking down the elusive William Henry Ball has frustrating, but I am beginning to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I took a chance and ordered a marriage certificate for Matilda K. Ball that appeared in the 1947 England/Wales marriage index.

Much to my delight - the certificate arrived and confirmed my suspicion... that Matilda had remarried in 1947. On 30 July 1947, Matilda Kate Ball married Bertram Cox in the Church of St. Mary in the parish of Cadoxton Juxta Barry, Glamorgan, Wales. Bertram was 54 years old, a widower, whose occupation was given as "Engineer". His father, John Cox (deceased), was also listed as an engineer. Matilda is listed as a widower, with no occupation. Her father, Charles Thomas Bowcher (deceased) is noted as a tipper. Bertram and Matilda were married by banns. Their witnesses were Grace M. Houd and Arthur W. Bowcher. Arthur, Matilda's brother, had witnessed her 1921 wedding to William Henry Ball.

Matilda and Bertram were noted as living at 17 and 19 Guthrie Street, Barry Dock. This is a map of their neighbourhood:


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and a link to a street view of Guthrie Street.

With Matilda's marriage, it now means that William Henry likely died between 8 December 1931, when he appeared as the informant on his father's death certificate, and 30 July 1947, when Matilda remarries. At least, I now have only a 16 year window to search!

Cheers, K.

Monday 27 August 2012

Obituary - William Huxtable Ball, 1971

I've been on bit of mission lately to track down details about my grandfather, William Huxtable Ball, and his siblings. One of the things that I realized is that I didn't have his obituary. Having grown up on the other side of the continent, we did not have a copy of his obit - so, I tracked down the microfilm and had a look.

This is a transcription of his obituary from the Victoria Times Colonist, 7 April 1971:

BALL - William Huxtable, a resident of Seacrest, R.R.#1, Nanoose Bay, passed away in the Nanaimo General Hospital, Tuesday April 6, at the age of 67 years. Born in Leeds, England. He came to Canada in 1906 and was district manager for the Shell Oil in many places in BC, including Victoria. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary, 2 sons - [name omitted] Kamloops, [name omitted] Toronto, 3 sisters, Mrs. John (Gwen) Hynds, White Rock, Mrs. A. (Evelyn) Nursey, Surrey and Mrs. Marjorie Sigismund, Coquitlam, 6 grandchildren also survive.

Funeral services on Thursday April 8, at 1 pm, from the Westwood Chapel of Flowers [illegible], Rev. W. Dormer officiating, cremation to follow. Kindly omit floral memorials. Donations in memory of Mr. Ball may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, P.O. 292, Victoria, BC.

In rediscovering the obituary, I was reminded of several things - that my grandparents had named their home "Seacrest" and the house was situated on Nanoose Bay. I remember the large balcony and picture window that over looked the backyard and waterfront.

This is a photo of their house from the back:



I am also reminded of the all to familiar mention of the Canadian Cancer Society in the obituary notices for my family - Granddad, Nana, Dad and my dear uncle - all has similar notations in their notices.

Cheers, K.

Monday 20 August 2012

My mystery man - William Henry Ball

In going back over some research notes, I came across William Henry Ball, son of Henry Ball and Anne Evans. Given the propensity to hand down names in the Ball family (especially, the name 'William'), I was particularly flummoxed in my early days of research with sorting out which William was who. (I should be honest and say that the legacy of repeating names is not purely a Ball tradition. I am named after my mother's sister, who named one her daughters after my mother - my poor Grandma never got my name right on the first try - I learned to answer to both names - it just made life easier for her...)

William Henry Ball was born on 7 November 1892 in Newton, Brigend, Wales, in the area near Porthcawl:


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His father, Henry, was a dairyman. His mother was Ann Evans. Henry's address was given as 52 Windsor Road, Penarth and it is noted "as per Declaration dated 21 December 1892". William Henry's birth was registered on 28 December 1892, almost 2 months after his arrival in Newton.

Sorting out his identity from of his cousin, William Spickett Ball, was bit of a tangle as they both often appeared in the census as "William Ball". They appear to have worked together in the Evans (a relation to William Henry's mother, Ann, I suspect) bakery in Whitchurch, Cardiff in the 1911 census.

Family lore had it that William Henry had died in the Great War or by tragic circumstances, at a young age. He turned up as the informant of the death of his father, Henry, on 8 December 1931. There's a William Henry Ball listed in the 1937 Western Mail Directory for Cardiff, living at 8 Bridgend Street, Splott, one of the four inner city suburbs of Cardiff, born of the industrial revolution.

