Remembering Dad

 

Dad, ca. 1955 - gifted by my cousin, Susan.

Thirty years ago today, we said good-bye to Dad. I can still remember the cold, clear April night under which we left the hospital and made our way home to make the dreaded phone calls and the start of funeral arrangements. To this day each late March, I still feel the tiredness and weariness in my bones of those two weeks we spent at his bedside, waiting the inevitable. The evening of 3 April 1992 changed us all - the point of with and without Dad in our lives.

While it's a sad day, I take comfort in the memories of family, laughter, and his stories. His recollections of growing up in New Westminster, West Vancouver, and Penticton fuelled my desire to learn more about our family, our history and his life. For me, it has provided a new passion for discovery and connection with family. 

Today and everyday, we remember him. We see him in ourselves, our children, and hear him in the silences between our conversations and thoughts. Thanks, Dad, for the memories. Love you always.

Karen

Go Zags! Remembering Dad on the 25th Anniversary of his Passing

Dad, second from left, Spokane WA, ca. 1953-6

As the 25th anniversary of Dad's passing was coming up, I was thinking of how to best mark the anniversary. While it sometimes feels like his passing was a lifetime ago, at other times, it feels like yesterday.

I can still remember that cold, silent and clear, 3 April 1992 evening when we left the hospital after he passed. We were exhausted and numb, headed home to start making the dreaded phone calls to family and friends. I still feel it in my body each year - an inexplicable sense of tiredness late March and early April - perhaps deep seated memories of two emotional weeks in the hospital with him before he slipped away.

Yet, in the time since his passing, there's been three grandchildren, new partners, homes, jobs, and challenges. In fact, it's been a generation since he passed. His grandchildren have only been able to know him through our stories, memories and photographs (and the odd-lopsided boot rack or bookshelf with L brackets in my mother's home. He fancied himself a master carpenter, but history has proven otherwise). I know that he's with us at every turn and for each new chapter of our lives, but it doesn't stop us missing him.

As this anniversary approached, Gonzaga University, his alma mater, progressed through the NCAA March Madness tournament and will play tonight in the Final Four Championship game against North Carolina. Dad won a sports scholarship to Gonzaga in 1952 and played basketball and baseball while earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree.  While we cheer on the team, we can't help but think of him. He loved his time at Gonzaga and being part of those teams. Win or lose, this game is special in so many ways.

As Dad would say (and want us to say), Go Zags!

Cheers, K.

Kiss Me ... I'm Irish?

Clover
 Source: InspiredImages/Pixabay

My DNA results have arrived! The results are much what I expected - very European and British - as I have been finding with my genealogical research. I tested with Ancestry DNA and FamilyTreeDNA. In this post, I'll deal with the Ancestry results.  The results from both companies are generally the same, but there are few interesting twists. 

The caveat is that ethnicity estimates are just that - comparisons to the genetic profile of a representative sample of the native population. Despite, the warning about the generalized nature of ethnicity estimates, they are fun to take a look at and ponder.

This is what Ancestry DNA estimated for me:

European 99%  

• Europe West 37%
• Great Britain 30%
• Ireland 25%
• Trace Regions 7% (Scandinavian 4%, Iberian Peninsula 2%, European Jewish <1%)

African <1% (Trace Region: North Africa)

The interesting bit is that Ancestry pegged me at 25% Irish (theirs is a separate category). To my knowledge, I have no Irish ancestors or heritage. However, a cousin of my mother assures me that there is at least one Irish connection on the Brown side. Whether or not that accounts for a quarter of my ethnic makeup, remains to be seen. 

In digging a bit deeper into the Irish result, I did note that Ancestry includes in its definition of Irish, the locations of Ireland, Wales and Scotland (also found in France and England) - which might be taking into account my Welsh family and Scottish McPhee roots. I guess it's my Celtic heritage coming through. 

In any case, I've been thinking that I just might celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year to embrace my newly discovered Irish heritage - however defined or calculated. Any excuse for a party... especially in the dreary month of March! 

Cheers, K.

Well, I Did It... Genealogically Speaking

What exactly did I do? I have jumped into the genetic genealogy pool with the purchase of AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA testing kits. After a long break from doing any genealogy research of my own and a super-busy year of work, I decided that I needed to do something different to spark my interest and research.

