The burial place of Thomas Ball

Thomas Ball, my 4x great grandfather, died on 12 January 1873, at his residence - Francis Cottage, Highgate, England. I have been unable to find a record for his burial, but I have always suspected that he might have been buried in Highgate Cemetery, mainly because of the close proximity of his home to the cemetery. 

The Highgate Cemetery website requests a payment of £40 to look up a burial for someone. Considering I was looking for Thomas, and also hoping that his wife Sarah might also be buried there, I wasn't about to spend £80 on just a hunch. 

There was one other option though: the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre at the Holborn Library holds burial and grave registers for Highgate Cemetery. And you can visit a library for free! Perfect. 

The indexes to the burial registers are ordered by year, and are partially in alphabetical order - only to the first letter of the surname. And I found Thomas relatively easily, because I knew the year he died. 

The entry in the index said that Thomas' burial number was 42405, his grave number was 4383, and that his place of death (abode) was Pond Square, Highgate, St Pancras. 

The following is the entry in the burial register: 

The entry in the grave register contained a lot of information, including all the other people buried in the same grave. Unfortunately, that didn't include Thomas' wife Sarah. Seven people in all - mostly Thomas' grandchildren, with the following comment written at the bottom "This grave is quite full." I'll say.

The final thing I was able to find out was the actual location of the grave in the cemetery. 

The grave register noted that the grave was in section 53 of the Old Ground. This is in the West Cemetery, which you can only access by appointment, and if you give them two weeks notice they can go and find the grave, clear access to it, and then take you to it. Perhaps one day I'll be able to organise that. 

The problem with Thomas' wife Sarah not being there (it would have been really convenient if she was) is that I can't actually find her death date. She must have died between the 1861 Census and the 1871 Census, but that's as much as I've been able to narrow it down. And if she's not buried with her husband, who IS she buried with? Her parents? Her daughter? I'll have to keep looking.

The Smiths

I've recently been working on some Smiths. I've done some research on Smiths before, but they were on the maternal side of my family. These Smiths are on the paternal side - Susanna(h) Smith married James Ball at Hoxton St John, Hackney on 16 April 1835.

The surname of Smith can be an appallingly difficult one to research, especially if you have a John Smith and a Mary Smith in the mix, which happen to be the names of Susannah's parents. Helpfully, Susannah's parents made my research slightly easier because they were apparently great fans of alliteration and gave all their children names beginning with 'S' - Susannah, Samuel, Shadrach and Sarah, and possibly also Seth and Salina. I don't remember where I found the names of Seth and Salina, but I'm leaving them here as possible children because their names do start with S, but do be aware that they may not be correct. I have not been able to find any concrete evidence for their existence.

This Smith family seems to be from around the Bedford/Bletchley/Leighton Buzzard area. I have not actually been able to find any birth/baptism records for them. According to the records I have found, Samuel was the eldest child, born in about 1802 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire (from the 1851 English census). Next was Sarah, born in about 1808, in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire (according to the 1851 and 1861 censuses). Shadrach was born in about 1811 in Bletchley (1851 census). And according to her immigration records (upon immigration to Australia in 1857) and the 1851 census, Susannah was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire in 1815.

John Smith was noted as a linen weaver from Leighton Buzzard on the birth record of his grandson James William Ball, (son of James and Susannah Ball née Smith). The record does not state whether John Smith was actually still living at the time of the birth in 1837. Certainly John and Mary are both recorded as dead when Susannah immigrated to Australia in 1857.

One of the reasons why it has been difficult to find information on the family is because at least all the children in the family were non-conformist in their religion - I don't know if their parents were. Although some of James and Susannah Ball's own children were baptised in the Church of England, some were not - James William Ball's birth is found on a non-conformist register. Immigration records list the denomination of the Ball family as "Independent", which is also known as "Congregationalist".

Susannah's unmarried brother Samuel was living at 16 Beaumont Square, Mile End Old Town in the 1851 English census and his occupation was "Minister of Religion (Independent) and Lecturer".

