The below notes were compiled by Travis Hardin between 2002 and 2017. Added section at bottom February 2020.
The
heart of this information on John Bale and his connection to Mary Adams
White (he owned her) came from e-mail correspondents Rick and Martha
Glisson by
way of our mutual correspondent Les Tate of Piedmont, Alabama
(lrtate@comcast.net). See here the
original emails. Mr. Glisson said the information was found in the BALE
family files of the Rome, Ga. Public Library. I first visited the
library in early 2009 and there were no family files at all save the
one on HARDIN that I had sent in 2000.) In August 2012 Martha Glisson
of Atlanta, Georgia kindly supplied Bale letters transcriptions and
naturalization paper transcriptions.
1795 Dec 15 *10 John Bale was born in London, England.
1817 Jul 24 John Bale, his parents Thomas and Mary, and all his siblings, including Thomas Jr., James, Charles, and Elizabeth left London, emigrating together, arriving north of Boston 1817 Oct 15.*2 The length of the trip led Rick Glisson to comment, "a long trip -- must have been becalmed." Oral history in my family says that an anonymous "they" "were attacked by Turks off the coast of Ireland. The Turks shot the mast down, and the ship drifted for about two weeks." James Adams/White's mother and father would talk about it when the children were around at night.*3
1818 Apr 18 John Bale lived in Newark, Essex Co., NJ from which he wrote in a naturalization affidavit the above dates and places.*2
1820 Location unknown, but around that time he was in transit to
Greenville, S.C.
1823 July 31 John Bale married Malinda Mason.*10
1824 Jun 14 Emily C. Bale was born of Malinda Mason. Coosa River
News, Centre Ala, 29 Sep 1893*9 and *10
1830 John Bale is in Greenville, SC. Census p. 278. (No slaves. 6
people: himself 30-39, wife 30-39, 1 boy under 5, 2 girls under 5, 1
girl 5-9.)
1832 May 22 Malinda Mason Bale died at age 34, in childbirth it appears. *7
1832 Sep 8 Malinda Bale, infant, died. *7
1832 Nov 24 In Greenville, SC, John Bale married Phoebe G. Foster (b. 1805 Spartanburg, SC.) *7
1833 John Bale moved to Ala. and settled on Hurricane Creek near Spring Garden,Benton County, Ala. Coosa River News, 29 Sep 1893 *9
1834 John Bale moved from Spring Garden to Goshen, Benton County, "while Indians were yet plentiful in that rich valley" Coosa River News, 29 Sep 1893 *9
1835 Nov. 1. Birth of Josephine Bale. *10
1835-1837 Birth of Mary ADAMS.*4 for 1837.
1838 Aug 17 "John Bale of Benton County, Alabama" patented 80A in
far NW CLAY county at T18S R8E, E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of Section 14. It was
on Shinbone Creek in Shinbone Valley with a close view of Cheaha
Mountain to the northwest.
| John
Bale 1840 Spring Garden, Benton Co. Ala. Mrs. Phebe Bale b.1805 is not shown. |
||
| Males - Under 5: | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Males - 10 thru 14: | 1 | |
| Males - 20 thru 29: | 1 | |
| Males - 40 thru 49: | 1 | Bale, 45 |
| Females - Under 5: | 1 | |
| Females - 5 thru 9: | 1 | |
| Females - 10 thru 14: | 1 | |
| Females - 20 thru 29: | 1 | |
| Slaves - Males - Under 10: | 3 | |
| Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23: | 2 | |
| Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35: | 2 | Jerry b.~ 1806 |
| Slaves - Females - Under 10: | 1 | Mary age 3or4 |
| Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35: | 2 | Mother of Mary b.1805-1816 |
| Slaves - Females - 55 thru 99: | 1 | Poss. grandmother b.1741-1785 |
| Persons Employed in Agriculture: | 7 | |
| Free White Persons - Under 20: | 6 | |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: | 3 | |
| Total Free White Persons: | 9 | |
| Total Slaves: | 11 | |
| Total All Persons | 20 | |
1842 Aug 4 Emily C. Bale married John T. Stewart. On that date Bale was living at Terrapin Creek. *9
1845 John Bale sold all his slaves while in Spring Garden. The sale included Jerry (later Jerry Aiken) * (Mary, the remaining slave, was a child of 8 or 9. note 1
1845 May 1. "John Bale of Benton County, Alabama" patented 160A at
T12S R 9E, NE 1/4 of Section 25 (At Goshen
in Calhoun County adjacent to the present Cherokee County line. The
property is at the junction of today's Gnatville Road and Bramlett
Road.) (This is where he moved in 1834 a year after coming to Alabama.)
