Hunter Heritage Media
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The Ball Family
The Ball Story
Watch a video about the Ball Family history, from their origins scraping by in Shropshire to their life as leading citizens of the Illawarra
People's Papers
Flip through the Ball family documents, photos and news clippings.
Noah BALL
Sarah ?
Born: 1804
Married:
Died:
- Thomas Ball
- John
- Mary
Jame's Rowe Midas 2
Born approximately 1804, James Rowe Jr (also referred to as James Rowe The Younger) was tried i​n Cornwell for Larceny / Housebreaking and sentenced to 7 years transportation to Australia. His record indicates he was a shoemaker from Penzance, who could read and write, was unmarried and a protestant. He is described as being 5'3" of sallow complexion with brown hair and hazel eyes.
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James arrived in Australia on 15 February 1827 onboard the Midas (2). The ship sailed from Plymouth on 16 October 1826 with 148 male convicts. Only 3 convicts died during the voyage indicating that conditions were relatively healthy.
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James Roe (Rowe) Mary 2
Born approximately 1798 James Roe (Rowe) was brought before Nottinghamshire Assizes on a charge of "Highway Robbery". The Court of Assizes heard more serious crimes. Outside of major cities, the court sat twice a year with cases presided over by professional judges rather than the JPs / magistrates of the lower "sessions" courts. "Highway Robbery", which included street muggings, was considered as serious as murder, rape and forgery and was a crime punishable by death. On DATE James was tried alongside his accomplice, Thomas Best of Birmingham. The pair were accused of mugging a man in the street and taking his pocket watch. Perhaps expecting their next journey to be a short trip to Gallows Hill the men must have been surprised when their sentences - in fact all death sentences that day - were commuted to transportation to the colony of Australia.
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Australia Colony
James and Thomas were both aboard the Mary. About the Mary. this was it's second trip to Australia and it would make several more. The boat docked in Port Jackson on Date 1822.
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Ellen
Ellen or Eleanor Carroll was a house servant accused of stealing. She was tried in Cork and sent to Australia directly from Ireland on the irish ship Lady Rowena. Life aboard, the surgeon. strict. The Lady Rowena was one of 3 of the surgeons ships that he lost no passengers at all.
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Australia Colony
what life was like in the colony in the early 1820's. Convict life.
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Marriage & Children
On 8 August 1828 James (age 27) and 22 year old Ellen Carroll, convict from Cork who arrived via Lady Rowena, received permission to marry. Though both were on 'bond', as convicts, they still needed permission from the Governor. 6 months later on 12 February 1829 the couple's first son, James William, was born. A second son, John followed DATE and a daughter Mary DATE.
The couple lived in Parramatta for some time where James was noted as being a 'school teacher'. His ability amongst the convicts to read and write may have helped elevate his position.??
The marriage didn't last. Ellen received her freedom (date) and moved to Patrick Plains / Singleton where in 1838 she married William Richardson (aged 27, convict "Layton").
James remained in Sydney assigned to Lockyer. Who Lockyer was. James continued working for Lockyer until his death in DATE at Lockyer's Goulburn property. On 9 June 1849 James received a conditional pardon. He died in 1850 I think.
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James & Ellen's other children
Mary ?
John ?
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Thomas BALL
Hannah Evans
Born: 12 February 1829
Married: 3 September 1852
Died: 27 November 1884
- Ellen Marion
- John Alfred
- Mary Ann
- James William
- Edward Thomas
- Alexander
- Louisa Jane
A different path
James William was the first son of James Rowe and Ellen Collins, both convicts. As an Australian born child of convicts, how was his early life? James was born into a new-ear. The second generation. The first Australian-born British children having come of age were making their own mark in trade and society. This wasn't insignificant, as the sons and daughters of convicts and low ranked soldiers they would have firmly been entrenched in the slums and lower classes back 'home', yet in Australia, they were the merchants, traders, politicians, publicans and landowners. A semi-educated middle class whose future was not confined by old-world social structures or even the 'embarrassment' of parents with criminal histories. It was no uptopia, life was hard, sparse and hot and there was a decided social divide between the incarcerated and free person between British and Irish but a persons past or family standing didn't determine their future to the same extent as in Britain.
