More Ballard History

Please check back at this post (click HERE)  where I talked about my 8 Great Grandfather Thomas Ballard (1630-1689).  In that blog,  I mentioned that I had two more stories about Thomas Ballard to share.  I am finally getting back to these stories,  at least one of them..  The first story talks about his involvement with William and Mary College (in Williamsburg, VA).

The history of  The College of William and Mary can be traced back to a 1693 royal charter establishing  "a perpetual College of Divinity,  Philosophy,  Languages,  and the good arts and sciences"  in the British Colony of Virginia.  It was named for the reigning joint monarchs of Great Britain,  King William III and Queen Mary II.

William and Mary is the 2nd oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.  Do you know the oldest one???? It's Harvard.

Now--you might be wondering what this college had to do with my 8 Great Grandfather,  Thomas Ballard.  WELL----Thomas Ballard owned the land where William and Mary now stands.  AND---he sold part of this land to the college trustees.

Thomas Ballard was a wealthy man  (wish I had some of that wealth now!!! ha) and owned a large amount of land around the Middle Plantation area.   (Note:  Middle Plantation is now called Williamsburg.)  Thomas  Ballard purchased the land from the Honorable Thomas Ludwell,  Secretary of State from 1660-1678.   In 1693,  Ballard sold that land (330 acres) to the Trustees of the College.  Now--only about 30 acres remain as part of the college.  The remainder of the land was sold.

Since my 8 Great Grandfather died in 1689,  his son Thomas Ballard Jr. (1655-1711;  my 7 Great Grandfather Ballard) made that sale in 1693 for him.   When I visited Williamsburg,  we went into the Wren Building at William and Mary College. This building will opened for students in 1700.   It is nice to know that one of my ancestors had a part in establishing this beautiful college.

William and Mary educated future Presidents:  Thomas Jefferson,  James Monroe, and John Tyler.  The college also educated several Supreme Court Justices, as well as Henry Clay.

When the United States declared their independence in 1776,  the college of William and Mary severed formal ties to England.  However,  the college's connection to British history remains as a distinct point of pride.  Queen Elizabeth II has visited William and Mary twice.

The college closed for about 7 years after the Civil War, but reopened in 1888.   The college continued to grow,  even during the recession.  Today,  William and Mary has students from all 50 states and 43 foreign countries.  There are 5800 undergraduates and 1925 graduate students.   Twenty six percent are students of color.  Seventy nine percent of freshmen graduated in the top 10% of their class. The student/faculty ration is 12:1.

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Several years ago (1997),  utility workers discovered the foundation walls of an upper-class home buried on the College of William and Mary campus,  while they were digging a ditch for water pipes.  After finding that,  archaeologists explored that foundation and collected artifacts to help them determine the foundation's age.  It is known that only the wealthy could afford brick foundations.

They determined that the structure was there between 1634 and 1699.  After much research,  the archaeologists said that the house may have belonged to the wealthy and prominent Thomas Ballard,  who sold the land to the college's founders.

How 'bout that?????   I am not sure what they have done with that foundation since 1997,  but the next time I go to Williamsburg,  I want to see if I can find it.  It would be so neat to see something which may have belonged to my ancestor that long ago.  Can you see how interesting and exciting this genealogy research is????  I love it!!!!

If you ever get to Williamsburg,  be sure and visit William and Mary College.  My 8 Great Grandfather had a part in establishing this college.  Neat, huh?

Hugs,

All pictures/illustrations came from the internet.

Also,  just wanted everyone to know that the storm missed us on Tuesday night/Wed. morning.  The only thing which woke us up about 4:30 a.m. was a HUGE (I mean HUGE) clap of thunder...  We had some lightning and thunder and a little rain.  BUT--the worst went south (and north) of us.  We got lucky AGAIN.  Thanks be to God.