1845 May 1. "John Bale of Benton County, Alabama" patented 160 acres
at T12S R10E, NE 1/4 of Section 30. It adjoins on the east the previous
plot and bisects the present Cherokee/Calhoun line. It is at the
junction of Hurricane and Terrapin
Creek.(This is where he first settled in Alabama in 1833.)
1845 May 1. Bale patented 160A T10S R 10E, NE 1/4 of Section 21 as assignee of James Owen. The location is in Cherokee County, on or near the Coosa River near Newberry Cross Roads, just south of the river across from Yances Bend at Cedar Bluff.
1848 Feb 24. Bale wrote a letter to the court administering his
mother Mary's estate in Kings County, New York giving his address as Arbacoochee Gold
Mines, Randolph County, Alabama.
1848 July 19 postmark date of letter from Bale in New York to his wife Mrs. Phebe G. Bale, Arbacoochee Gold Mines, Randolph County, Alabama
1850 Death of the Negro man who managed his farm when he visited New
York.
1850 John Bale, 55, lived in Beat 4, Randolph County, Ala. His daughter Josephine was 15. Slave census shows only one slave, a black female age 16.*4
1851 or 1852 Josephine Bale at age 16 or 17 married Burwell Harbour of Floyd County, Ga. They live the first three years in Burwell's father's home in Cherokee County, Alabama. 1851 or 1852 Mary ADAMS, childless, moves in as a servant to serve the Harbours and their children.
1853 Jan 6. Bale family left Goshen. (from his letter dated Feb 13, 1853)
1853 Feb 13 John Bale wrote his brother Thomas from Augusta GA, "The negro man who managed my farm when I was in New York has been dead about three years. I have sold the farm and negroes with the exception of a girl about 18 which I have left to assist my daughter Josephine and the younger children. To reduce my cares as I advance to old age [he was 57 at the time] I have determined to condense all my operations and to quit the charge of all regular business a farm or negroes. Altho I do not claim to be an abolitionist yet I have felt the management and charge of negroes to be the source of the greatest vexation and aggravation of anything I have had to encounter and have therefore from choice and for my own satisfaction divested myself of them." *1 *2
c. 1854 Harbours move to the plantation at State Line, Georgia where they remain till Josephine's death.
c. 1856-59 Josephine ADAMS born to Mary ADAMS, servant. *4
Before 1860. John Bale probably moves to Coosa, Ga. At least his two sons and a Mrs. Bale lived there. One son married Maggie Smith and left her widowed during the Civil War. *8
1860 census for Atlanta City Ward No. 2, in Elisha Hollandīs boarding house: John “Bail’, 65, M, money dealer, b. England. Phebe “Bail’, 55, F. born S. Carolina.
1860 Josephine, age 23, and Burwell Harbour lived in Floyd County, Livingston District, Ga. (State Line). They owned these slaves: black male 25; black male 19; mulatto female 23; black male 3; and mulatto female 1. *4 (The mulatto female, 23, would probably be Mary ADAMS. The mulatto female, 1, would probably be Josephine ADAMS.)
1862/1 or 5 Oct 1865 *6 James ADAMS is born to Mary ADAMS, servant. (Jim ADAMS/White himself on the 1900 census says he was born May 1860; in the 1910 census, 1853/52; and in the 1920 census, 1862/1.
1863 Dec 24 John Bale's son Alfred F. Bale is killed at war*7 at Resaca, Ga. and later buried at Sardis Church, Cathy Gap (The Narrows), Coosa, Ga.
