William Huxtable Ball - England Census 1851

In the 1851 England census, William is shown as age 14 (birth year noted as 1837). His occupation is shown as "Working home as a Tailor", which likely means that he was an apprentice to his father, John, who is shown as "Tailor and Draper". Living in the household are his father, John, age 54, tailor and draper, his mother, Elizabeth, age 53, his brother John, age 25, "Cabinet Maker, French Polisher" and sister, Louisa, "Scholar", which would have meant that she was attending school. The family is shown as living in Stags Head, South Molton, Devon.

Cheers, K.

William in the 1841 England Census

According to the 1841 England census, William was living in the hamlet of Stags Head, in the parish of South Molton, Devon, with his family. His father, John, age 40, is listed as a "taylor". Also in the household are his mother, Elzabeth, age 40, sister, Elizabeth, age 12, and younger sister, Louisa, age 1. William's age is shown as 4, with a birth year of 1837 - which seems to be the birth year most commonly used for him in later documents, despite the 1836 baptism entry from the Filleigh Index on GENUKI.

To get an idea of where the Balls were living click here to see a 1950's map of the area from oldemaps.co.uk. Stag's Head is located between Filleigh and South Molton. The Stags Head Inn still exists and is operated as a pub/restaurant/B&B. This inn is definitely on my must-see list!

Cheers, K.