Shadrach lived with his wife Elizabeth just down the road from Samuel at 2 Beaumont Square. As far as I can tell, they had no children. Shadrach was a printer according to the 1841 and 1851 censuses, but he did much more than that according to the death notice his sister Susannah placed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 31 Aug 1860:

I don't know this for sure because I haven't yet managed to access any Congregationalist ministers records, but I am guessing Samuel may well have worked at the same church that Shadrach attended - the Mile End Congregational Church.

Sarah was a governess who married later in life, aged 40, to a twice-widowed man, William Griffith Marsh - I'm guessing she was governess to his children. I have not been able to find a record for their marriage apart from in the civil records, and it is my hunch that they married in a Congregationalist church and their marriage is buried amongst the non-conformist records. I have not found any records for Sarah having any children.

Susannah Ball née Smith (1815-23 Oct 1871) is buried in Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney, NSW. Sarah Marsh née Smith (c1808-Mar 1864) is buried in Abney Park Cemetery, a non-conformist cemetery in Hackney, in the same plot as her brother Shadrach (c1811-31 May 1860), and his wife Elizabeth. I've not yet been able to work out when Samuel died, but it was before Shadrach, and he is not buried in Abney Park Cemetery.

Church records at the Mitchell Library

I spent the day in the Mitchell Library Manuscripts Collection yesterday, looking at microfilmed church records. The records have been microfilmed by the Society of Australian Genealogists, from the original parish registers. If you can find the record you are looking for (not always) it's a cheaper option (free!) than ordering a transcript or official record from NSW Births Deaths and Marriages, though it's not nearly a comprehensive collection of the records of every single church in the state. Obviously the information for birth and death records will be not quite the same as for a baptism or burial record, but the marriage information is pretty much the same.

I was looking for information for St Paul's Church of England, Redfern (now a Greek Orthodox church and theological seminary), and St Thomas' Church of England, North Sydney.

For St Paul's Redfern I was looking for information on the Merrick family. My aunt has a prayer book that was awarded to my great grandmother, Ethel Sarah Merrick, by her teacher at St Paul's Sunday School, when she was 19, for "Answers to Scripture Questions".

It's a bit intriguing that she was still attending Sunday School at that age, but it does at least suggest that the family worshipped there. I was looking for a marriage record for James Merrick and Eliza Jane Ball (my great great grandparents), and for baptism records for any of their children. I would have looked for burial records too, but there were none available - presumably because there was no cemetery attached to the church? Unfortunately, I was unable to find the marriage record, and the baptism registers from July 1879 to October 1891 are missing - they were never received at St Andrew's House (head office for the Sydney Diocese) from the parish - and this covers most of the births of the Merrick children. Although the birth of Susanna Jane Merrick should have been in the registers (born about 1876), it wasn't there. It suggests to me that her parents were married in a different parish, and she was baptised elsewhere also. The only baptism record I could find was for Esther (Essie) Louisa Merrick.

• "Esther Louise Meyrick (sic)" was baptised on February 3 1878 at St Paul's Redfern, born on 5 January 1878 to James and Elizabeth (sic). Her abode was Vine St, Redfern, and her father's occupation was listed as Government Employee. That he was a government employee is very surprising to me - James Merrick was a bootmaker - so I'm not sure what the government would have employed him to do!

For St Thomas' North Sydney I was looking for records on the Smith family. There's quite a bit I don't know about the Smiths, partly because they were on the poorer side of society and didn't generally put notices in papers, nor did they get themselves into newspapers for any other reason. And then there's the fact that their surname was Smith... not the most unusual of surnames! So I was hoping that the church records might shed a little more light on them. I already knew that James Smith and Sarah Ann Adamson (my great great great grandparents) were married at the Wesleyan Methodist Princes St Chapel on 28 June 1853. However, I also knew that some of the family were buried in the St Thomas' Cemetery, so there was a good chance the family attended St Thomas'. Although there was a Methodist presence on the North Shore, it was struggling, and this is perhaps why the Smiths went to St Thomas'.