1864 Jan 4 John Bale died Rome, Ga. *5
1864 May 13 John Bale's son Charles R. Bale is killed at war*7 at Dandridge, Va. and later buried at Sardis Church, The Narrows, west of Coosa, Georgia.
1870 Mary ADAMS, domestic servant, 32, female, white, with her daughter Josephine, 13, son James, 8, and William White, 38, farm laborer, lived between William H. Burney and Burwell Harbour at Cave Spring, Floyd Co., Ga. *4
1870 Phebe Bale, 65, lived at State Line with her daughter Josephine
Harbour and family.
1876 Apr 9 Josephine Bale Harbour died.*5
Tuesday, April 18, 1876, Macon Weekly Telegraph: The Rome Courier announces the death of Mrs. Josephine Harbour of DeSoto and Mrs. Fielding Hight of Cave Spring.
1880 Mary WHITE (b 1837/36) and son James WHITE )b. 1863/62 are living in Dalton, Whitfield Co., Ga. There is no William White with them, but the family has his name.
1884 Feb 19 Phebe G. Bale, widowed, died in Rome, Ga. and was buried
at Myrtle Hill. (findagrave.com)
1893 Aug 18. Death of Emily Bale, daughter of John Bale b. 1824 Jun 15.
HERE IS THE ENTIRE COOSA RIVER NEWS ARTICLE FROM SEP 29, 1893 ON THE DEATH OF EMILY BALE STEWART AS QUOTED BY AWBREY in the collection "Cruising Through the Coosa River News":
"... Jun 14th, 1824 - Aug 18th, 1893 -- Between these dates has been crowded a life fill of untiring energy, remarkable, noble, economic, and pure.
"Born in Greenville, S.C., our mother, Mrs. Emily C. Stewart, there spent her childhood days. At about the age of nine, her father, John Bale, moved to Cherokee county, Alabama settling on Hurricane Creek near Spring Garden. In the year 1834 he moved to Goshen while Indians were yet plentiful in that rich valley. Her mother, a daughter of Esquire Mason of South Carolina was removed from all things earthly while our mother was yet a child, and a short time afterward a step-mother entered the household and so well and truly did she wield the sceptre of mother that the orphans knew her as a pure, good, devoted friend, the best one of them on earth. Too much can not be said of the good woman who died in Rome, Ga. in 1884...
"August 4th, 1842 was announced the happy marriage of John T. Stewart to Emily C., daughter of John Bale...
"By this woman were born eleven children and in the midst of these trials and expectations and at a time when a mother begins to hope for herself and children, the cruel hand of war on the battlefield at Shiloh, April 6th, 1862, laid claim to the noble, chivalrous, loving husband and father, Capt. John T. Stewart...Father and mother and five children have crossed over the river and six are left here for a purpose that only a wise God can know...
"The period of the duration of the war must have been the darkest hour in the life of our precious mother. Her loss during the struggle was not slaves, but a father, a husband, a boy, a girl and four brothers..."
For more sources please see John Bale Documentation on this page below.
1-Les Tate, lrtate@comcast.net.
2-Rick Glisson, jfglisson at bellsouth.net
3- Melvin White, grandson of Mary ADAMS to
Theoria White, his niece and my mother.
4-US Census
5-Uncredited
sources on rootsweb.com and "gene record" on ancestry.com.
6-Exact date from Lovia White, Travis' grandmother. It is not supported
by timely records.
7-Holcomb,
Brent H. Marriage and Death Notices from the Up-Country of South
Carolina as taken from Greenville newspapers, 1826-1863. Columbia,
S.C.: SCMAR, 1983, Ancestry.com,database online.
8-Diary 1861-65, Miss
Nanny Cathy of Cathy Gap, Floyd County, seen in the Cherokee County,
Ala. Public Library 2007, hand bound. Travis Hardin has posted it
online at www.intelec.us/gen/coosa/.
9-Awbrey, John C., "Crusing
Through the Coosa River News, Vol. 1: 1882-1894." (self published by
the author, Hokes Bluff, AL, email auby239[delete]@yahoo.com)
10-John Bale Family Record, typescript of, via George
Harbour, Jr. to Martha Glisson, Atlanta, Ga. emailed to T. Hardin
2012.
