Which Edmund Ballard is it?

[cheekylauren]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could help me clear something up, please.

Story starts with

James Ballard (1816-1874)who moved to Australia,  his parents were James Ballard and Sarah Hart and James was baptised in Appledore Kent.
Now James Ballard (snr) is listed on marriage cert as being of Woodchurch parish, and Sarah being of Appledore Parish and they were married in Appledore. in 1813. and on James (jnr) baptism certificate it states that James (snr) was a labourer but recently dead.
Now on the Woodchurch Wedsite there is a Death for James (snr) for 14 mar 1815 and his baptism for 26 aug 1792.  now all that seems to fit in family tree nicely.

Now James Ballard (snr) baptism on this site states parents Edmond Ballard and Lucy....now there is a marriage listed for 1780 between Edmond Ballard and Lucy George. So this seems to be these people. However this is where i seem to go astray. This Edmond Ballard on his Marriage record states he is of Kenardington parish. and his death record which i think is 1800 states birth about 1751.

Now whilst looking for other Ballard Family trees with Edmond and Lucy Ballard i have come acrosa few but they all seem to have listed Edmond's birth as1757 at St. Mildred's Tenterden Kent and death for 1792. with the parents Edmund Ballard and Mary Boorner (or Bourner)
Searching on the Woodchurch site there is many children born to Edmond and Lucy Ballard including the last child being baptised on 1797 which seems to be after Edmond's burial date.

However there is a death for Edmund Ballard being 1800 with birth about 1751 both in woodchurch which seems to fit abit better. and this Edmund had the parents Edward Ballard and Mary Pollard, all events in Woodchurch.

However none of these people can confirm that Edmond (the son of Edmund and Mary) married Lucy and had their children.

(hope that wasnt too confusing)

 now my question is.....is this a different edmund and family or a different one ....as i can't seem to find anyone who has any information confirming James ballard being born to any Edmund and Lucy other than the woodchurch website, and that this Edmund had the parents Edmond and Mary instead of the parents Edward Ballard and Mary Pollard.

Hope you aren't too lost in my story and hopefully you can shed some light..thanks for reading the long post. lol

the website i am refering to is....http://goldbern.co.uk/woodchurch/

Thanks, Lauren.

[casalguidi]

Hi Lauren

So here is what you have ...................

Edmund BALLARD (widower of Kenardington) married Lucy GEORGE 20 Jan 1780 Woodchurch.  Witnesses Thomas WILLSON and William ILLENDEN.  So Edmund had been married before - finding this marriage would be a good idea as would be looking for any children from this earlier marriage.

Interestingly, an Edmund BALLARD witnessed the marriage of of a Mary BALLARD (spinster) to Thomas WILLSON at Woodchurch 19 Oct 1780.  This could be the same Edmund BALLARD and indicate that Mary was probably a relative of his - sister perhaps?  Unfortunately, Edmund didn't sign his name in either instance so we can't compare signatures.

Edmund BALLARD and Lucy (GEORGE) appear to have had the following children baptised in Woodchurch:

Mary 1781
Martha 1783
John 1786
James 1792
Stephen 1795
Sarah 1797

I agree that the Edmund BALLARD buried Woodchurch 1800 age 49 (so born c1750) looks likely to be him.

Interestingly, in the settlement and removal records for Woodchurch there is a settlement from Headcorn in which they agree for the upkeep of Edmund BALLARD, wife and children of Woodchurch as and when necessary.  If this is the same Edmund BALLARD then it would imply that he was of Headcorn at some stage.  It would be a good idea to see what settlement records for Headcorn survive to see if there is anything further mentioned there.  Unfortunately, (Woodchurch is a rare occurance) this type of record isn't usually online but what survives will probably be at the Centre for Kentish Studies at Maidstone in Kent.  It might also be a good idea to see if any BALLARDs appear in the parish registers of Headcorn as well - do any of these trees that you have found mention BALLARDs of Headcorn?