• Ann Jane Smith (my great great grandmother) was baptised in the Sydney North Circuit (of Wesleyan Methodist church) on 11 November 1854, born to James and Sarah Smith on 20 October 1854. The family's abode was "North Shore" and James Smith's profession was recorded as "labourer". This particular information was actually obtained from the family history section of the State Reference Library, from the Registers of Baptisms, Burials and Marriages 1787-1856 microfilm. These are early records from before civil registration began in 1856.
• Eliza Annie Smith was baptised on 1 February 1863 at St Thomas', born to James and Sarah Smith on 11 January 1863. Their abode was "Willoughby" and James Smith's profession was "labourer".
• Susan Smith was baptised on 24 September 1865 at St Thomas', born to James and Sarah Smith on 1 July 1865. Their abode was "St Leonards", James' profession was "laborer", and the witnesses were Wm. Sparkes, Ann Jane Adamson, and Eliza Anne (Barker?).
• William Mark Smith was baptised at St Thomas' on 4 June 1871, born to James and Sarah Smith on 20 April 1871. Their abode was "St Leonards" and James was a "quarryman". This is the first time I have seen William's full name of William Mark Smith.
• Maria Smith was buried on 30 November 1861 at 4pm in St Thomas' Cemetery. She died 29 November 1861, her abode was St Leonards, and she was 8 months, 3 weeks old when she died. There is a note that she had been baptised by Mr Hurst, and was a child of James and Sarah Smith.
• James Smith was buried in St Thomas' Cemetery on 6 July 1879. He died on 4 July 1879, aged 49 years 7 months. His abode was St Leonards, and his profession was quarryman. I wonder where the quarry was?
• Susan Smith was buried in St Thomas' Cemetery on 23 December 1881, having died on 2 December 1881. She was 16 years old, and her abode was St Leonards.

So I still found no reference to the 2 deceased males recorded on the death record of James Smith in 1879. Interestingly they were not noted on their mother Sarah's death record. I can only assume that they were never baptised and their births were not officially recorded. They must have died young. Which makes me wonder what they did with the bodies of the two little boys whose births and deaths were never officially recorded... I'm not suggesting anything sinister here, I'm just wondering!

I also browsed through the other reels of microfilms and found some for the Scots Church Sydney (Presbyterian), relating to Rev Dr John Dunmore Lang. I knew that one couple amongst my relatives had been married by Rev Dr Lang, so I dug deep in my memory (and my smart phone!) and found it was Samuel Harper and Susanna Ball, sister of Eliza Jane, who married James Merrick, and daughter of James and Susanna Ball (my great great great grandparents). So I also found the marriage record for them.

• Marriage of Samuel Harper and Susanna Ball on 23 September 1865 at Botany Rd, Sydney, by John Dunmore Lang. Samuel Harper was a bachelor, born in Sydney, NSW, a Custom House Officer, 24 years old, from Botany Road, Redfern. His parents were John Harper, ironmonger, and Charlotte Styles. Susanna Ball was a spinster, born in London, living with her parents, 22 years old, living in Redfern. Her parents were James Ball, bookbinder, and Susanna Smith (no relation to the Smiths above). The witnesses were Geo. West and Louisa Ball.

Thanks go to my aunt for the above photos of the prayer book.

James Ball, Redfern Municipal Councillor/Alderman

I spent a bit of time at the City of Sydney Archives last week. I can't remember where I first saw it, but a little while ago I discovered that a James Ball was a councillor of Redfern Municipal Council. Was it my James Ball, my great, great, great grandfather? No one in my family knew anything about it...

Redfern Municipal Council no longer exists but I was able to work out that the Redfern council records that do still exist (many do not) are held by the City of Sydney. I contacted their archives and they were able to tell me that a James Ball was indeed a councillor of Redfern Municipal Council between 1865 and 1867. I made an appointment to look through the Redfern Municipal Council Minutes books, held at the City of Sydney archives.

The minutes show that on Thursday 16th February 1865, Mr. James Ball of Botany Road was elected a councillor of Redfern Ward with 79 votes (with a majority of 23). He was proposed by Mr. Robert Ellison, who was elected councillor of Surry Hills ward at the same meeting.

So, my great great great grandfather was in local politics. He was quickly co-opted onto the Finance Committee, which is interesting considering he had been bankrupt back in London! The meeting minutes show that they were sticklers for getting the processes of the meetings correct, moving motions and seconding and debating etc. However for all the legalism, the council certainly did some good, as most of the correspondence to the council at the time seemed to be about petitions to upgrade street drainage and roads, which they generally approved, unless there weren't enough funds available.