James' father could read and write which was a skill passed onto his son. Despite both James' parents being convicts James chose a more sedate life. At 23 he married Bridget Kearney (Carney) one of the 'famine orphans' at the Catholic Church in Singleton and shortly after moved the family to Broke (Yellow Rock) where he was the licensee of the Broke Inn.
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Broke Inn / Broke Thunderbolt legend.
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Inspector of Nuisances - was this singleton and what is it?
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James was well known, well respected and one of Singleton's elder citizens when he died in 1884. His prominent headstone attests to the family having some money. Although his mother pre-ceded his death her name has been added to the headstone. His wife Bridget was later inturned there - she survived him by 20 years and continued to live in Singleton. The couples youngest son Edward who died in 1952 was also buried in the family plot. "Teddy" was also a much-loved character of Singleton who had been a jockey, horse breaker and mailman.
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Bridget
As Bridget became a teenager the famine took hold. She entered Ballina Workhouse but was lucky in a sense to be chosen to come to Australia as one of the orphan scheme. Girls were chosen if they were healthy, vaccinated, well behaved. Assigned to Quilan but 10 months in petitioned the court to break her 4 year contract. That was granted and shortly after she married. After her husband died she continued to live in her house in Bowman street until her death in 1915 aged 87.
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James & Bridget's Other Children
Ellen married x
John married y
Mary Ann married z
James married a
Teddy married Livinia
Alexander died as an infant.
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Rose Annie May BALL
Robert Rowan
Born:
Married:
Married:
Died:
- Eric
- Kenneth Arthur George
- Marjorie Elizabeth Rose
- Beryl
- Ray
- Ruth Hannah
Alex Watt married Singleton girl Louisa Rowe splitting their time between Singleton and Newcastle
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A past connection
when Alex's mother in law Bridget arrived in Australia in 185? she was assigned to the Irish born Quiglan family in Maitland. The Quiglan's seem to have wanted to help Irish settlers in Australia and it wasn't uncommon for Irish families to take on one of the orphan girls. The Quinlan's later sponsored x Quinlan's brother to come to Australia from Ireland. But things didn't work out with Bridget, she sought to end her indentureship and subsequently left Maitland and married James Rowe, running a pub in Broke where their daughter Louisa was born. At the same time back in Maitland the Watt, Smith and Quiglan families were well known to each other, even attending each other's weddings as witnesses. We don't know if Bridget ever found out her daughter was marrying into friends of the Quiglan family. Alex grew up in Newcastle, not Maitland so might not have had first-hand knowledge.
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The Catholic Connection
Marrying an Irish catholic like his grandfather, Alex converted to catholicism. This wasn't a big issue in his family where half the Watt's were Catholic.
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Pubs
Louisa and Alex both grew up the children of publicans so taking on that role licensee of the Watt Family Hotel at islington after his parent's death.
Marjorie ROWAN
Alec Watt
Born:
Married:
Married:
Died:
- Neville John
- Dianne Marcia
Alec wasn't a drinker but he grew up the son and grandson of publicans, a distant descendent of a whiskey empire and met his future wife in her family's hotel.
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Childhood - a smart athletic kid
Gifted at mathematics and rugby
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A Career in the Railways
If the Watt's weren't holding publican's licences they were working in the railways and Alec chose that path. By the war he was head shunter at Port Waratah / Broadmeadow so was considered a protected job. He was also marginally too old for service in the war, having been marginally too young for service in WWI.
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WWII in newastle
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What kind of father
Dianne still has her father's cigarette card collection. he was a regular smoker. played dominoes. had a soft affection for Marjorie. On most Saturday's /Sunday's Marji would join her sisters to take the kids to the afternoon pictures. Alec woudl see them off and while they were gone put together the Sunday roast and baked dinner so that when they returned dinner was ready.