My 8Great Grandfather Ballard

For the past few weeks,  I have reading all of the info I can find on my 8Great Grandfather THOMAS BALLARD  (1630-1689).   It seems that nobody knows for sure whether Thomas was born in England or in Virginia.  Since he was an educated man,  some researchers say that he was born and educated in England --and then came to America.  But---we don't know that for sure. We do know the following about Thomas Ballard:

1. - He was a man of wealth.  He more than likely was born into an upper class home in England.
2. -He was called the 'founder' of the Virginia Ballards.
3. -He was known as the Honorable Thomas Ballard.
4. -He was also known as Col Ballard.
5. -In 1650,  he married Anne Sara Thomas in York County, VA
6. -Thomas and Anne had 8 children:  Thomas (1655-1711);  John (abt 1659-bef 1694);  Lydia (born 1660);  Martha Margaret (born 1661);  William (1663-1749);  Francis (bef 1665-1718);  Elizabeth (1665-1705);  Matthew (1667-abt 1720)
7. -Thomas Ballard was a tobacco farmer and merchant and he owned alot of LAND.
8. -From 1652-1663,  Thomas was Clerk of Court of York County, VA
9. -In 1666,  he was Burgess of James City County.
10. -In 1668,  he moved to James City County (which is now Williamsburg, VA)
11. -In 1669,  he become Lt. Col of the Militia in James City County.
12. -In 1680,  he became Col. of the Militia.
13. -In 1689,  he became a Vestryman at Bruton Parish Church.  He was also a Vestryman from 1674-83.
14. -From 1675-77,  he sat on the regional Royal Governor's Council--where he was one of 12 councilors advising the governor.  In order to be on this council,  one had to be one of the top men in the colonies,  one of the richest people,  and one of the best-connected people.  These 12 men were recommended to the post by colleagues, and received their commissions from the King of England.  In this office, Thomas was both a Naval officer and a collector of customs.
15. -He was later re-elected to the House of Burgesses and became Speaker of the House from 1680-1684.
16. -Thomas' wife died in 1678,  so he remarried Alice Hilliard,  who outlived him.
17. -Thomas Ballard died in 1689,  and is buried in the Bruton Parish Cemetery.

I have TWO interesting stories to tell you about Thomas Ballard, but they will wait for another upcoming blog post.  Today,  I will share a few pictures of Thomas Ballard's church,  Bruton Parish.   IF you have ever visited Colonial Williamsburg,  you surely have seen and probably visited Bruton Parish Episcopal Church.   I'll share with you some pictures of this gorgeous church..  Above is a picture of Bruton Parish as it looks today.  Below are more.

Here is Bruton Parish from another angle.  You can see the cemetery.  My 8 Great Grandfather is buried in this cemetery.

And here is an old postcard showing Bruton Parish Church.

A bronze tablet can be found on the interior of Bruton Parish.  You can see Thomas Ballard's name on it. This committee helped erect the first brick church on that foundation.

Thomas Ballard also had his name inscribed on one of the pews...  Thomas was in good company since there were other names listed on some of the pews in the church,  namely Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

This is a picture showing some of the names inscribed on one of the pews.  The pews with doors were/are typical of unheated 18th century English churches.  Thomas' name is the top one,  but it is hard to read in this picture.   It says:  "Thomas Ballard - Vestryman 1674-83".

Pretty special man,  don't you think?????  AND to think that he was one of my Grandfathers... WOW!!!!!   George and I visited Williamsburg in 2007--but that was before I knew all of this information about Thomas Ballard.  Now---I'm ready to go back and see it all for myself.

Like I said,  there are two more very interesting stories about this man... I will share them at a later time..

Hope you have a wonderful day --and don't forget to talk to your older loved ones and get all of the information you can before they are gone and can't share it with you.   I waited too long --and am now doing this from notes and on my own.

Hugs,

ALL pictures in today's post came from the internet.

It's ALL about the NAME

As most of you know,  I have been working on Family History off and on for several years.  I have a program called Reunion 8 on my computer and believe it or not,  I have over 2200 names on this program… Many of these are not my direct line,  but may be brothers and sisters and their families…  You can imagine how many names I can come up with when I find a family of 10 or more kids --and then add in their families and their kids.  It just multiplies from there.