The councillors (later aldermen) seemed to have a rotation of three years on council, so in 1867 James Ball was up for election again. It was a two-horse race, between James and Mr. Henry Hudson. James received 129 votes, and Mr. Hudson 175, so my great great great grandfather's reign on Redfern Municipal Council was at an end. He was never re-elected to council.

The grave of James and Susanna Ball

The other day my aunt and I visited Rookwood Cemetery to see if we could locate the grave of James and Susanna Ball. They are buried in the Anglican cemetery, section B, in graves 274 and 275. Until recently, there were no good markers in the Anglican section to give you any idea of what the grave numbers were, but a little while ago someone went through and put in little white stakes, with numbers on them at the ends of the rows. SOOO helpful!

We located the right row and walked along but it didn't leap out at us. Closer inspection found it, with the headstone fallen onto the actual grave, though it was at least right-side up, and completely overgrown by grass, bulbs and a couple of camphor laurel saplings. We cleared away the grass and leaves as best we could and attempted to transcribe it. It was very weathered in places, so it took us quite some time to work it all out - we think we've got it all correct!

Sacred to the Memory 

of 

Susanna 

the beloved wife of 

James Ball 

of Botany Road Redfern 

who departed this life 

October 23rd 1871 

aged 57 years 

She hath done what she could. 

Now in a nobler sweeter song 

I sing His power to save, 

Whilst my poor lisping stammering tongue 

Lies silent in the grave.

Also to the memory of 

her four children who died in the City of London 

Thomas John aged 3, Emma aged 2 

Mary Ann aged 2, Arthur Henry 1

Also the above 

James Ball 

who died 7 May 1879 

aged 66 years 

The memory of the just is blessed.

Also 

Louis Affriatt 

infant son of 

Henry A and Louisa Wilson 

and grandson of the above 

Died 2nd June 1879 aged 13 months 

Thy will be done

Also 

Elsie Louisa Wilson 

Died 27th October 1883 

Aged 16 months

"She hath done what she could" suggests a woman who had a hard life but did her very best under often trying circumstances. Considering Susanna Ball lost four infant children, her husband was in debtors prison for at least two months, and she travelled with her family all the way to the other side of the world to begin a new life in a foreign land, never to return "home", I certainly think she faced some hardship.

The quote in italics is from the hymn "There is a Fountain" by William Cowper. It gives us some idea of what Susanna believed, that once her mortal body died she would be in heaven, singing the praises of her saviour Jesus.

James Ball, bookbinder AND carpenter

The Ball family in England is one of the parts of my family that I have found frustratingly little about. But every now and then I try all my usual searches on them to see if any new information has been loaded onto Ancestry, Findmypast and FamilySearch.

Yesterday I was looking up James Ball, my great great great grandfather, and discovered something new. Even though I knew he died in Sydney, after emigrating from England in 1857, I was looking under the British parish records collection for burials. For some reason they have details of some Sydney burials in there (I don't quite understand why), and I happened upon the burial records for James and his wife Susannah. I've looked for them before out at Rookwood Cemetery, but had not been able to locate the graves, as the Anglican section of the cemetery at that time was completely unmapped.

However, I discovered yesterday that with the graves for James and Susannah is also a memorial for four of their children "who died in the City of London": Thomas John, aged 3, Emma, aged 2, Mary Ann, aged 2, and Arthur Henry, aged 1. Although it didn't note the children's dates of death, this was a starting point as I previously had no knowledge of their existence, apart from Thomas John!

I already knew that Thomas John had been buried in the Middle Ground of the New Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, Islington, on May 2, 1844 - this was known from the London Non-conformist registers. I then managed to find that Mary Ann was buried at St Gregory by St Paul, aged 15 months, on 28 March 1850, her abode given as 20 Little Carter Street. I still cannot find anything in relation to Emma and Arthur Henry, but at least I'm aware of their existence now!

