ARC TBC - BEALE/BALE family of Netherton and Rowley

[Tonibunny]

I'm a descendant of the BEALE family from Netherton; this family can be quite confusing so I thought I'd start here by posting the information I have on them. The name was originally BALE but some lines of the family came to be known as BEALE instead, probably due to the Black Country pronunciation of the name - I've seen the same thing happen with WHEALE and WHALE.


John BALE married Hannah KNIGHT on the 9th of August 1828 at St Cadoc's church, Trevethin, in Monmouthshire. The parish register entry reads:

18th Aug 1828
John BALE, otp, bach
marr by Banns
Hannah KNIGHT, otp, spin
Witnesses: Wm LEWIS, Mary THOMAS

Although John is "of this parish", his baptism does not appear in the baptismal records for St Cadoc and I have not yet been able to find it.

A John BALE was acquitted of housebreaking at the 1832 Monmouthshire Assizes, but it is not known if this is the same person.

John and Hannah had a son, also called John, who was born in Abersychan circa 1831. I haven't yet found John and Hannah in the 1841 census, but I have found their son John staying with his possible grandmother, Elizabeth KNIGHT:

1841. River Row, Trevethin, MON
Elizabeth NIGHT, 65, not born in county
Edward DAVIES, 30, miner, not born in county
John BALE, 11, born in county

Son John married Mary Ann Martin at the Tabernacle in Trevethin on the 19th of Feb 1849. Their marriage certificate reads as follows:

1849. Married at The Tabernacle in Trevethin, county of Monmouth
9th February 1849
John BAIL, aged 20, Bachelor, Miner, residing at Pontnewynydd, father John BAIL, father's occupation: Miner,
Mary Ann MARTIN, aged 21, Spinster, residing at Pontnewynydd, father John MARTIN. father's occupation: Carrier
Married at the Tabernacle according to the Rites & Ceremonies of the Particular Baptists
Edward Evans, minister
Witnesses: Sarah HUGHES, William WILLIAMS X his mark


John and Mary Ann had the following children:

John, b. c1851 in Aberyschan, MON
Thomas, b. c1854 in Rowley Regis, STS
Henry, b. c1856 in Rowley Regis, STS
Fanny (Frances Jenny), b. 1st April 1857 in Harts Hill or Moore Lane, Rowley Regis
Antony, born 1859 in Dudley, WOR
Edward, born 21st Feb 1863 in Netherton, WOR

In 1861 this family are at 70, Netherton Hill, Dudley.
In 1871 they are at Court 8, Cradley Road, Netherton.

John Beale (b.c1851) is problematic because he had children with Ann COOPER but did not marry her. I have struggled to identify Ann, and am wondering if she was a married woman who had separated from her husband. To complicate things, his brother Edward married a woman who was called Annie Cooper! For a while I worked on the assumption that Ann and Annie were cousins, but I have recently dismissed this. Although Annie has a cousin called Ann Sylvia, both of them are alive and married in the 1901 census whereas John Beale's partner Ann appears to be the Ann Cooper who died in Netherton in 1887 (I have her death certificate).

John Beale and Ann Cooper had the following children:

Hannah, b. 4th Oct 1878 at 133 Northfield Road, Netherton (her birth certificate names her mother Ann Cooper, but the space for father is left blank. However, her marriage certificate gives her name as Hannah Beale and names John Beale as her father).
Mary Ann, b. c1880 in Netherton (I cannot find a birth certificate for her).
Fanny, b. 27th Aug 1882 at 39 Halesowen Road, Netherton (again, her birth certificate names her mother Ann Cooper but the space for the details about the father is left blank)
John Cooper, b. c1885 in Netherton (I cannot find a birth certificate for him)
James, b. 31st May 1885 at 123 Halesowen Road, Netherton (no father named on birth certificate, but mother is named as "Ann Cooper now the wife of John Beale" - nb I cannot find any evidence that they did marry. Death certificate states he was the son of John Beale).

Ann Cooper is probably the Ann Cooper who died aged 33 on 15th Oct 1887 at 3 North Street, Netherton. Following her death, John married his housekeeper Priscilla WHITMORE. John and Priscilla had five children, and I am in touch with the descendent of one of them.

According to my grandmother (John Cooper's daughter), John and Ann's eldest daughters hated their new stepmother, Hannah went to live with her Aunt Fanny in Manchester. She appears on the censuses there and married a William BUTTERS there in 1904 (I have this marriage certificate and John Beale is named as her father on it).

I have details of all the families of the various BEALE/BALE siblings, which I can post if anyone is interested. I don't want to over complicate things at first though! A couple of the earlier siblings (John and Mary Ann's sons Antony and Thomas) moved to Kirby in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, so there are connections there too.

My main brick wall right now is the identification of Ann Cooper! I'd love to hear from anyone who is related to this family.

Antonia x

[peterd]

this your john and mary ann ?

http://bcconnections.tribalpages.com/tr ... =711721418

1849. Married at The Tabernacle in Trevethin, county of Monmouth
9th February 1849
John BAIL, aged 20, Bachelor, Miner, residing at Pontnewynydd, father John BAIL, father's occupation: Miner,
Mary Ann MARTIN, aged 21, Spinster, residing at Pontnewynydd, father John MARTIN. father's occupation: Carrier
Married at the Tabernacle according to the Rites & Ceremonies of the Particular Baptists
Edward Evans, minister
Witnesses: Sarah HUGHES, William WILLIAMS X his mark

and this is there marriage ?

[Tonibunny]

Hi Peter,

Yes, that's them!

Toni

[maz]

My g.g.g.grandfather James MONTGOMERY married his second wife Hannah KNIGHT at St Thomas' Church, Dudley in 1838.
Her status is given as spinster. However, in 1872 he made a will in which he left household furnishings to "John Bale,son of my wife Hannah". In 1841, Hannah's place of birth is given as Gloucestershire.Do you think this could this be your Hannah?
James and Hannah had no children though he had six with his first wife.For many years they lived on Cradley Road, Netherton, and James was a coal miner, eventually becoming a chartermaster. James died in 1881 and Hannah in 1889.
If this is the same Hannah who married in South Wales I would love to know how and why she came to Dudley.

Maz

[montch]

Maz, if you would like to exchange information please let me know. We are related and I am also in contact with a person you are closely related to.

Thanks, Christopher Montgomery

[peterd]

Maz, if you would like to exchange information please let me know. We are related and I am also in contact with a person you are closely related to.

Thanks, Christopher Montgomery

montch as maz isn't a regular poster you would be best to send him a pm see buttom to right under his name

pete

[BC Wench]

Is this still a Brickwall, or have you solved it?

Unless otherwise advised this will be moved to the Brickwalls Archived section
within 24 hours