I had the privilege of attending the Ontario Genealogical Society Annual Conference in Toronto in June for work and followed the genetic genealogy stream in the program as something that I wanted to learn more about for myself and my library patrons. I attended several sessions given by Cece Moore of the DNA Detectives - and while I won't confess to understanding everything about the ins and outs of DNA and genetic genealogy, I was hooked. Her stories, advice and information were captivating and intriguing, so I bought the AncestryDNA kit at the conference. I promptly took it home, left on holidays and left it untouched for the summer.

When FamilyTreeDNA advertised its summer sale, I bought their kit - knowing that the Devon DNA Project was affiliated with FamilyTree DNA.  I've hit the proverbial brick wall on my Ball line in North/South Molton, and am hoping that FamilyTreeDNA, with its large UK base, will help connect me to descendants of my Ball family that stayed behind in Devon.

Finally, in early September, I sat down one Wednesday morning, did my tests, and mailed them in on the way to work. Now, I am eagerly awaiting my test results.

I'll keep you posted when the results are in!

Cheers, Karen

Honouring the "Action by a Farmer's Daughter"

After stumbling upon the Welsh Newspapers Online site a few years ago, I've become addicted to it - checking back often to see new editions, newspapers and content added. When I've hit roadblocks in my research or enter the research doldrums, it's a great diversion and often returns unanticipated treasures like the one I want to tell you about.

I've always wondered about the birth of William Spickett Ball, 1892-1982, the illegitimate son of Charlotte Ball, elder sister of my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball. There also always seemed to be an air of mystery to him - at least for those of us in Canada - no name, no details. Late one night, on a whim, I entered the name of "Charlotte Ball" and hit enter and began scrolling through the list of entries.

Imagine my excitement when I came across this 15 July 1893 Cardiff Times article:

You can read the full article here.

Our Charlotte sued the father of her child for breach of promise and won in a Cardiff court in July 1893! And she was awarded a 350 GBP damages settlement, which in today's money amounted to nearly 34,600 GBP. Whether she ever received the settlement is another question and research query.

Charlotte had been living with her brother, John Ball, who farmed at Ty Gwyn in St. Andrew's Major, Glamorgan, when she met her suitor, William Howell Spickett of Cadoxton. On the 1891 census, she is shown living there with John and younger brother, Thomas.

On reading the article, I could not help but feel proud that she had taken Spickett to court. As a single mother in the late 19th century, there would have been some measure of public disapproval in her decision to keep her child. Despite the "fair damsel" description of her in court, she pursued Spickett for his breach of promise to marry her and to provide for their child.

Charlotte - you rock.

Cheers, K.

Welsh Newspapers Online - my new happy place

Source: Pixabay.com

In searching around for information about South Wales, I happened to come across a great genealogy and history resource - Welsh Newspapers Online. Created by the National Library of Wales, the database is a free online resource. It contains over 1.1 million pages from over 120 newspapers, from 1804 to 1919. According to the introductory page on the site, it also includes the digitized content from The Welsh Experience of World War One Project.

The search page allows you to specify if you wish to search Welsh or English language content, specific newspapers, date ranges or article types.

If you like to browse, you can do so by title or by titles in a geographic region. I've found it interesting and informative to browse titles within a geographic region to get an idea of coverage, focus and publication dates. The helpful calendar of published issues makes searching for a specific event or occasion that much easier. For an example of the calendar and publication information for the Cambrian, click here.

Happy searching!
Cheers, K.

Final Day and Farewell

Our last day in Cardiff was bittersweet. I knew that our stay was coming to an end, but we were going to meet another third cousin that evening for a drink.

The clouds had cleared out and the sun was again shining. My daughter and I headed out to the Cardiff Library for a quick visit and to check out some of the shops in The Hayes, the pedestrian mall, which the Library anchors.

Cardiff Library

We had heard several stories about "Chippy Lane" and the late night adventures of my family in Cardiff in the wild days of their youths  We managed to find it - but, alas, we were there too early in the morning to sample any food. 

Still having the car, we decided to take a run out to Caerphilly to see the castle and for some lunch. Luckily for us, it is pretty much a straight drive north from downtown Cardiff, so we were able to find it.  We bought sandwiches, crisps and tea and sat underneath a canopy of trees near the castle and ate our lunch.