Recently, I came across a marriage registration for William Henry Ball, of 96 Plassey Street, Penarth, dated 26 Dec 1921. He was married to Matilda Kate Bowcher, who lived at 34 Plymouth Road, Penarth. The marriage took place in the Parish Church in Penarth. Interestlingly, the witnesses to the marriage were William Spickett Ball, Henry's cousin and Arthur William Bowcher, Matilda's older brother.

I have not yet been able to find a death for William Henry Ball - but now know that he had been married. My next steps are to trace down any possible children and Matilda's death or second marriage. I will be sure to let everyone know if anything turns up.

Cheers, K.

Monday 13 August 2012

Rethinking next steps

It's been a while since I last posted (and I do feel guilty about not getting back into the blogging groove). Family, holidays and work seem to have taken over my time over the last while - and with the appearance of August on the calendar, I keep thinking about fall and the rush that it will bring with the start of another school year, sports, etc. I shouldn't be wishing away summer. It is altogether too short and fleeting. I do plan to spend more evenings on the deck, enjoying the sunset.

I've been rethinking how to best approach my next set of research tasks. I've realized that I have been darting off in all directions - chasing elusive Ball clan members without much focus and being tempted by the Turner side, which is another maze.

To get back on track, I think that I'll need to focus on a select group of 'problem' relatives and develop some plans on how to best fill the missing pieces. Organizing my files, notes to self, downloads, and printouts, etc., along with updating my family history program are my goals for the remainder of the year.

With these new goals, it does not mean that I won't be blogging - I fully intend to keep everyone updated on my finds and progress to date. Hopefully, on a much more frequent basis.

Cheers, K.

P.S. I should note that the tombstone photograph is not of a Ball gravesite - rather a photograph taken during a family reunion trip to Manitou, Manitoba with my Mom and Aunt Barb in July 2010. We were exploring the LaRiviere Cemetery, which sits alongside the Pembina River, when I came across this headstone and found it particularly appealing.

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Summer, baseball and my father

As I am waiting on some genealogy information to arrive and trying to get caught up at work after holidays, I thought that I would deviate slightly in the Ball family narrative to talk about baseball. Not exactly the dead ancestor hunt, but something that is a continual reminder of my childhood and my Dad.

This weekend our local baseball associations are playing a 'vintage' baseball game, in honour of my community's cityhood centennial. As I was looking through our collection of baseball photos at work, I was reminded of my Dad and the game he loved.

Dad went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, on a sports scholarship in the early 1950's and played varsity baseball and basketball. After graduating, he was signed to the Boston Red Sox and played minor baseball in Lloydminster AB (and later Saskatoon, among other places on the Prairies) in the Western Canada Baseball League. He had dreams of making the major leagues until he developed bone deposits in his elbow, which effectively ended his career as a pitcher. He tried several times to come back, but the elbow never healed properly and he had to hang up the cleats and glove and start a new life.

While we lived in Montreal, Dad was the pitching coach of the Dorval Cougars, a team of young men in their late teens. I remember how he loved talking, playing and living baseball, always watching and encouraging the young players. He used to take us to practices and put my sister and I to work tracking down foul and stray baseballs, guarding the water and other tasks. I think that I learned a certain patience for watching the game and absorbed the language, movement and nuances of baseball. Dad managed to injure his elbow again while doing pitching demonstrations, but you could tell that he always wanted to get back out there and pitch again, no matter how much it hurt.

When I watch baseball, I feel like I'm closer to Dad - knowing that he loved the game. Baseball evokes a certain nostalgia for me - of clean-cut young men, seasoned coaches and the warm and sunny days of summer (although, I do remember a few cold and snowy season openers of the Toronto Blue Jays in their early days at Exhibition Place...). Summer always rekindles my love of the game and memories of Dad.

Cheers,
K.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Another update on Mabel Charlotte Ball (1882-1970)

Having recently returned from holidays, I was pleased to find Mabel's death certificate waiting for me in the post. As I suspected, she died in Wales. I had heard that she had been living in Bristol with husband Edward (Jack). It turns out that Mabel died on 15 October 1970 at the Energlyn Hospital in Caerphilly.

This is where Energlyn is located in Caerphilly:


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Caerphilly is about 17km north of Cardiff.

Mabel was age 88 at her death. Her occupation was given as "widow of Edward John Newton" and "personal secretary". It appears that her last address was "Brodawel" which was a care home in Energlyn, Caerphilly. Her death was registered by Charlotte Agnes Nicholas, cousin, who lived at 140 Plassey Street, Penarth, the former home of their grandfather, William Huxtable Ball.

The cause of death was given as "acute bronchopneumonia" and cerebral arteriosclerosis.

Cheers, K.