It was my great luck that Les Tate, and Rick and Martha Glisson pointed me to my ancestor, a needle in the haystack of history. The fact that (1) Bale's letter states a servant girl of Josephine Bale Harbour's age was assigned to take care of her; (2) that a servant of Josephine's age lived with Bale in 1860 and beside Josephine in 1870; (3) that the servant Mary ADAMS named her own daughter Josephine; and finally (4) the fact that John Bale's ship was detained according to my family lore -- all point, decisively, toward Mary ADAMS being the mother of James White and the ancestor of the subject White family.
The White oral history has it that the ancestor who is Mary ADAMS, or her mother, or the ancestor who crossed the Atlantic, was named Fasu or Fasue, pronounced by Theoria White as FAY-SUE. The name and the crossing story was told to her by her uncle Melvin White.
The slave later know as Mary Adams was listed as black in 1850, mulatto in 1860, and white in 1870 and 1880!
Why did Mary ADAMS remember so vividly the encounter with the Turks, when she was born 20 years after the crossing? Why was the story so exciting that it was handed down by word of mouth for five generations? One possibility is that the Bales' crossing story was told repeatedly at the Bale house and heard by Mary's slave mother who told her. Or the story was repeated in the Harbour house at State Line by Josephine Harbour while Mary and her two children listened with fascination.
My gratitude to Rick and Martha Glisson of Atlanta (the Glissons are descended from Victoria Bale) for supplying these documents during August 2012. The John Bale documents help to illuminate not only Mr. Bale's life, they allow us to infer something about my ancestor Mary Adams White. The latter, a mulatto slave of John Bale, became a servant to Josephine Bale beginning before Miss Bale's marriage c. 1852 until the early 1870s but before the death of Josephine Harbour on 9 April, 1876.
[NATURALIZATION PAPERS OF JOHN BALE, 18 APRIL 1818, page 1 ]
United States of America }
State of New Jersey }
Ls. at an inferior court of common pleas holden at Newark in and for the County of Essex, of the term of April in the year of one thousand eight hundred and eighteen,
Be it remembered that upon this eighteenth day of April in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and of the
independence of the United States the forty second, personally
appeared in open court John Bale, a native of the city of London in
that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, & a resident of Newark, County of Essex, state of New
Jersey, who being duly sworn according to law on his oath Saith
that it is bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United
States of America, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity
to any foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty and particularly
to George the Third The King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland (and to his successors) of which King he is at this time a
subject.
J. Bale
Sworn in open Court the day & year aforesaid. Gab H. Ford
I, Asa Whitehead, Clerk of Law Court do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the record of the declaration of John Bale, an alien, of his intention to become a citizen of the United States of America.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed
the seal of said court at Newark in said County the thirtieth day of
July A. D. eighteen hundred & twenty two.
Asa Whitehead.
(source: familysearch.org, "New Jersey County Naturalizations Records 1749-1986, Esses, Petitions for Naturalization 1810-1820," frame 261 of 419, accessed 10 Dec 2016.)
[NATURALIZATION PAPERS OF JOHN BALE, 18 April 1818, page 2]
To Silas Whitehead Clerk of the Inferior court of common pleas holden at Newark in and in and for the County of Essex, in the State of New Jersey.
I John Bale, being desirous of becoming a citizen of the United
States of America do in conformity to the Statute of said United States
make report as followeth. That I am a native of the city of London in
that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England. That I am aged about twenty two years. That I am under
allegiance unto the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland. That I migrated from said City of London on or about the
twenty fourth day of July, eighteen hundred & seventeen, and
arrived at Boston on or about the fifteenth of October of the same
year. That I am by occupation a coach maker, and that my residence is
in Newark in said county of Essex. In witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand this eighteenth day of April one thousand eight hundred
eighteen. 1818.
J. Bale
Received in the office the 18th of April AD 1818.
Silas Whitehead, cttc[?]
