Charlotte Ball 1868-1947

Charlotte Ball was the fifth child and second daughter of William Huxtable Ball and Charlotte Balment. Charlotte's birth was registered in the second quarter of 1868 in Gower. Based on the family's location for the births of previous children and that of Thomas Huxtable, the youngest child, in 1875, Charlotte was likely born in Scurlage, Llanddewi, Glamorgan, Wales.

This is a map of Scurlage, located in the Gower Peninsula of South Wales:


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The "missing" 1871 census for this area precludes a description of the Ball family. However, in 1881, the family was living in Scurlage Castle, Llanddewi, in the Gower District, in Glamorganshire. Charlotte was 12 years old, a scholar (student) with a birth place shown as Llanddewi, Glamoranshire. She was living with her parents, William and Charlotte, elder brother Henry, age 17, rural messenger and younger brother, Thomas, age 5, also a "scholar".

Cheers, K.

Henry Ball (1863-1931)

Henry was the third eldest son of William and Charlotte Ball. His birth was registered in Gower, Glamorgan in the last quarter of 1863. The family was likely still living in Scurlage Castle, Llanddewi, which is shown on the map below:


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This is a street view of the village:


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The first time Henry shows up in the census is 1881. (Parts of the Glamorgan census for 1871 are missing - along with the Ball family). He is shown as "Henery", age 17, and is listed as a rural messenger. Henry is living with his parents, sister Charlotte and youngest brother, Thomas in Scurlage Castle, Llanddewi.

More to follow.
Cheers, K.

Charlotte Balment - Life in Wales with a growing family

Sometime between after March 1858 and early 1861, Charlotte and William moved from Bray Town, Devon to Scurlage, Llanddewi, Wales. It must have been a big change to moved household across the Bristol Channel and to settle in a new place. What pushed or pulled them? The lure of a job, better home, family, friends or a tradegy? If I ever come across the answers, I will be sure to post.

Following their move to Gower, Charlotte gave birth to John (1861), Henry (1863), Elizabeth (1865), Charlotte (1868) and Thomas (1875). The family lived in Scurlage Castle as late as the 1881 census, before moving on to Penarth.

What was life like for Charlotte with 6 children with 17 years between the youngest and eldest? Very busy, I would suspect.

Cheers, K.

William Huxtable Ball in the 1881 Wales Census

According to the 1881 Wales Census, William H. Ball is 44 years of age, earning a living as a blacksmith. His birth year is 1837. Charlotte, his spouse, is listed as age 49, whose occupation is shown as "Blacksmiths wife". The following individuals are listed as living in the home: Charlotte, daughter, age 12, Henery (misspelling of Henry), age 17, rural messenger, and Thomas, age 6, scholar, which meant that he was attending regular (but not necessarily full-time) school or being home schooled (although it is doubtful that he was being taught by his mother Charlotte as she continued to sign documents with an 'X'). The family is living in Scurlage Castle, Llanndewi, Glamorgan, Wales.

This was the first census in which my great-grandfather appeared and was the first real indication in my research that the family had been in Wales. One of the first websites that I found was the Welsh Family Archive run by John Ball (no relation). John's kind words and encouragement when we connected through his website furthered my interest in discovering my Welsh heritage - which continues today.

Cheers, K.

Birth of a son, Thomas Huxtable, 1875

The last child of William Huxtable Ball and Charlotte Balment was my great-grandfather, Thomas Huxtable Ball. Thomas was born in 5 July 1875 in Scurlage Castle, Llanddewi, Glamorgan, Wales. The occupation of his father, William, is listed as a blacksmith.

You can find more information about Scurlage here from the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.

I've found an Ordnance Survey map which shows Scurlage Castle, which was located between Knelston and Scurlage. You can view it here here. The OS reference is SS462882, if you need to re-enter the reference code.

Cheers, K.

William and the 1871 Wales Census

Well, I suppose that you would think finding William Huxtable Ball and his family would not be too hard. They emigrated to Wales sometime around 1858-1861 and seemed to have stayed put through the following decade...or so I thought.

I searched high and low for the family in the 1871 census, but kept coming up with dead ends. Looked for everyone in the family, looked for them in Devon, looked or them in neighbouring counties, checked the census on Find My Past - still nothing.Only when I read the source description in Ancestry, which detailed how parts of the 1871 for the county of Glamorgan had been lost, then I realized that my searching was in vain. It pays to read the fine print...and likely will save your eyesight and sanity in the long run.

In any case, my best guess would be that the family remained in Scurlage Castle, Glamorgan, as we shall see next...

Cheers, K.

Birth of a daughter, Charlotte, 1868

William and Charlotte welcomed a second daughter, named Charlotte, in 1868. Her birth was registered during the second quarter of the year (April-May-June). The registration district was listed as Gower in the county of Glamorgan. I suspect that the family was still living in the Scurlage Castle area as Thomas Huxtable Ball, the next child born to William and Charlotte, has his birthplace listed there.

Cheers, K.

Birth of son, Henry Ball, and daughter, Elizabeth Ann Ball 1863-1865

William Huxtable Ball and wife, Charlotte, saw the birth of a son and daughter between the years of 1863 and 1865. Henry's birth was registered in the last quarter of 1863 in the Gower Disrict of Wales. Elizabeth Ann's birth certificate states that she was born in Scurlage Castle, Llanddewi on 28 October 1865. Her father's occupation is listed as "Blacksmith".

You may be wondering, as I did, about the place name 'Scurlage Castle'. While very romantic sounding, there is no actual castle at modern day Scurlage, only a Tudor farm reputed to be on the site of a castle dating from the late medieval period. This is a link to information from the Gower Magazine site regarding the Scurlage Castle site and village. This is a link to information from the Gatehouse website, a comprehensive gazeteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications, and palaces of England, Wales and the Islands on Scurlage Castle..

Cheers, K.

Birth of another son, John Ball and the 1861 Wales Census

The change of the decade brought many changes to the family of William Huxtable Ball. I could no longer find him in Devon. Knowing that Thomas Huxtable had been born and raised in Wales, I decided to search the 1861 Wales Census. I did find a birth registered in January-March 1861 index which showed that a John Ball had been born in Gower, Wales. Then, I found William Huxtable Ball living with Charlotte, William James, age 3 and John Ball, age 2 months, in Scurlage House, Llanddewi, Gower, Glamorgan in the 1861 Wales Census.

Where is Llanddewi? Well, it is a parish is located 14 miles west and south of the town of Swansea in the County of Glamorgan, in south Wales. The population in 1861 is noted as 149. This is a map of the area:


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GENUKI also offers a number of map links to view the area. I suspect that the family lived closer to what is modern day Scurlage.

Here is a street view of Scurlage and the countryside surrouding it:

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What pushed or pulled William and his young family to Wales, I am not sure. It could have been the lure of a job, steady work, family ties or the influence of friends. Whatever it was, it started a new chapter in the history of the Ball family.

Cheers, K.