Thomas John and Mary Ann were buried in different graveyards, under different Christian denominations (St Gregory by St Paul is Church of England, non-conformist churches were other protestant churches, such as Methodist, Baptist etc) and I wondered why this was. Checking the known baptisms for all the Ball children, I found some previously undiscovered ones: Susannah, Louisa and Eliza (Eliza Jane) were baptised together at St Jude's, Bethnal Green (Church of England) on 11 May 1856, with their actual birthdates noted (Susannah: 27 May 1843, Louisa: 22 August 1845, Eliza Jane: 30 July 1847). When they emigrated to Australia, their religion was noted as Independent, however James and Susannah were buried in the Church of England (now Anglican) section of Rookwood Cemetery when they died. When their children married in Australia, they were married by Presbyterian and Wesleyan Methodist ministers. I tend to think that they gravitated to the nearest church wherever they were, but perhaps had a soft spot for non-conformist denominations.

The baptism records for the three girls also noted their father James was a carpenter, and that they lived at 1 Johns Place, Essex Street. I have puzzled before over James as a carpenter - the only reference I had previously found was in the immigration records when they arrived in Australia, despite the fact that I know he worked as a bookbinder in Little Carter Lane, London, and also in Redfern, Sydney. So it made me wonder what it might be that made him change profession before leaving for Australia. I wondered if his bookbinding business might have gone bankrupt. After some searching, I found that's exactly what did happen.

The first I can find of it is a notice in the London Gazette that he was to appear at the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors on 7 January 1854: "James Ball, late of No. 23 Lambeth-hill, Thames Street, London, Stationer and Bookbinder - in the Debtors' Prison for London and Middlesex." Another notice stated that he was formerly of 20 Little Carter-lane, then and late of 23 Lambeth-hill, Thames St.

He was imprisoned because of his debts. What happened to his family while he was in prison? If he was unable to pay his debts, I'm sure he wouldn't have been able to afford the rest on the house they were living in, so where did they live? According to immigration records, James' wife Susannah was a house servant, and possibly her meagre income was what they lived off during this time.

The Morning Post of 27 February 1854 contained a small article about the case:

"THE CITY IMPROVEMENTS - IN RE JAMES BALL
This insolvent, a bookbinder, &c., applied under the Protection Act. Mr Sargood opposed. The case created some laughter. The insolvent attributed his insolvency to the removal of his business from Carter-lane in consequence of the City improvements. He got 200l., having asked for 400l. He heard it was usual to get half of what was asked. (A laugh.) He then went to Lambeth-hill, hoping another line of improvement might be made, so that he might make a speculation, but he had been disappointed (laughter). The case adjourned to serve a creditor."

It rather suggests that James was slightly naive in his business dealings...

On March 24 1854 the Morning Post reported:

I don't understand half of that article, nor really what the outcome was, but it apparently left James in the position of no longer having a bookbinding business, so he clearly took up carpentry instead, and worked as a carpenter until the family emigrated to Australia. At some stage he then was able to buy some more bookbinding equipment and he took up bookbinding again in Redfern, Sydney.

Thomas Ball

Thomas Ball was my great great great great grandfather. He is something of an enigma.

Thomas Ball was born about 1790, apparently in Highgate, Middlesex (according to his details in the 1871 Census). His parents are unknown.

On May 25 1812 at the age of 22 Thomas married Sarah Preston by banns at St Mary church, Hornsey, in the borough of Islington. They both signed their names. Thomas and Sarah were both living in the parish of Hornsey at the time of their marriage. There are two children who are definitely known from the marriage: James and Eleanor. James and Eleanor were both baptised on 23 November 1817 at St Mary Mounthaw. There are two parish records available for that parish, one of which gives the birth dates of the children. James' birthday was 12 December 1812. A very short gestation?! (Interestingly, the family records said he was born in 1814 - this would have been much more acceptable, except that it was wrong!) Eleanor was born 17 June 1817. At the date of the children's baptisms the family was living at Old Fish Street Hill, London, and Thomas, aged 27, was working as a corn porter. A corn porter worked on the docks, usually shifting sacks of corn onto or off ships. It would have been hard, menial work.

In 1837 Thomas' daughter Eleanor was married. In the marriage register Thomas was noted as a greengrocer.

The next definite record I have for Thomas is from his son James' immigration record in 1857 - he and Sarah were noted as living in Fenchurch St, London.