One family that I have done much research on is the BALLARD family.  My mother was a Ballard before marrying my Dad.  Her family has been fun and exciting to research,  and I have found a lot of information on that family.  I am especially interested in ODD names that run in families.   One such odd name in the Ballard family is the first name BLAND.  I have at least 12 BLAND BALLARD's on my program plus many more who used the word Bland as a middle name.  I have never heard of the name Bland used in many other families.

I have yet to find where that name originated --but thought that it was from my SIXTH Great Grandfather's wife.   Captain John Ballard of Yorktown, VA  (1693-1745)  was his name and he married a lady named Elizabeth BLAND (or so I thought).  BUT--after much more research,  we have found that she was not Elizabeth Bland --but was Elizabeth Gibbons.  SO--I still don't know where the name Bland began.

The earliest BLAND BALLARD I have is the son of a William Ballard (1682-1754) who was Capt. John Ballard's brother.  William and his wife Philadelphia Lee had a son named Bland  (1714-1792).  This Bland Ballard patented 230 acres in the fork of the Rappahannock River in Spotsylvania County, VA where he was living on June 2, 1747.  He married a lady named Mary Deering.  Bland had a total of 13 children --but I'm not sure all of them were the children of Mary Deering. Bland may have been married more than once.  However,  one of his children was named Bland……

The first Bland Ballard in my direct line was the son of Capt. John Ballard's son,  Thomas.  This Bland Ballard was named Bland William Ballard (1734-1782).   This Bland Ballard was my FOURTH Great Grandfather.  I'll have to blog about his life another time since it is quite interesting.  He had 15 children:  9 by his first wife and 6 by his 2nd wife…  Busy man, huh????? ha

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Anyhow,  while researching another side of my family,  the CARR side,  I have come upon another odd first name,  DABNEY.   My Great Grandmother Bruce was a CARR---so I have started doing more research on that side of the family.   Her name was Martha Matilda Carr (1849-1918).   On the Carr side of that family,  I have found at least FIVE DABNEY CARR's SO FAR, plus more used as middle names.  AND --my research is just getting started. 

This one may be a little easier to solve,  but I thought I had the other one solved too… ha…  Anyhow,  this Dabney Carr  (1743-1773) had a grandmother named Mary Dabney (1688-1748).   I haven't done much research on this yet --but if  Mary was a Dabney,  then maybe that's where the name started…Mary Dabney's father was Cornelius Dabney.  I will continue to check this out. 

I'm sure I have bored you to death with all of this Genealogy… BUT--it's a true passion of mine,  and I enjoy all of the research and detail-work which it takes.  NAMES really are important when doing Genealogy... My middle name is BRUCE, named after my mother's mother's side of our family.  I used to hate that name because it was a boys name.  BUT--now I love it and am proud to have it.  One of my sons is named Jeffery BRUCE.

After all of these words in today's post,  I will close with something cute for you.  Hope you enjoy it.

Hugs,

A Weekend of Genealogy for ME

This past weekend was the first weekend (since my knee problems began the first of May which ultimately led to surgery) that I have truly felt like myself. It's been a long, long almost 3 months for me. My knee is FINE ---but all of the other problems I encountered, due to the medications, really made it a rough time for me... ANYHOW--I felt so good that I spent almost the entire weekend working on the BALLARD Family History side of my family.

What prompted this was an email from ANOTHER new distant cousin of mine (whom I had never met). Adriel wrote me --after reading some of my Ballard posts online.. I began to do research to see where our connection was---and I found it... Our lines crossed at Col. Thomas Ballard and Katherine Hubbard. Thomas is my 7th Great Grandfather and Adriel's 9th. (She's ALOT younger than I am... ha)... Thomas and Katherine had 10 children. Their son John is my direct line relative and their son William is Adriel's direct line relative.

Adriel and I can trace our Ballard's all the way back to FULCO BALLARD (born sometime between 1250 and 1325 in England). Fulco is my 16th Great Grandfather... Is that not just amazing??????

Unfortunately, I have very few pictures --and only from my Grandfather Ballard's family. I have posted some of these before --but since I'm meeting more and more Ballard cousins, I decided to post them again.