I, Asa Whitehead, clerk of said court do hereby certify that the
forgoing is a true copy of the record of the report of John Bale, an
alien. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and
affixed the seal of said court at Newark in said county this thirtieth
day of July, eighteen hundred & twenty two.
Asa Whitehead
Cover: "Filed April 18, 1818 and recorded in book A of Miscellaneous
for Essex, P. 120."
(source: familysearch.org, "New Jersey County Naturalizations Records
1749-1986, Esses, Petitions for Naturalization 1810-1820," frame 258 of
419, accessed 10 Dec 2016.)
--------------------------------
[page 3]
Newark, April 18, A.D.1818
To the Honorable the Judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas holden at Newark in and for the County of Essex.
The petition of John Bale an alien - respectfully sheweth -
That your petitioner having made a report and registry of his name, birth place, age, name and allegiance, togeter with the Country from whince he mitrated, the time of his arrival in the United States and the place of his residence to the Clerk of this Court agreeably to the directions of the Statutes of the United States, in such care made and provided, prays the Honorable Court that he may be allow to give notice and declare his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States of America according to the further directions of said Statute.
And your petitioner will ever pray, &c. J. Bale
(source: familysearch.org, "New Jersey County Naturalizations Records
1749-1986, Esses, Petitions for Naturalization 1810-1820," frame 260 of
419, accessed 10 Dec 2016.)
Augusta Georgia Feby 13th 1853
Dear Brother
Altho we have neglected to correspond with each other heretofore I think it right to communicate to you that I have removed from my former residence I have for the present and perhaps altogether given up housekeeping Myself and wife have for the last three weeks been boarding at this place and I think it probable that the greater portion of my time hereafter will be spent in this city as my investments are mostly here My daughters that are married and alive Mrs Emily Stewart and Mrs Josephine Harbour are residing at Goshin Cherokee County Alabama where also are at present all my other living children James, Charles, Alfred, and Victoria
my daughter Amanda Mason that resided at Decatur Georgia has been dead three years has left no children she had one which lived a month and died in childbirth of the second. Out of thirteen we have lost seven my son James has but just recovered from Typhoid fever which had incapacitated him for business for more than a year previous Josephine my present wife's eldest child married more than two years ago at the age of fifteen and one month to a young man who had learnt the trade of a saddler but who is now like my other son in law a farmer he is sufficiently intelligent prudent and industrious his Parents on whose land he is living about 7 miles from Emily Though plain people are respectable and may be considered wealthy Josephine had a fine son about three weeks before we left Goshen five weeks ago. Altho they have at present but little property in hand they are both industrious and healthy and I consider their prospect very good
After enduring very great hardships for several years at my first setting out and by an unremitting care and economy altogether I have accumulated enough I think to make our (myself and wifes) life for the future independent and easy in one of my investments however I have been unfortunate to a large amount namely a cotton factory in Augusta from which I receive no Dividends and in which I shall in all probability sustain a very heavy loss Myself and wife expect to travel north and east in the month of June and shall probably remain in New York a considerable part of the summer I shall be glad if you will notice where you think we may obtain good comfortable but not extravagant Board on our arrival.
My daughter Emily has five healthy children three daughters and two sons all small and active like herself she and her husband are much respected in their neibourhood and are acquiring property pretty fast My son James is I think about the tallest of our family I think about 5 feet 8 inches Emily and Alfred are very small my youngest daughter Victoria who is not yet 12 years old is taller than Emily and a full half head taller than her brother Alfred who is two years older but who notwithstanding his diminituiveness and rather weakness of constitution bids fair to be the most energetic end enterprising of the family Josephine two weeks after her confinement weighed 144 pounds and is about 3 inches taller than I am Charles is about the same height as she is weighs 135 lbs and is but 15 1/2 years of age he is steady strong and industrious and will probably make an excellent farmer Victoria may probably make the smartest of my female children tho it is hard to tell, all I think are above mediocrity
The negro man who managed my farm when I was in New York has been dead about three years I have sold the farm and negroes with the exception of a girl about 18 which I have left to assist my daughter Josephine and the younger children. To reduce my cares as I advance to old age I have determined to condense all my operations and to quit the charge of all regular business a farm or Negroes. Altho I do not claim to be an abolitionist yet I have felt the management and charge of Negroes to be the source of the greatest vexation and aggravation of anything I have had to encounter and have therefore from choice and for my own satisfaction divested myself of them
I shall be glad you will write me in receipt of this giving me information how you all are and direct your letters "Augusta Georgia" I do not know that I can add more that will be interesting to you I therefore conclude by requesting to be kindly remembered to my Sister Betsey Brother James and family Charles your own family etc and with a sincere wish for your future health and enjoyment
John Bale
To
Mr Thos Bale
No 67 Willet St
or to the care of
Mr James Bale
96 Fulton St
New York
I get the impression (she says) from reading John Baleīs letters that he was a good solid London citizen of the merchant class – intelligent, practical, a little hard-headed, but kindly and humane (think St. Thomas More, the quintessential London burgher).