In the 1871 Census Thomas was widowed and living at Francis Cottage, Highgate. There was no rank, profession or occupation listed.

Thomas Ball died on 12 January 1873 at his residence, Francis Cottage. According to a death notice his son James placed in the Sydney Morning Herald (15 Mar 1873) Thomas worked "for nearly twenty-five years in the establishment of Charles Rivington Esq., Fenchurch St, London, solicitor, to the Hon. E.I.C." I had originally assumed that this meant that he had been employed by Charles Rivington until his death, but looking at his places of residence, I suspect that he may have retired some time prior to his death. To live in Highgate and work in Fenchurch St, London would have been quite a hike! I wonder what Thomas did for Charles Rivington - that he worked in "the establishment of Charles Rivington Esq." suggests that he was employed in the business in some way, but that he and Sarah lived on the premises (in 1857) suggests alternately that he might have been household staff. He certainly wasn't still hauling sacks of corn around!

It is interesting that although Charles Rivington was a solicitor, he came from a family of book publishers who were well connected with the Stationers' Company. Thomas' son James became a bookbinder, and was supposedly made a City Freeman, which was in some cases closely related to livery companies such as the Stationers' Company. One wonders if this was (a) how James got into the book trade, and (b) a connection that made his becoming a City Freeman possible. Also, Thomas' daughter Eleanor married a solicitor's clerk, John Bache Downing. Did they meet through Thomas' work?

I have tried to find records for Thomas (and Sarah) in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 Censuses, but have no definite records for them. I wish I knew where they were hiding!

James Ball's birthday

I was just reading an excerpt of the diary that James Ball, my great great great great grandfather wrote, as he and his family sailed to Australia. I clapped my hand to my head when I read:

"Fri. Dec. 19 - This is my birthday and the day we are rounding the Cape of Good Hope."

So that settles it - the James Ball I thought was my relative IS my relative.

To summarise the information that I now know is definitely true: James Ball was born on 19 December 1812 to Thomas and Sarah Ball, and he was baptised on 23 November 1817 at St Mary Mounthaw, along with his younger sister Eleanor. His father Thomas was a corn porter and they lived at Old Fish Street Hill.

James Ball and the bookbinders of London

I've learnt a lot about historical bookbinding and the bookbinders of London over the last few days. I've been working on finding references to my great great great grandfather James Ball. As I noted in my last post on him, he was a bookbinder, working in London, and then in Sydney after he had emigrated.

I know that he lived and worked at 20 Little Carter Lane, in the Doctors Commons area of London. He seems to have moved there in 1841, as he and his family are living there by June 7, when the 1841 England Census was taken. He didn't make it into the 1841 Post Office London Directory for that address though - the place was apparently occupied by Francis Beams, shorthand writer, before the Balls moved in.

Searching for information on the bookbinders of London I came across references to the Jaffray Collection, a collection of scrapbooks kept by John Jaffray, a London bookbinder, who was active in trade society and social reform in the 1800s. Amongst his collection of bookbinding-related ephemera held at the British Library there were two items which referenced a "J. Ball".

Apparently in 1838 there were three large employers (masters) of bookbinders in London who sought to dictate terms of employment which were unacceptable to a large number of their employees - they hoped to cut costs by employing more apprentices, despite there being quotas of apprentices compared to fully qualified bookbinders. A stand-off ensued for about 30 weeks during which time 16 journeymen bookbinders were charged with conspiracy against the masters. Unfortunately the newspapers of the day do not actually record the outcome of the strike, nor the court case. However the bookbinders held an annual ball just after the strike ended and the atmosphere was seemingly triumphant so one might assume the strike ended in their favour. I have also been unable to ascertain the names of the 16 charged with conspiracy, apart from two who sadly died before the end of the trial.

The information containing the name of J. Ball related to an appeal by the journeymen bookbinders of London, to their brethren from all trades in all parts of the United Kingdom. In order to fund the court case against the 16 journeymen bookbinders many bookbinders sacrificed part of their wage as did workers from many other trades across the country. The information related to the third appeal for funds and was signed with 14 names, one of which was J. Ball. I cannot tell if these were the remaining 14 bookbinders on trial (two of them had died by this stage) or whether the signatories were just those people organising the appeal. Whichever it was, I have not been able to find reference to any other "J. Ball"s who were bookbinders at that time.

