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.

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

Visions of family sporting glory... shortlived

Well.. my hope that Swansea football star, Billy Ball, was one of my elusive Ball cousins has been dashed... Based on inquiries that I made to the Local Studies Department of the Swansea Central Library and the 100 Years of Swansea City FC Project at Swansea University I can safely presume that Billy Ball, was not one of my William Ball cousins, born 1892 and 1893 in Glamorgan.

Philip Bethell, Project Officer from the Department of History and Classics from Swansea University indicated that Billy Ball, of Swansea FC fame, had been transferred to Swansea Town in 1912 from Stoke, and had played for Swansea until 1920. Ball remained in Swansea until his death in November 1960, at the age of 72 (estimated birth year late 1887 or 1888). My William Spickett Ball died in 1982 and William Henry died sometime before July 1947.

Local Studies Librarian, Gwilym Games, Swansea Central Library, confirmed the above information, and noted that the Swansea Club recruited established players from all over the UK to ensure that the club got off to a good start. It is possible that Billy was the same Billy Ball from West Derby, who played for Manchester United in 1904-1906, and was born in 1886.

Many thanks to Gwilym and Philip for all of their help! One mystery laid to rest, but always another one around the corner...

Cheers, K.

A bit of a flutter about Billy Ball

A couple of weeks back, one of my distant Welsh cousins sent me a scan of a brief history tidbit which noted that the "aptly named Billy Ball" had scored the first goal for the Swansea City football (otherwise known as 'soccer' to those of us in North America) team in their opening match on 7 Sep 1912 against Cardiff (game ended in a 1-1 tie).

While it was a very long shot, I started on the hunt for Billy Ball - knowing that we had two cousins in the family, both named William Ball (one Wm Henry and the other Wm Spickett), who were born in 1892 and 1893 respectively, which would have put them around age 19-20, when the match was played. According to the 1911 census, they were both working in a Cardiff bakery, operated by the Evans family, who were related to the mother of William Henry. After 1911, the trail went cold, but I found them later in life.

My father always talked about my great-grandfather, Thomas Ball, having played rugby for Wales. I grew up thinking that there was some great sporting legacy in the family. However, since starting this journey, I haven't been able to place Thomas in any rugby league or on any team. There are a couple of years in his late teens for which I have no information. In the back of my mind, the lost sporting glory may be lurking in these shadows... but without any proof, I remain open to the possibility that the story may be fiction or misunderstood by Dad. When the news of Billy Ball came to light, I thought that maybe this was the sports legacy retold so many times by my father.

So what of Billy Ball? The newspaper site, WalesOnline, carried an article mentioning Billy Ball. I was able to find a wonderful online archive of Swansea City FC on the 100 Years of Swansea City FC blog. I was also able to find a photograph of him on the Swansea University Flickr site. I've made a few inquiries about him and will let you know what I can find out.

Cheers, K.

Charlotte (Ball) Down - Obituary 17 Apr 1947

There were two short death notices for Charlotte (Ball) Down, which appeared in the Penarth Times of 17 April 1947. The first one read:

DEATHS
DOWN - On 14th April, at 140 Plassey
Street, Penarth, Charlotte, beloved
wife of the late Wm. Down and much
loved mother of Sharley and Will.
Funeral, Friday, 2:30, for Penarth
Cemetery.
The second notice read:
OBITUARY
MRS. C. DOWN
The death occurred at her home,
140, Plassey Street, of Mrs. Charlotte
Down, at the age of 78. She had been
in ill health for many years, and was
the wife of the late Mr. William Down,
who was in the employ of the G.W.R.
one daughter, Mrs. Sharley Nichols, and
a son survive. The funeral takes place
on Friday.

The G.W.R. reference for William Down means that he had worked for the Great Western Railway.

I found it curious that William Spickett Ball ('Will' in the first notice), was not mentioned by name in the second notice. Had there been a falling out between brother and sister? Did one notice get put in by one sibling the second by another? I know that William was working as a caretaker at the Penarth Library by this time - so he was around. Or was the omission of his name in the second notice purely an oversight?

Always something to think about. What are your thoughts?

Cheers, K.

Charlotte Ball and the birth of her child, William Spickett Ball, 1892

Well, this is my 100th post to the Ball Bureau and, although not consciously planned, it is about breaking through a brickwall and exposing a few family secrets. As I mentioned at the end of my post yesterday, there always were stories about Charlotte having had a child out of wedlock. My great aunt Gwen had mentioned it in her family history note that got me going on this journey, but gave few details as to the child's identity or story. Other family members (my grandmother and my father's cousin) knew about the child, but they could not offer any more information. It always seemed as if this child was never really part of our family's story.

When the 1901 UK census was first released around 2002, I learned that Charlotte (now married) was living with her husband William Down, father William Huxtable Ball, and a child identified as William Ball, age 8. grandson at 18 Railway Terrace, Penarth, Wales. This was the first clue that William could have been the child out of wedlock, but the 1891 census kept throwing me off, with the misplaced Robert John Edwards, the mystery nephew living with Charlotte and her brothers John and Thomas. As time went on, I learned that older brother, Henry, also had a son named William, about the same age. So was this William in Penarth in 1901 - the child of Charlotte or Henry?