Unfortunately, the IGI http://www.familysearch.org is far from complete for Kent.

Casalguidi

[cheekylauren]

Hello Casalguidi,

That information is exactly what i have....
I also found the Lucy George had an illegitimate child before they married in 1776 named Richard Wood George, supposed father Thomas Wood.

I also noticed this marriage where Edmond was a witness and thought the same. This Mary Ballard is the sister of Edmund Ballard who's parents are Edward Ballard and Mary Pollard. Who were all born and married in Woodchurch. But i dont know whether this is his family or the other parents. Also his name is spelt with a U in these records (Edmund instead of Edmond) so i'm not sure.

Bearkat sent me a private message stating she found a marriage for Edmond that may be possible, and i have found it through Mid-kent marriage site
5 aug 1776 Edmond BALARD bachelor of Headcorn married Mary MARDEN spinster of  Headcorn by Banns. Married at Headcorn.
So that seems to fit assuming that Mary (Marden) died soon after marrying and before 1780 when Edmond remarried.
So that seems to confirm he is from Headcorn, probably moved after her death to Woodchurch area and remarried. or perhaps for work reasons.

I looked on Familysearch.org but only found the marriage of Edmond and Mary with  no other information.
Is there a site where i can find any baptisms and deaths for this parish online ?

Also I wonder if anyone can help find what happened to Ann Ballard who was the first child of James Ballard and Sarah Hart born in Woodchurch (baptised 1814), and (i assume) moved with her mother to Appledore after James died (1815) and then her brother James was born. (Baptised 1816). I cant seem to find any record of her whether she married or whatever. i dont think she emigrated to Australia with her brother James in 1839 but she may have under a married name with her family.

Thanks,
Lauren

[cheekylauren]

Is anyone able to shed some light on these questions???

Please

Thanks, Lauren

[Paul J Ballard]

Edmund Ballard who married Lucy George was from Headcorn (& possibly Kenardington before that). In a Settlement Examination for Ann Ballard, her father, Stephen, who we know to be the son of Edmund & Lucy, states "That his father belonged to the parish of Headcorn and died at Woodchurch when he the said Stephen Ballard [was a child]". This was on 21 May 1849 (reference P400/13/3) and it looks like the Edmund Ballard burial in 1800 fits in with this as Stephen would have been 5 when his father died.

The various pedigrees that confuse this Edmund with Edmund of Tenterden do not appear to have any evidence for the relationship and since Edmund Ballard/Mary Bourner are part of my family I have looked long and hard to try to find a link.

Just dashing out but will try to have a closer look at all this very soon.

Paul

[Paul J Ballard]

Edmund Ballard would appear to have gained a legal settlement in Headcorn possibly as a result of apprenticeship, employment or other qualifying means. I am quite sure that the Edmund Ballard/Mary Marden marriage in 1776 is him as it fits all the facts and Edmund is a relatively uncommon forename in Ballard families. We can also surmise that he was described as "of Kenardington" either because he moved from Headcorn to Kenardington prior to marrying Lucy George and settling in Woodchurch or because he was known prior to his settlement in Headcorn to be associated with Kenardington. My own view is that it is highly probable that he s the son of Edward Ballard and Mary Pollard shown as baptised 17 June 1750 in Woodchurch. All we need now is some evidence to back that up 

Going back one step further I would also conjecture that Edward Ballard who married Mary Pollard is from the Tenterden line and was the son of John Ballard and Margaret Stevens baptised in Tenterden 31 August 1722. My reasoning for this is a little more complex and will need more work to substantiate it but rests upon two intermarriages with the Pollard family and the Ballard family and a speculative link between a couple of Ballard lines in Tenterden. If you would like a more complete analysis of the hypothesis please PM me and I will send you more detail.

Paul

[Paul J Ballard]

Just in case anyone is still following this thread or comes across it later I can now confirm that DNA evidence has proven my hypothesis concerning Edmund Ballard's lineage.