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.

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.

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.

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.

Mabel Charlotte Ball - an update

My apologies for the sluggish pace of postings lately. It's conference season and I've been packing the archives for an upcoming move - which has not meant a lot of time for genealogy. And I do miss the research...

Nevertheless, in the past few weeks, I've been able to obtain the birth and marriage certificates for Mabel Charlotte Ball. Mabel was born on 19 February 1882 in Frog Moor, Reynoldston, Glamorgan


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Her parents were William James Ball and Mary Shepherd. William was the informant of the birth, which was registered 13 March 1882. His occupation was given as 'blacksmith". J. Gordon was the registrar.

Mabel was married on 9 April 1927 at the Tabernacle Baptist Chapel in Penarth to Edward John Newton, a widower, age 50. Edward was a commercial clerk, who resided at 177 Redland Road, Bristol. His father was Alfred John Newton, a retired foreman. Mabel was 45 years old at the time of her marriage and had been living at 140 Plassey Street in Penarth (home of her grandfather, William Huxtable Ball). Her father was listed as William James Ball, deceased. The witnesses to the marriage were Alice Mary Newton and R. Edward Gwyn Nicholas. Edward and Mabel were married by certificate the Plassey Street Baptist Chapel.

I'm told by a third cousin that Edward was known as "Jack". He was also blind. Jack and Mabel lived in Bristol after their marriage.

We're off on holidays the next two weeks, so I will wish everyone a healthy, happy and safe Canada Day (still 'Dominion Day' to me) long weekend.

Cheers, K.

William James Ball - Statement of Death, 10 Jan 1922

William's struggle with his health, both physical and mental, ended on 10 January 1922, at 11:55am. Th details of his passing were recorded with succinct detail on the Statement of Death. It noted that William was 63 years old, male and a widower. His usual address was 2 St. George's Terrace, Reynoldston. The cause of death was Bright's Disease, of an unknown duration. The contributory cause of death was listed as "Mania". A post mortem ascertained the cause of death and no unusual circumstances, including injuries, surrounding his death were noted.

I often have thought about William and the long stretches that he spent at the asylum - how lonely and frightening it must have been. While visitors are not noted in his records, I hope that he was not forgotten by family and friends.

Many thanks go to the staff at the Glamorgan Archives in Cardiff for their permission to use William's photographs and their assistance with obtaining the records.

Cheers, K.

William James Ball and the Glamorgan Asylum, 1921

On 22 October 1921, William James Ball was admitted to the Glamorgan Asylum at Angleton for a fifth and final time. His re-admission noted "Recent Mania" as the primary diagnosis. His daughter, Mabel (Charlotte) Ball, of 140 Plassey Street, Penarth, was listed as his closest relative. Mary, his wife, had passed away in 1919. His intake states that William was "talkative, restless, sleepless , violent at times, roams about night & day & is quite unable to care for himself." His most recent episode began a week prior to his admission. He had been reported as "alright" up until then. He was frail physically and doctors noted his laboured breathing.

The notes for 23 October 1921 mention that William's thinking continued to be deluded. He told his doctors "that he makes lots of money in his room, but won't divulge the secret." William is described as mischievous, "goes through a lot of antics". Staff note that he was fairly well, although suffering from bronchitis. His condition remains much the same through the notes dated up to 3 December 1921. His kidney functioning was noted as being abnormal and had been for some time.

On 4 January 1922, the doctor noted that William was steadily deteriorating, restless and fairly weak. William's suffering came to an end on 10 January 1922. The entry for that morning reads "He died this morning at 11-55". The following day, a post-morten examination was held. The last notation in the file reads "Died".

With his passing, William's anguish and unhappy life ended. It is difficult to believe that he was admitted a total of five times over twenty years and spent much time in care.

Regards, K.