Family information says that James was granted the Freedom of the City of London. According to family lore he was granted it because of his ability in addressing dinner gatherings as well as his ownership and managership of a London publishing firm. All the information I have found on London City Freemen suggests that to be granted the freedom of the City of London they needed to either be a member of a livery company or gain it through nomination, patrimony (a child of a freeman) or servitude (serving a full apprenticeship to a freeman), and it was essential to be a City Freeman before they could practice a trade in the City. James would most likely have been a member of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (the Stationers Company). I'm not at all sure that there was any criteria about being a good dinner party speaker, but that makes a good story nonetheless! Likewise his being the owner and manager of a London publishing firm - all information I've found points to him being a small-time bookbinder, who may or may not have had apprentices in his employ. I have not been able to confirm that James was a City Freeman because I'd need to visit the London Metropolitan Archives or else pay someone to do it for me - neither of which is likely to happen any time soon!

James Ball and researching using Google maps

There are times that I wish all my English ancestors came from Somerset - many of the Somerset records are readily available on the internet, for free. Many people have voluntarily transcribed parish records and uploaded them for the benefit of all who wish to use them.

I wish such a thing happened for London records. But London is probably also different because I imagine its population was more transient - the nature of a big city (even though it was much smaller then) is different to a small town.

Despite this presumed transient nature I always use Google maps when doing my family research. I work on the assumption that most people did not move around much (apart from huge moves, such as to Australia). So whenever I find records which may be for the ancestor I am working on I plot the locations on Google maps to see how far apart they are. It's an inexact science but one that can be quite helpful.

I've been using this approach with my ancestor James Ball. According to family information he was born in London in 1814 to Thomas and Sarah Ball. I cannot find a birth record for a James Ball born to parents with those names in London in 1814. I can find one with a birthdate of 19 December 1812 though, who was baptised, along with a sister Eleanor (born 17 June 1817), at St Mary Mounthaw on 23 November 1817. Is this my James? I don't know. James and Eleanor's father was listed as a corn porter, and their address was given as Old Fish Street Hill.

In the 1841 Census James is living with his children (his wife Susannah isn't at that address at the time - not sure where she was) in Little Carter Lane (the eastern end of what is now known as Carter Lane). He is listed as a book binder.

In the 1851 Census the family is living at 20 Little Carter Lane. James is listed as 38 years old - I'm not using the age given on the 1841 Census because the ages for persons over 15 were rounded to the nearest 5 years - not very helpful to the family historian. If he was born in December 1812 this age fits with the census date of 30 March 1851 - he would have been 38 years 3 months and 11 days old. His place of birth is listed as Middlesex. This fits with a birthplace of somewhere around Old Fish Street Hill.

When James and his family emigrated to Australia in 1857 on the Matoaka he was listed as 43 years old (fitting with a 1814 birthdate), as a carpenter (not really what I would describe as the occupation of a book binder) and his place of birth as Higate (sic) Middlesex. His parents are listed as Thomas and Sarah, living at Fenchurch St, London. His religious denomination is listed as Independent - this would mean he wasn't Church of England, and if he was baptised in a non-conformist church then those records may not be available - a possible reason why I can't find a birth record for him in 1814.

So, the places we have are: (a) Old Fish Street Hill, (b) Little Carter Lane, (c) Fenchurch Street, and (d) Highgate. If we plot these locations with Google maps, (a), (b) and (c) are very close to each other and Highgate is an outlier, about 6kms away.

Can we assume that if the Immigration Board got his occupation wrong they might also have written down the birthplace incorrectly? The Agent's immigration list also has his occupation as Carpenter, but is less specific with the place of birth, giving only Middlesex. I tend to think, going on the fact that (a), (b) and (c) are all in the same neighbourhood, that the 1812-born James Ball is my relative. I think that the "Highgate" information is wrong, as is his occupation as "Carpenter" - certainly he worked as a book binder in Australia as well as in London. I can't be sure it is him, but to me there seems a reasonable possibility.