Above is my Grandfather Ballard's family home in Bristol, Virginia. It originally belonged to my Great Grandfather, William Alexander Ballard (1831-1903). William was married to my Great Grandmother, Adeline Frances Doss in 1857. They had 3 children--one being my grandfather... Great Grandfather Ballard remarried Martha Susan Martin (1848-1919) and they had 7 children. I only remember my 4 Great Aunts (pictured at the bottom).

I really want to get back there and see if that home is still there. I know that there are no Ballards (that I know) left in that area, but I do remember that big home --and loved visiting my Great Aunts when I was a little girl. What I remember most about that old home is the smell and a ticking clock in almost every room... The house felt like being in a museum --and had that musty-like smell. (Funny what we remember, isn't it???) Below are more pictures!

This is a picture of my Grandmother and Grandfather Ballard (my mother's parents). My Grandmother was named Ida Elizabeth Bruce (1874-1904) and my Grandfather was named James Franklin Ballard (1861-1936). Both were dead before I was born. My Grandmother died when my mother was only about 4 yrs old. Mother was raised mostly by the Bruce Family in Big Stone Gap, VA (my hometown) --but she did spend time with her father (who remarried) and his sisters, my Great Aunts.

This is a picture of my mother and her father. This picture of Mom (Edith Marguerite Ballard Banks) was taken in the Roaring 20's!!!! Look at her hair!!!! Her Daddy died when she was 36 yrs. old.

These are my Grandfather Ballard's four sisters. I remember ALL of them--and enjoyed visiting them when we would go to Bristol. From left to right: Aunt Nanny (who was married to Fred Pate; had no children); Aunt Eunice (never married); Aunt Aileen (married to Jeter Cross; no children); and Aunt Lura (never married).

I remember that Aunt Nanny and Uncle Fred lived on the 2nd floor of that big home in Bristol--and we were NEVER invited to go upstairs... Aunt Aileen lived away from the family home until her husband died. She then moved back to the family home with her sisters. Aunt Lura was my favorite of the group. I even had a dolly named after her (Lulu).

I have SO much more to say about the Ballard Family---but that will have to happen in many more posts to come!!!!! I hope that my children and grandchildren enjoy all of this Family History sometime.

Hope you ALL had a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

It's All in the NAME

If you have ever worked on Family History, I'm sure you have found some help along the way IF there is a common name which runs through the family. That's why I think (even moreso now than when I was younger) that it's important to pass along some family names to your children. The two last names on my mother's side of the family were Bruce and Ballard. My parents named all three of us using one of the family names. My oldest brother was Raymond Edgar Banks (Edgar being my father's middle name); my middle brother was James Ballard Banks (using the Ballard side); and I was Elizabeth Bruce Banks (using the Bruce side of the family).

When I got married, we had three sons.. My sons' father was a Junior--so we named our first son the Third. He now goes by Tre. Our second son was named Mark Edgar (using my Dad's middle name), and our third son was Jeffrey Bruce (using the Bruce side of the family). IF I had it to do over, I would name one of our sons, Ballard... BUT--back then, last names were seldom used as first names (like they are today).

Today, however, I'm going to share another common name which runs through the Ballard side of my family. That name is BLAND. I can go on my Family Tree info --and there are at least EIGHT Bland Ballards listed through the years, and that doesn't count the ones with Bland used as a middle name. To me, Bland is very unusual --so I did some research (with the help of cousin Sue whose mother was a Ballard) and we tracked the word, BLAND, back to my Six Great Grandfather Ballard, Capt. John Ballard of Yorktown, VA (1693-1745). John Ballard married a lady named Elizabeth BLAND (1697-1751). Elizabeth's father was Rev. William Bland, who in 1791 was named Rector of St. Paul's Church in Norfolk, VA. That is where BLAND started we think---and it's amazing how many Blands there have been since then.

I enjoy Family History, and the internet has brought people together (like Sue and me) --who are researching information on their families. This weekend, I got another email from someone searching for Ballard information. She is searching for a William BLAND Ballard who was born in VA. I have been searching my information ---and I'll bet there is a connection somewhere. So far though, we have haven't found it--but we will keep looking.