The whole concept of slavery must have seemed extremely strange to an Englishman, since any slaves in England were emancipated by the law courts in 1772, a quarter-century before his birth. And of course the merchant class (and especially London merchants because of their long history of opposition to the Crown) were antithetical to anything that smacked of subservience. Maybe thatīs why he wandered around so much and never really settled down.
1840 census for Benton (later Cherokee) County, AL, N. District, census taker Wm. Garrett. P. 26: John Bale: 2 wm under 5 (Alfred & Charles), 1 10-15 (James Alfred), 1 20-30 unknown, 1 40-50 John Bale himself. 1 wf under 5 (Josephine), 1 5-10 (unknown), 1 10-15 (Emily Carolina), 1 20-30 (Phoebe, slightly minimizing her age). Slave males: 3 under 10, 2 10-24, 2 24-36. Slave females: 1 under 10, 2 24-36, 1 55-100.
1850 census for Randolph County AL, p. 308, “Beat No. 4’ – John
Bale, 55, M, merchant, $3,000, born England. Phebe Bale, 45, F, b.
S.C., Josephine, 15, F, b. SC, at school. Charles, 13, M. b. SC, at
school, Alfred, 11, M, b. SC, at school, Victoria, 9, F, b. SC, at
school.
Nothing else under this entry.
1860 census for Atlanta City Ward No. 2, in Elisha Hollandīs boarding house: John “Bail’, 65, M, money dealer, b. England. Phebe “Bail’, 55, F. born S. Carolina. Nothing else.
I have a little more info on Mr. Harbour, although he is not in my direct line so I donīt have a lot (weīre descended from Victoria Bale). His full name was Burnwell Strange Harbour (27 Feb 1823 – 1905). Children are John Franklin Harbour, Albert D. Harbour b. 25 July 1843, Eugenia V. Harbour, b. 12 Dec 1857, d. 1931, John Thomas (Tonie) Harbour, b. 18 April 1858, d. 1940, Pierce Butler Harbour, b. 24 March 1850, Maggie B. Harbour, b. 1854, Ira Foster Harbour, b. 27 July 1866, and Edgar G. Harbour, b. 10 May 1872.
Notes I received from one of B.S. Harbourīs descendants (George A.
Harbour) are as follows:
“My [this is J.F. Harbourīs note] father, Burnwell Strange Harbour was
born in Patrick County, VA, in 1823 and moved with his father to the
Harbour Estate in Alabama in 1835 or 1836 and married in 1851 or 1852
Josephine Bale, remaining at the home place for about three years, then
moving to his Coosa River plantation, in Floyd County Georgia, where
all except the first two children were born. The Plantation is still
held by some of the children, who bought the interests of those who had
homes and businesses far removed fro the old homestead.
“My mother Josephine Bale, was born near Ladiga Alabama, in 1834-1835 and died April 9 1876 while still a young woman (only 40 years old). My father lived to the ripe old age of 84 years, died in the plantation home.
“There were born to them the following: John Franklin, m. Ella Farell. Albert Decatur, never married & died young. Charles Alfred, m. Addie ?, Eugenie Victoria, m. G.A. Slaton, d. Dec 23 1931. Pierce Butler, m. Carrie Ross (d. Dec 6 1942). Maggie Bale, m. J.T. Wells. James Meredith, never married. Edgar Glover, m. Emma Parish. Ira Foster, died in infancy.” This doesnīt quite tally with the info I have above.