Caerphilly Castle

After a walk through town, we stopped by the tourism office and had a lovely chat with one of the staff members - who could tell by our accents that we were Canadian as she had family on the Prairies. She recommended stopping at Castle Coch on our return to Cardiff.

I am glad that we did take her advice as we had a wonderful afternoon exploring Lord Bute's medieval fantasy  - in another beautiful setting. The drive back to Cardiff was slow with traffic, but we didn't get lost!

Castle Coch

My cousin met us at our hotel. She was a descendant of Elizabeth (Ball) Edwards, an elder sister to my great grandfather, Thomas. We headed down to a nearby pub for a drink and spent some time sharing stories of our childhoods and families.  Again, it felt as if we knew each other for years - despite the fact that we had only recently found each other doing family history research online.  I loved her laugh and she made me think of my Dad - who had the same infectious laugh and attitude. 

As we boarded the train at the Central Station for Bath, I was so happy that we had come to Wales. I been able to meet the descendants of John, Henry and Elizabeth Ball - making the connection with my Thomas who left Penarth in the late 1890s, never to return again. As our train disappeared into the Severn tunnel, I couldn't help but think that I would return as there was so much research to be done, so many things to see and do.

Our trip continued onto Bath, London and Paris and many new adventures and memories. However, for me, Wales was the highlight of the trip.

Cheers, K.

Dinner, Driving and Discovery

After our visit to Dinas Powys, we braved the roads and returned to Cardiff  - mind you, not by the route that we had intended to take. We never seemed to take the same road twice - driving on the opposite side of the road completely turned around my sense of direction and orientation. After a few missed turns and exits, we made a hasty retreat to our hotel to change and to meet another set of my cousins and their mother for dinner in Cardiff Bay.

Luckily, we chose to walk - so my map skills were back on track.  It was a lovely, warm and sunny evening, perfect for a walk and another adventure. When we reached the forecourt of the Millenium Centre, we stood for a moment scanning the crowd milling about.

Wales Millenium Centre - Cardiff Bay

Much to my delight, I saw my cousin waving to us. We had been found! After hugs and introductions, we walked over to a  wonderful Italian restaurant  and ate dinner on a balcony overlooking Cardiff Bay. We talked like old friends and it really felt like being 'at home' again. The meal, like the company and conversation, was perfect. To this day, my husband still talks about the spaghetti carbonara that he had that night. After a drink at a nearby pub, we said our good-byes and headed back to the hotel.

Originally, we had planned on driving to South Molton and Filleigh to visit the home of my Ball ancestors in Devon as a day trip. I soon realized that there was so much to see in Wales and decided to go to the Gower for the day to explore the area where my great-grandfather had been born.  The day started out rainy and wet, but after a stop in Mumbles, the sky started to clear. I loved the windy narrow roads, but always jumped when we rounded a corner and passed vehicles going in the opposite direction. We landed at Rhossili just after lunch as the sun was coming out.

The area was, in a word, breathtaking. The view of the bay and Worm's Head was spectacular. It truly is an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".

Worm's Head, Rhossili

We walked along the promontory taking it all in - we even got to some sheep grazing on the cliffs and hills in the park.

On the way home, we stopped in Scurlage, the birthplace of Thomas, my great-grandfather (1875-1941) and I had a quick walk around, trying to imagine what life would have been like in the late 19th century Gower.

Scurlage

We also passed the road to Reynoldston, the home of William James Ball (1858-1922), the eldest son of William Huxtable (1837-1927), whose life had a tragic end in the Brigend Asylum.  Every bend in the road told a story and the place names seemed all very familiar.

As we neared Swansea, we managed to get lost in rush-hour traffic, but eventually made it back to Penarth. We dropped by the home of my cousin (with whom we had dinner the night before) and he gave us a fascinating tour of the town where our family lived. The clouds had rolled in again, lending a perfect sombre backdrop to St. Augustine's Church where my 2x great-grandparents, William and Charlotte Ball are buried.