Today, I will show you some old black and white pictures of my parents and brothers, and some of the Ballard side of the family---all taken in the early 1930's (before I was born--in 1942). Above is a picture of my parents and my two brothers (Ray and Jim). All four of them are dead now --and I'm the only immediate family member left. Below are more.

These are my brothers, Ray and Jim, with Grandpa Ballard (my mother's father). He died in 1936. (Mom's mother died in 1904 --when Mom was only 4 yrs. old. Her Dad remarried, but Mom didn't live with him very much throughout her life. She was raised by her Bruce aunts in Big Stone Gap, VA.)

This is my mother (Edith Marguerite Ballard Banks) with her father, James Franklin Ballard. She lovingly called him "Papa".

This picture was taken on a different day, but still in the early 1930's. Brother Ray was born in 1922 and Jim was born in 1930. Grandpa Ballard is on the right --and the two ladies in the picture next to him are his daughters from his first marriage. I think he was married three time.

This is a picture of Grandpa Ballard's brother and sisters, his two daughters and his brother's wife. The one on the left is his brother BLAND Ballard. Bland is Sue's (listed above) Great Grandfather. I remember my Great Uncle Bland and his wife Myrtle. Bland was the City Clerk and Auditor of Bristol, VA for 31 years. He died in 1951 at the age of 77. Bland had a son, also named Bland (but called Gene) who died in 1964. Gene was Sue's grandfather.

Here's one more picture of the Ballard Family ---taken about 1931. At one time, there were 10 children in this family. I only knew FIVE: Bland and four of his sisters (Nancy, Aileen, Eunice and Lura).

Hope I didn't bore you too much with my Family History. I enjoy working on it SO much---but it gets frustrating when I hit a "brick wall".... Luckily, because of names like BLAND, I found it easier with the Ballard family.

Have a great Tuesday.

Hugs,

The Ballard/Bruce Connection

For someone who doesn't understand or follow family tree/family history, each person has FOUR major family lines to follow ---which expand from there. My four family names are: my mother's mother and father, and my father's mother and father. SO, my four lines are: BRUCE, BALLARD, WITT, and BANKS. I have done quite a bit of research on the Bruce side (due to available family notes and info). Recently, through a newly found cousin, I connected more info on the Ballard side. Both the Bruce's and Ballard's settled in Virginia. This past weekend --l entered lots and lots of info on my family tree program (Reunion) on the computer. In this quest, I had a big and wonderful surprise. Here's what happened..

BRUCE History
-My mother was Edith Marguerite Ballard (1900-1991).
-My grandparents (Mom's parents) were Ida Elizabeth Bruce and James Franklin Ballard. Ida was born in 1874 and died in 1904.
-My great grandparents (Ida's parents) were Daniel Hoge Bruce and Martha Matilda Carr. Daniel was born in 1846 and died in 1915.
- My great-great grandparents (Daniel's parents) were Joshua Henderson Bruce and Margaret Anderson Hoge. Joshua was born in 1825 and died in 1904.
-My 3 great grandparents (Joshua's parents) were James Bruce and Elizabeth Justice. James was born in 1802 and died in 1876.
-My 4 great grandparents (James's parents) were Rev. Joshua Bruce and Sarah Hearn. Rev. Joshua was born in 1778 and died in 1865.
-My 5 great grandparents (Rev. Joshua's parents) were William George Bruce and Annie Nancy Ballard. William was born in 1752 and died in 1813.

NOW----do you see the name of my 5 great grandmother?????? Her name was Annie Nancy BALLARD. Now--look at the top name: Edith Marguerite BALLARD (my mother). I thought there may be a connection between these two Ballard's and guess what????? I found it--while researching this past weekend. Now--I don't know how many of you enjoy doing Family History, but finding a connection like this is totally awesome to a person like me working on Genealogy. To connect two of your four family lines is amazing!!!!! Here's how the Ballards and Bruces connect together.

