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I presume your George Henry Ballantyne is the same one who came out to NZ in 1860.  His mother was Jessie Douglas who died as they came up the harbour into Dunedin, leaving father, John Douglas FRANCIS Ballantyne a widow for the second time with 9 children.    I cannot tell you much about what happened to George after they arrived in NZ.  Michelle would know more about that branch of the family, but I can fill you in on the family before they came to NZ, if that is of interest to you.  If you would like to know more on the earlier history of the family, please reply on this website and I will  provide the details. 
Regards, Ngaio

Thank you Jane for taking time to reply at this very busy time of year. 
You have answered one question - namely that John Scott had not been married before he married Margaret.
However, my very great help, Michael Jackson, tells me that there were two John Scotts who died at Saughtrees.  First, John Scott aged 87 died in 1782 which means he was born in about 1695.   Could this John have been your John Scott's father???   Can anyone help here?
Happy Christmas everyone
Ngaio 

Reading through the Dodgson Manuscript more thoroughly, see that  John Scott married Margaret Nichol  in 1772 which sort of puts a spanner in the works as far as my theory goes.     Could he have been married prior to this maybe while he was in Scotland?  and had daughters only?  as Richard is recorded as being the first son.    He would have been about 55 yrs old when he married Margaret so it is quite likely that he had been married previously.   In the marriage records it would be interesting to know if John is recorded as widow.
Ah well  I'll just keep hoping something turns up
Ngaio

Hi Michelle
We are having trouble receiving emails at present  and cannot get through to xtra to find out what the problem is. 
Without seeing the family tree you have where you mentioned that only one Francis Ballantyne appears, I cannot explain why, unless I was concentrating purely on our direct family.   Do remember that  the second Francis was actually John Douglas Francis Ballantyne - why he was later called Francis I don't know. 
For what it is worth, and you may already have this information, but I will start right at the beginning of what we know of the Ballantynes.

Francis Ballantyne born abt 1749 possibly in Whithaughburn, Roxburgh.   married Margaret Robson about 1775   We don't know where either Francis and Margaret came from.  One theory is that they may have come from the Kinross area but cannot prove anything here. Francis was a grocer .
Their children were (not necessarily in the right order of birth)

Christian born 
Elizabeth (betty)  born 1776 married William Ingles
Isabell  married John Inglies (spelling as this husbands were brothers)
William married Janet Armstrong
James  born 1786
Francis  married Frances Brown  became merchant in Hawick, buried in Hawick 
John   born in Newcastleton in 1789 the youngest  and our connection


John  Ballantyne, the youngest I have  as being christened  18/4/1779?  married Mary Miller who was born in Brampton but was baptised  in Bewcastle in Cumberland and grew up on a property called  Steppings - house still there.  They married about 1810/11.   John Ballantyne died in Castleton on 9/11/1855.  Their children were

Isabella    born 1812
Francis     born 1814
Margaret  born 1815
Helen       born 1817  died after 1853
John Douglas Francis     born  aboout 1819  our connection
Agnes       born 1825
Archibald born  1826/27   

It was  this John Douglas Francis Ballantyne who married three times,  your connection being from the second wife who died as they were arriving in Dunedin in 1860. 

We would love to know what happened to the second family.    Our Mary Ann Ballantyne, youngest of first family, was seen walking up Maori Hill in Dunedin when she was about 12, carrying a baby under one arm and a load of washing in other.  Her brother in law (married to Jessie who became a Swannerton on marriage) saw her  and felt so sorry for her that  they took her in to live with them.    Mary Ann was so grateful thatshe named her daughter  (my grandmother )Jessie Swannerton Brown.
I think it was probably very difficult for the children of the second marriage as  John Douglas Francis married for the 3rd time  in about 1861/62 and then had another four children.

Hope I am not confusing you too much
My sister has just returned from the South Island  where she met up with other Ballantynes and I gather she has brought back quite a bit of information we don't  have so when I get this, will forward it on to you. 
Meanwhile, keep asking questions - it helps us too. 

Ngaio
PS  We  do have notes of a diary dictated by John Ballantyne, second child  from John Douglas Francis Ballantyne's first marriage to Margaret Francies Archibald.  He went blind some time after he came to New Zealand. He tells the story briefly of  the family's life before they came to New Zealand and his life after he came here.  The trouble is it would be too long to put on this website so would love to be able to send it to you.    There must be a way!