St. Augustine's Church, Penarth

We walked along the beautiful Penarth pier (which was still under renovation) and saw many more sight where family lived, worked and played. Knowing my fascination with the BBC series, Gavin & Stacey, my cousin happily pointed out several exteriors and landmarks which appeared in the show, including a church hall in which his mother's aunt had been married. Our evening ended with a quick visit with my cousin and his family and yet another unknown route back to Cardiff.

Penarth Pier

All in all, another perfect day.

Cheers, K.

Meeting Family and History - Continued

Well, that was a long break! Yes, a year away from this blog - far too long. I've missed doing my own family history research and feel the need to get back to doing something that I've loved doing... So I'll dispense with the excuses and jump back into finishing my Wales holiday story.

To pick up where I left off....

The next day we drove back out to Penarth to explore. I was particularly interested in seeing Plassey Street, where 2x great-grandfather, William Huxtable Ball, lived with his family.  The skies were clear and the sun shone overhead - an auspicious start to a new adventure. We managed to make it to the town centre, after a detour to see the marina, and headed to a pub for a bite to eat.  On our drive up, I recognized several streets that I had researched and caught a glimpse of the end of Plassey Street.

After lunch, we left the pub, rounded the corner and arrived - Plassey Street!

Plassey Street, Penarth

I recognized the former Plassey Street Tabernacle  and passed by #96, where my great-grandfather's brother, Henry had lived with his family. As we headed down the hill towards #140, I could not help but think that I was walking the road where Thomas and his  family had walked before - how life had changed for Thomas from this quiet, quaint street to the bustle of Leeds, to a transatlantic sail to Montreal and cross-country train ride to Vancouver, where he and Annie raised their family in the shadow of the mountains, the smell of cedars and the fresh sea air. When we reached #140, I couldn't resist crossing the street to take a photo (it's the house with the open door).  It was special to be there and to take it all in.

Home of Wm Huxtable Ball 1837-1927 - 140 Plassey St.

We had made arrangements to visit a relative in Dinas Powys later that afternoon so we headed along Stanwell Road to the Penarth Library.

Penarth Library

William Spickett Ball (aka Billy Ball) had been the library caretaker for about 25 years and lived in the cottage behind the library. I also wanted to thank Marcus Payne, the Branch Librarian, for all his assistance with my research.  I left my husband and daughter to explore the shops while I stopped at the library. Marcus was a most gracious host, giving me a tour of the library, including the cottage which has been incorporated into the main building. We ended our tour in the former back garden. It as a lovely treat to meet Marcus and I shall be forever grateful for his assistance in solving the mystery that was Billy.

St. Andrew's Church, St. Andrews Major

After a few missed turns, we arrived in Dinas Powys mid-afternoon and met with my second cousin, once removed (his great-grandfather was my 2x great-grandfather). He suggested a quick drive out to Ty Gwyn, John Ball's farm in St. Andrews Major, just a couple of kilometers from his home.  As we came up to the the parish church, we stopped at the graveyard where John and Ruth Ball and children, Gwen and Nelson were buried. The beautiful Norman church in its bucolic setting seemed perfect - a lovely, quiet and peaceful place.

Ty Gwyn Farm, St. Andrews Major

 We walked around the perimeter of John's farm to get a sense of his holdings and stopped by Ty Gwyn, the old farmhouse where John and his family lived.  Our afternoon ended at my cousin's house for a cup of tea - which was the perfect ending to a lovely day retracing my family roots in Penarth.

As we drove back into Cardiff, I could hardly believe all the connections, sites and people that we had encountered.  Our evening was yet to hold more treasured moments. More on that soon...

Cheers, Karen

Meeting Family and History

Cardiff Castle - 29 July 2013

The sun was shining as our train pulled into Cardiff on July 29th.  Shortly after arriving, I received welcome emails and texts from my cousins - which were delightful and made me feel at home. One of them sent a list of pubs near our hotel that we could try - knowing my husband wanted to sample UK lagers and ales and I was on a bit of quest for the perfect pint of cider.

As we explored Cardiff and the Castle, I kept thinking about what the city would have looked like to Thomas before he left in the late 1890s. Why had he been the only one of six siblings to have left Wales? It's still a mystery, but I think that he must not have left willingly - Wales is such a  beautiful place.