Unfortunately, George A. Harbour is now deceased and his widow has no interest whatsoever in genealogy.
Poor Mr. Harbour got cursed root and branch in John Baleīs will, he must have really been irritated at him. The will is pretty unique for this area, but not at all unusual for an Englishman of the rising merchant class. If you google the “Bideford Pretty Maidsī Charity’ (VERY similar to Baleīs bequest) or “Dicing for Bibles’ at St. Ives or “The Cotswold Olimpick Games’ you can see that this was practically a spectator sport in England.
About the only thing you can do about all the misspelled family names is just keep cross-checking them against property, census, and church records and newspapers. Spelling was a little more creative in those days, and so much depended on what a bored census-taker or court clerk THOUGHT he heard.
Be sure to follow up on any church affiliations that you find, I was able to get an awful lot of information from church minute books that had been preserved here and there.
Happy hunting!
-Martha Glisson
Bale Lane and Bale Mountain in Goshen Valley were named for John
Bale. Bale settled on Harrisons Creek in 1831 then to Goshen in 1834.
Captain John Bale of Rome Georgia was his son.
Malcolm803added this on 11 Jan 2010.
marydavis809 originally submitted this to Akin Family Tree on 5 Aug
2009.
Thomas Bale, John Bale's father, died 1844 in Brooklyn, Kings,
New York, United States, according to the Dougall tree. Mary Bale,
Thomas's wife, died 1848 in the same city.
Main source:Ancestry.com tree "Dougall"
owned by Malcolm803, entry "John Bale" url:
http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/78193/person/137914328/media/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid|pgNum
Thomas Bale, John's
father, died before 1845 Jan 18 in New York City. On that date son
Thomas Bale, Jr. was appointed his administrator. Thomas Bale's living
children are listed. (All who arrived in 1817 had survived.)
Mary Bale, his wife, died before 1848 Mar 16 in Brooklyn, Kings County,
New York. On that date her son Charles Bale was appointed
administrator. A letter from John Bale of Randolph County, Alabama, is
in the file. It is shown below.
New York Wills and
Probate Records, 1659-1999 for Thomas Bale. New York, Box 0008-28977,
vol 044, 1844-1845. (Ancestry.com, accessed 24 Feb 2020)
Surrogate's Court, County of New York. Petition for Letters of Administration
The petition of Thomas Bale Junr of the City of New York respectfully
showeth that he is the son of Thomas Bale late of the City of New York,
Tailor, deceased.
That said deceased departed this life at the City of New York the
eighteenth day of November last without leaving any last will and
Testament to the knowledge, information, or belief of petitioner: that
said deceased died possessed of certain personal property in the State
of New York, theh value whereof does not exceed the som of about eleven
hundred dollars, as your petitioner has been informed and believes;
that said deceased has left him surviving Mary Bale his widow, your
petitioner his son, John Bale his son, Elisabeth Bale his daughter,
James Bale and Charles Bale his sons, all of full age all residing in
the City of New York, except John Bale, who resides in Randolph County
State of Alabama as his only next of kin ...
Your petitioner herewith files the ___ of Mary Bale, widow, and
therefore prays, that you will appoint him administrator of all and
singular the goods ... of said Thomas Bale, deceased.
Dated New York January 18, 1845. (sig)Thomas Bale, Junr.
Surrogate's Court
In the matter of the estate of Thomas Bale: Renunciation (by widow Mary Bale. Has her signature)
Administratrator of Mary Bale was Charles Bale, dated March 16, 1848.
Letter in the file:
Arbacoochee Gold Mines
Randolph County, Alabama
Februrary 24th, 1848
To the Surrogate of Kings County, State of New York.
Dr Sir: I hereby relinquish my right of administration on the Estate of
the late Mary Bale deceased of the above County to my Brother Charles
Bale of the State of New York.
Signed J. Bale
Edited February 2020