When I tracked down Henry, I found him in the 1901 census with his children, including young William Henry Ball, in Penarth. Luckily (or should I say, expensively...) for me, there were more than a few babies named William Ball who were born in Glamorgan between 1891 and 1895. After ordering a couple of wrong certificates, I finally received the birth certificate for William Henry, dated 1893 and was able to confirm the child as Henry's. But Charlotte's William still remained a mystery. A newly-found third cousin provided some more information - that 'Billy Ball' as he was known to his branch of the family was a longtime resident of Penarth and had worked as the caretaker of the Penarth Library.

I went back over the indexes and ordered the certificate that I had excluded previously - with the middle name of Spickett - as it seemed to have no family connection to the Ball family. When it arrived, I was delighted to learn that I had found Charlotte's out of wedlock child, William Spickett Ball.

Charlotte gave birth to a boy, named William Spickett Ball, on 3 Apr 1892, in the village of Wig Fach, near Porthcawl (Brigend), Glamorgan. This is map of the location of William's birth:


View Larger Map

And this is a Google street view of Wig Fach, inside the Happy Valley Campground, outside of Porthcawl:


View Larger Map

Baby William's birth certificate names no father. Charlotte's occupation is given as "housekeeper" and the informant was shown as "C. Ball" mother, Wig Fach, Merthyr Mawr. I have made the assumption that this was her mother Charlotte Ball. The birth was registered on 16 Apr 1892 and Thomas Jenkins was the Registrar. Charlotte's move to Wig Fach may have been related to her pregnancy and the birth of her child. Her mother may have come along to assist her. The year prior, Charlotte had been living with brothers John and Thomas on John's farm in Little Hill, St. Andrews.

Who was William's father? Could it have been Charlotte's husband William Down? I am not entirely sure. I think that the name Spickett is a clue to William's paternity, but I have been unable to make any definite conclusions. On the same page of the 1891 census for Little Hill, St. Andrews, there appears a family named Spickett. The members of the Spickett household are elderly, aged 70-76 - head of the household is Elizabeth, age 70, sister Mary, age 72 and brother-in-law, Robert, age 76 - all living on their own means. Could William's father been related to this family? Another mystery to solve...

Cheers, K.

William Huxtable Ball's Will 1927

In my research, I was delighted to come across the will and last testament of William Huxtable Ball as it opened up several venues of research for me and let me know that my great-grandfather, Thomas, had not been forgotten after leaving for Canada over 21 years prior to his father's death.

The will was probated in the District Probate Registry of His Majesty's High Court of Justice at Llandaff on 21 December 1927. John Ball of Tygwyn Farm, Saint Andrews, farmer, and Henry Ball, of 96 Plassey Street, Penarth, grocer's vanman, sons of William, were named as executors. The net value of William's estate was given as 532 GBP. Witnesses to the will were David Davies, 4 Victoria Avenue and Isaac Thomas, 138 Plassey Street, both of Penarth.

William owned the homes at 140 and 141 Plassey Street. His daughter, Charlotte Down, was bequeathed the house and contents at 140 Plassey Street. Upon her death or that of her husband (as long as he didn't remarry), the house was to be sold and the net proceeds equally divided between William's grandchildren, William Spickett Ball and Charlotte Agnes Down. Charlotte Agnes was to also receive the furniture in the house. The grandchildren were bequeathed 10 GBP each upon William's death.

The house and contents of 141 Plassey Street were to be sold at William's death, and along with his savings at the Post Office, were to be equally divided, after payment of all outstanding debts, between his other 4 children: John Ball, Henry Ball, Thomas Huxtable Ball and Elizabeth Ann Edwards, and granddaughter, Mabel Charlotte Ball. The will also specified that if Elizabeth died before before her father, her share was to be equally divided among her siblings, John, Henry and Thomas. Interestingly, if Thomas died before William, his share was to go to his wife.

The will proved to be a gold mine of information. For the first time, I learned of the identity of Charlotte's first (and illegitimate) child, William Spickett Ball. There had been many family stories that she had a child out of wedlock (also mentioned in my great-aunt Gwen's note), but there had been many William Balls listed in the UK birth indexes, it was difficult to pin him down (and after having ordered a couple of wrong birth certificates, I had put aside that search). I also discovered a daughter of William and Charlotte, Elizabeth Ann Edwards, of whom I had no knowledge as she did not appear on any of the censuses with family members. This discovery opened up a new branch of the family to explore.

It was reassuring to see that Thomas was mentioned in the will - not for monetary gain, but for the fact that he had not been forgotten. Living so far away from the family in Penarth, Thomas was a world away with a new life, community and family who had never met their Welsh relations.

May peace, health and happiness be yours during this holiday season. Cheers, K.

William in the 1901 Wales Census

The 1901 Wales Census reveals some significant changes in the Ball household. William's spouse, Charlotte, passed away in October 1897. I did find a 1897 Wright's Directory of Cardiff which showed William's address as 18 Railway Terrace, Penarth. This address corresponds to William's household address in the 1901 census.

According to Ancestry Library Edition, the 1901 census was taken on the night of 31 March 1901. William is shown as age 63, with a birth year of 1838 and an occupation of dairyman. With him in the house are the following people: Charlotte Down, his daughter, age 32, son-in-law, William Down, age 34, who is a railway labourer, and William Ball, grandson, age 8 (there's a real interesting story about William, which I will save for later).

This is a map of their household address in Penarth:


View Larger Map
And this is a street view of house (or at least the current address for the house:


View Larger Map

The house on the left is number 17. I suspect that 18 may have been next door on the right. Across the street, you will see the train tracks.

Did Charlotte's passing bring daughter Charlotte, her husband, William and son, William Ball into the household? Or where other reasons?

Much still to learn...

Cheers, K.