We had been invited to Penarth for dinner on the day of our arrival. My cousin arranged to meet us in the lobby of our hotel that evening. As I stepped out the elevator, I instantly recognized him - the first thing I noticed was his blue eyes - a trait common to my siblings and myself. He drove us to his home, where we met his family and father.  We had a lovely meal and shared many stories of our upbringings, ancestors and life in general.  When it was discovered that my husband was originally a Nottingham lad, they forgave him for being English (actually, he's more Canadian than English as he grew up here). I have to say that it felt like family.  I brought copies of my current research and photos to share - and learned many new stories and some possible clues to mysteries yet unsolved. It was a lovely evening, made all the more special by our hosts.

A perfect first day to our Welsh adventure.

Cheers, Karen

Anticipation

After a very long break, I'm back. Work has been crazy busy - we moved the Local History collection twice and have now finally settled into our final location.  I have also launched a large WW1 volunteer project, a blog Historically Speaking and entered the Twitterverse .

Despite the busy-ness, I really missed working on my own family history and have decided to carve out time to pursue this once again. As summer rolls around again, memories of our trip to South Wales have flooded back and I'd like to share those with you.

As we landed at Gatwick on July 27th last year, the anticipation of meeting my Welsh cousins and seeing the hometowns of my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball, was sweet.  My husband and daughter were eager to see all the sights, but for me, Cardiff was going to be the highlight of my trip.

After the overnight flight to the UK and the train ride to Oxford, we tried to soak in as much of this wonderous university town as much as we could before crashing for the night. The next day, we made the pilgrimage to the Bodleian Library and wandered through the hallowed laneways and courtyards of the University.  I even managed to have my first pint of real cider on tap - a luxury not often found at home.  However, all through the day, I could not help but wonder what it would be like rolling into Cardiff and meeting up with my third cousin Matthew and his family for dinner.

The next morning, we made the long walk with suitcases in tow to the train station and boarded the first of two trains, headed in the direction of Cardiff. We changed trains at Didcot Parkway, just outside of Oxford.  I didn't let the ominous skies dampen my excitement.

As our train pulled into Cardiff, I felt like it was a bit of a homecoming.

Stay tuned!

Cheers, K.

Travel plans, genealogy and compromises

Once we decided to include a visit to Wales and Devon in our UK itinerary, I had great plans to spend time doing research and further work on my genealogy.  In my mind, I was drawing up lists of questions to be answered and directories to be consulted. I wanted answers to those questions that kept me up at night... like when and why did my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball, leave South Wales for Leeds, and what may have pushed or pulled him to Yorkshire?  I really could have spent the whole of the four days allotted for Cardiff trolling through local library and archives resources.

Our initials plans also included a day trip to Filleigh, Devon to see where my 3x great-grandfather, John Ball, had his tailor shop. My North American sense of 'drive anywhere' and straight line travel took a beating once we rented a car in Cardiff.   My husband did admirably driving a right hand stick shift, but we spent a couple of hours lost in various places - albeit in the lovely Welsh countryside. We decided to enjoy the journey rather than race about keeping to a timetable. The 3+ hour trek (each way) to Filleigh went by the wayside in favour of exploring more of Cardiff and nearby Caerphilly.

In the end, I realized that making this a research trip would not be fair to my husband and daughter, who don't share my fervent interest in genealogy and ancestor hunting. After all, this was their summer vacation too. Instead, we decided to make this trip about connecting - with family, with the land of my ancestors and the beautiful country that is Wales. 

In retrospect, the research trip is a journey for another day and my mother would be the ideal travel companion - now that has me thinking...

Journeys past and present

As I began this genealogy journey a few decades ago, I never thought that I would be retracing the steps of my grandparents, Bill and Mary Ball.  Back in late 1961, Grandad and Nana embarked on a round-the-world cruise on board a freighter. One of their last trips before returning to Canada was to Wales to visit Grandad's Welsh cousins in Dinas Powys.  Just over 50 years later, little did I know, I would be making a similar journey to connect with my family in South Wales.

It had always been a dream of Grandad to sail - he had always lived near the coast growing up in British Columbia.  Captain Bob Thomas, the husband of his cousin, Gwen Charlotte (Ball) Thomas, was a mariner and had visited with Grandad and Nana many times on his visits to Vancouver and Victoria.  Grandad loved the sea. I will always remember his beloved telescope in the big living room window of his Parksville home that overlooked the Strait of Georgia. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of ships, flags, and cargoes, having worked at the Shell Oil refinery in Vancouver.