BALLARD History
-My grandfather (mother's father) was James Franklin Ballard. James was born on in 1861 and died in 1936.
-My great grandparents (James' parents) were William Alexander Ballard and Adeline Frances Doss. (He later married Martha Susan Martin). William Alexander was born in 1831 and died in 1903.
-My great great grandparents (William Alexander's parents) were Samuel Goolsby Ballard and Nancy Clements. Samuel was born in 1808 and died in 1875.
-My 3 great grandparents (Samuel's parents) were John Ballard and Nancy Goolsby. John was born in 1772 and died in 1850.
-My 4 great grandparents (John's parents) were Bland William Ballard and Frances Shiflett. (Francis was Bland's 2nd wife. The first wife --name unknown, gave him 9 children and the 2nd wife gave him 6 children. Whew!!!) Bland was born in 1734 and died in 1809.
-My 5 great grandparents (Bland's parents) were Thomas Ballard and Susannah Hesson. Thomas was married 3 times: a Sarah, Susannah Hesson and Mary Powers. He had a total of 7 children. Thomas was born in 1717 and died in 1782.
-My 6 great grandparents (Thomas' parents) were Capt. John Ballard and Elizabeth Bland. Capt. John was born in 1693 and died in 1745.

Okay--you say, so where's the connection????? I'm glad you asked ( IF you are still reading this blog--HA), so here it is:
My 6th great grandfather (Capt. John Ballard) had a brother named William. William married a woman named Philadelphia Lee. One of their 7 children was named Philip Ballard. Philip married Ann Nancy Johnson. One of their 13 children was named Thomas Ballard. Thomas Ballard married Elizabeth Smith. One of their 5 children was named ANNIE NANCY BALLARD. Wah-lah---there it is!!!!!!!

You got all of this?????? (See why I love detail work???? ha)... Here's an easier way for me to explain the connection: My 6 great grandfather, Capt. John Ballard, had a brother named William. William's great granddaughter, Annie Nancy Ballard, married William Bruce. Annie and William are my 5 Great Grandparents on the Bruce side. Neat, huh????

Sorry I bored you with all of this ---but I was just too excited about the Bruce/Ballard connection NOT to share it!!!!!! If you bothered to read all of this, I give you a BIG Kudos---just for humoring me!!!!!

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Since genealogy may be boring to many of you, I'll add a couple of pictures of some gorgeous roses from our yard.



FIRST PRIZE




BELLA'ROMA

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs,

My Ballard Family History

Some of you (if you have read my blogs for the past 3 yrs.) know that I LOVE working on Family History. I've always had an interest in details---so when I started seaching for family information, I just became addicted to it. First I worked on my mother's mother's side of the family (the Bruce's). I had much more information on that family. Then (in 2006-07) I started doing genealogy on my mother's father's side of the family, the Ballards.

I worked and worked and worked ----and could only find enough information that took me back to my Great Great Great Grandfather John Ballard (1772-1850). I ran into a brick wall trying to go any further... WELL---guess what???? I met a new cousin who found me due to some blogs I had written about the Ballards. Cousin Sue lives in Illinois ----and she and I are First Cousins Once Removed!!!! Our Grandfathers are brothers ---and we share the same Great Grandfather (William Alexander Ballard).

Isn't blogging just wonderful???? I would never have met Sue --except through the internet and my blogging. And here's the good news. Sue (through her research) helped me solve my mystery and crash my brick wall!!!!! Because of Sue, I now can take my Ballard Family history back to our 8 Great Grandfather, Thomas Ballard, who was born in 1630 in England. Is that not the neatest thing?????? I have been so excited.

The Ballards settled in and around Yorktown and Williamsburg, VA. I am learning more and more every single day about this neat family and its history. Above is a picture I featured in another blog when talking about the Ballards. I wanted you to see this picture again since the picture is of the Ballard Brothers. My grandfather (James Franklin Ballard) is the first one on the left. Sue's grandfather (Bland Eugene Ballard) is the 3rd one from the left. Below are more pictures with Ballard connections.





This is Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Williamsburg, VA. Our 8 Great Grandfather Thomas Ballard is buried there ---and there's a bronze tablet in the interior of the church with his name, and his name is on the name plate of a pew. Isn't that special? I was in W'burg in 2007---and I saw this church, but at the time I didn't know Thomas was my direct line relative. Now I need to go back!!!!





This was taken inside Bruton Parish Episcopal Church, an active parish since 1715. Note the high pulpit.





This bronze lectern was given in 1907 by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt.





Here is a close-up of part of this bronze lectern. The American eagle is on one side, and the British lion is on the other.





The inside of the church; the altar and communion rail are of black walnut.





I am standing in one of the ‘high box pews’--where President Thomas Jefferson sat. I didn't realize at the time that Thomas Ballard had a pew marked with his name... Darn!!!!





The pews--with doors--were designed to give warmth in the unheated church. My George is standing at George Washington's pew.





Here's one more picture of Bruton Parish Church. Today there are over 1400 members. Bruton Parish gets its name from an English parish on the River Brue in Somerset, England.





In Yorktown, we found a Ballard Street and this house, The Ballard House. This house belonged to my 6Great Grandfather, John Ballard. John was married to Elizabeth Bland, who was the daughter of Rev. William Bland. Captain John Ballard was a merchant in Yorktown and a Captain of the Militia.






This is the Ballard girl standing outside of her 6 Great Grandfather's home in Yorktown, VA. When I was there, I was only wondering if this could be a relative... And now---I know it is!!!!!! Do I feel special????? Yes-Sir-Ree- Bob!!!!

Sue, thanks so much for contacting me. I hope we will meet someday.. Right now though---here's to the Ballard cousins!!!!! Yeah Rah!

Hugs,

"Papa" Ballard and Family

The picture above is my mother with her father (she called him Papa), James Franklin Ballard. James Franklin Ballard (my grandfather) was born on Aug. 30, 1861 in Lynchburg, VA, and died on Jan. 8, 1936 in Bristol, VA. (I never knew him--or any of my grandparents. Isn't that sad?) His parents were William Alexander Ballard (born 11/21/1831 and died 1/19/1903) and Adeline Frances Doss (Not sure of the dates of her birth and death). William and Adeline were married 12/9/1857.





My grandfather, James Ballard, had three brothers (Bland E., Edgar H., and John C.). Above is a picture of the four brothers---and they were all very handsome men. From left to right: Jim--my grandfather, Eddie the youngest, Bland, and John. I haven't done much research on them yet, but did read that Edgar (Eddie) died at age 31. Bland was born Dec. 31, 1873, and was well-known in the Bristol area all of his life.

Bland is the only brother (my great uncle) that I remember. He was married to Myrtle Larmer in 1901 and they had three children (Vivian--Mrs. Guy Simmons, B.E. Ballard Jr--called Gene, and Margaret Ballard). They lived in Bristol at 715 Fairmount Avenue--and I remember that house well.




Grandfather James also had at least four sisters (four that I know of). These are the 'other' set of great aunts who helped raise my mother after her mother died. These four sisters (Lura, Eunice, Nancy/Nanny, and Aileen) were my great aunts---and I remember them as much as I remember the Bruce sisters/aunts. Lura and Eunice never married, but Nanny married Fred Pate, and Aileen married J..G. Cross. From left to right in the picture above: Nanny, Eunice, Aileen, and Lura. Lura was my favorite Great Aunt --and I had a dolly named Lulu after Aunt Lura.




The sisters lived in Bristol at 500 Lindsay Avenue. I remember that big two-story white house with a porch that wrapped around the house (pictured above). As a little girl, I visited the Ballards with my parents, and loved being in their home. It had an unusual smell (not a bad smell)--but maybe a smell of antiques....???? I also remember hearing clocks ticking in several different rooms. Isn't it funny (crazy) what one remembers as a little girl???? Pretty house though, don't you think? I'd love to see if it is still there.

Since I love Family History, I have enjoyed finding information on ALL sides of my family.. I have the most on the Bruce side (Mom's mother's side), and alot less on the Ballard side (Mom's father's side). And then comes my Daddy's side of the family (Banks and Witt)... I have VERY little information on them so far. Genealogy is fun--but like blogging, it takes alot of time. Maybe one of these years, I'll find more time!!!! ha

Hope you have a good Monday.
Hugs,