When Grandad retired, my grandparents decided to fulfill a dream and sail around the world, in a freighter, no less.  They flew to Los Angeles, boarded a working ship and sailed to Hong Kong, Malaysia, and through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, and finally out onto the Atlantic to France and then onto London. Nana always recalled fondly having dinner at the captain's table and the friendly and hardworking crew that worked on the freighter.  From London, they drove to Dinas Powys to visit with Gwen and Bob Thomas and onto the south of England. They sailed to Montreal from Southampton and then drove across Canada, back to Parksville and the west coast.

My grandparents managed to get lost in Dinas Powys and finally stopped at a corner shop to ask for directions. When Nana spoke to the shopkeeper, he smiled and said "You must be the cousins from Canada" and gave her the directions to the Thomas' (which was coincidentally, just around the corner from where they were). They had a lovely visit with Gwen and Bob. Nana wrote to Gwen on 10 Apr 1962 from Leominster, Herefordshire and noted they felt that "we have known you all for ages". (Gwen's grandson kindly sent me a copy of Nana's letter).

Welsh brass figure.
 My Nana, Mary (McPhee) Ball, is in the framed
 photo to the right - London, April 1962

Of all the trinkets that Nana brought home from her trip, one was a brass bell of a woman in traditional Welsh dress. After Nana passed away in 1997, my mother gave me that brass bell as a keepsake. I think that she knew that I would, one day, make that connection with Wales again. And I did - happily, in late July of this year.

Hiatus and Holiday

As you can probably tell from my lack of blog posts of late, I am not a prolific (or even a consistent) blogger.  I will admit that it is often difficult to juggle family, working full-time, volunteering at a local historical society, conferences, gardening, maintaining a house, sleep, exercise and blogging. And at times, I've decided to let some of the 'balls' (if you will excuse the pun) drop in order to keep my sanity.

Part of my hiatus from blogging was to plan and prepare for our summer vacation.  It was a particularly special trip as we traveled to Wales to meet my third cousins and their families. While I didn't do any research while on the road, I learned many interesting and wonderful tidbits about the Ball family in South Wales and visited a number of towns and villages where my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball, and his extended family had lived.  As this was a family trip, visits to archives and libraries were not on the itinerary (although I did sneak one in to say thanks to a librarian who has helped me immensely in my research - I will write about that another day). I have been working through my photos, notes and discoveries from the trip and will share them in the coming weeks.  Back on the blogging beat... again.

Genealogical ADHD... I think I have it

As you can probably tell from my relative silence on the blogging front that I haven't been very productive on the genealogy research lately. I hate to admit that it's true ... work has been mad, have had some rather complex research queries at work, gave five presentations within a month, planned and booked summer holidays (which will include time in Cardiff to meet my third cousins, who I have met through my research), and am in the process of organizing a genealogy fair.  Time seems to be going by at a frantic pace.

I have done bits of research, but I think that I've been suffering from a bout of genealogical ADHD - bouncing from one branch to the other without fully committing to finishing the job at hand. To say that my attention has been scattered is an understatement.  I know that my lack of discipline reflects my tired inner genealogist and self.

My happy place

With an upcoming 2 day weekend, I am going to retreat to my happy place, sit in the sunshine, relax and assess the state of my research. I've come across a lot of interesting bits and pieces and will tell you about them shortly. I promise.

Cheers,
K.

Acts of Genealogical Kindness Keep Me in Awe

St. George's Church, Reynoldston, Wales

After a particularly busy month at work and a frightening tumble down some stairs at home (no broken bones thankfully, only bruises and a few bumps on my head), I started catching up on my home email to find some lovely photos of William James Ball's church and home in my inbox.

The photos were sent by a very kind soul who had connections to Reynoldston as a child and contacted me after I posted the story of William's stay and death at the Glamorgan Asylum. She also attempted to find William's grave in the Church cemetery, but found that the headstone had sunken below the grass and was no longer visible.

I can't tell you how much the photos brightened my day.  Thank you, Vivienne. I am always in awe of the generosity and kindness of people in the genealogical and local history communities.  I promise that I will pay it forward.

Cheers,
K.

Hits and misses at the Family History Library

As part of my RootsTech experience in Salt Lake City, I visited the Family History Library to do some personal research. It was  very much a fascinating experience - so much to see and do and so little time.

I decided that I would focus on John Ball, my 4x great-grandfather, a tailor in South Molton, Devon. I had very limited information on John - much of which came from a copy of an 1815 will that I had obtained last year.  He's been bit of a mystery as his life predates civil registration. And, I have learned that there were many John Balls in Devon during that time period.  In any case, I also knew that he had married Agnes Painter in 1797 and had been recorded as a widow in the parish marriage register. So, my focus was on finding his previous wife (or wives) and any children. I had searched the FamilySearch.org website and had some leads on microfilm of parish registers which might yield some results.

Much to my chagrin, many of the microfilms were of transcriptions of parish registers and didn't yield much more information than was found in the online records on the FamilySearch website. I did find serveral marriages indexed for John Ball - one of which could have been my John Ball, but alas with nothing to corroborate the facts and details.

However, all was not in vain.  I did find a cemetery transcription for South Molton where John Ball is buried. According to the headstone transcription, John's age at death was noted as 76 - making his year of birth approximately 1739 or thereabouts.

So back to the drawing board, I go - at least armed with  another hint or clue about John's life.  I am thinking that I'll need to review what I have collected so far and contact the Devon Record Office and Online Parish Clerks (OPCs) for Devon. Substantiating facts before civil registration is proving to be a challenge.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

Cheers, K.

Remembering RootsTech and Dad

My first RootsTech experience is now a pleasant memory of many great sessions, lessons learned, wonderful genealogists and the friendly people of Salt Lake City.

 I also came away feeling a little bit closer to Dad as Mom and I attended Gonzaga's final West Divison game at the Energy Solutions Centre.  The game was held on Saturday March 23rd against Wichita State.  Sadly, the Bulldogs lost, but it was an exciting game with the scoring going back and forth. And it was neat to experience the mania that is US college sports - so unlike our university athletics in Canada (well, perhaps with the exception of hockey...)

The anniversary of Dad's passing always sneaks up on us - but the fickle weather of spring and Easter mark the final countdown to "the day". It's always a bittersweet time - of reflection on love and loss, fond memories of good times and the pain of his passing. Perhaps Mom and I were meant to be in Salt Lake while Gonzaga played in the basketball tournament finals - I like to think that Dad would have wanted it that way. He's been gone 21 years today, but not forgotten.

Cheers, K.

Cool coincidence at RootsTech

Nana, Dad and Granddad, Gonzaga University, Class of 1955 Graduation Ceremony

Busy day at RootsTech. Great sessions and interesting talks. We didn't make it to the Family History Library but have registered for the Friday Late Night at the Library event. I even managed to tweet using my new phone (with wifi that was patchy at times).

When we arrived in Salt Lake, we learned that Dad's alma mater, Gonzaga University, was playing in the March Madness tournament. The team is ranked #1 in the West division and have a star Canadian player, Kelly Olynyk . They were set to play Southern University at the Energy Centre today at 2:10pm. The arena is just a block away from our hotel.

Dad played basketball and baseball for Gonzaga in 1953-1955 on a sports scholarship. I recently found a treasure trove of digital images on the Gonzaga University Special Collections website. This is a link to a photo of Dad on the 1953-54 Gonzaga Jr. Varsity basketball team. Mom and I have been thinking of him as the game approached.

Well, my Mother decided to cut the conference this afternoon and went to her first ever NCAA basketball game - and watched the Bulldogs defeat Southern University. A kind of date with Dad, after all these years. I am really proud of her. You rock, Mom!

Cheers, K.

Getting ready for RootsTech

I can hardly believe that the day is almost here... RootsTech begins tomorrow morning. Recent reports suggest that over 6,800 attendees are due to flood the gates of the Salt Palace (which is happily next door to our hotel) on Thursday. We picked up our registration packages this afternoon after spending the day at the Family History Library. Now to sit down and re-trace my workshop registrations and map out the day. I am really looking forward to meeting my fellow Geneabloggers tomorrow and beginning the adventure that is RootsTech.

Cheers, K.