James Ball

74

iain Frazier on 23rd December 2024

Family connections for James (Ball) are: BALL James (Ball) was born about 1765. He was working for the Mint when he was tried for stealing gold etc, on 3 11 1796, from the Mint & pretending it to be legal probably at Old Bailey on 6 12 1797, sentenced to 7years, held at London Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 14 12 1801 after a voyage of 6.5months on Fleet ship MINORCA. He was Free by Servitude by 1813 when he started a first relationship with Mary (Pears her second (2of3) relationship).>>> [Some details taken from this Website] Mary (Pears) was born about 1769/79. She married firstly (1of3) William (Plowright) in 1798 & produced 4children (who did not travel to Australia). She was tried for theft, in March 1808, of silk handkerchiefs etc of William (Swift) at Nottingham Town Assizes Nottinghamshire on 4 8 1808, sentenced to 7years, held at Town Gaol & arrived in NSW as a convict on 18 8 1809 after a voyage of 6.5months on INDISPENSIBLE. In 1811 she was a servant for David (Bevan). She was issued her Ticket of Leave no.11/150 in 1812 & her Absolute Pardon no.176 on 29 2 1812. She is recorded in 1814 with her child off stores in Sydney. In 1816 she was licenced as Publican in Sydney & was operating the Speed The Plough Inn in Sydney on 19 4 1817. She married thirdly Thomas Arkell his second (2of3) marriage) of Sydney on 15 1 1821 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. She seems to have shared the operation of the Inn with her husband until they separated on 21 6 1821 & both disclaimed the debts of the other in their settlement; she claimed to have owned assets of >4,000lbs. The Inn was the Nottingham New Inn, possibly rename of the former Inn, at 39 Pitt St Sydney, of which she had sole ownership in 1824. She died on 22 11 1825 age56 & was buried at St James CofE Sydney/old Devonshire St cemetery-reinterred at Rookwood Necropolis general cemetery Haslems Creek Sydney CofE section in 1901; her Will left the Nottingham New Inn in trust for her daughters sole use, extending even after any future marriage. [Some details taken from this Website] James (Ball) & Mary (Pears/Plowright) produced 1child: 1.Eleanor (Pear/Plowright) was born on 7 1 1813 & baptised on 24 1 1813 at St Phillips CofE Sydney. She is recorded in 1814 with her mother off stores at Sydney. She was bequeathed the Nottingham New Inn after her mothers death in 1825 in trust for her her sole use, extending even after any future marriage. She died on 7 9 1838 age27. .. >>>James (Ball) was a sawyer emancipist when he married secondly Catherine (???/Bryant) on 10 7 1827 at St Phillips CofE Sydney. He produced 1known child in his lifetime. Catherine (Bryant) was born about 1774 & became a housekeeper/cook. She had a first relationship with John (Lecore) & lived at Browns Lane Spitalfields London. She was a housekeeper when she was tried w/John (Lecore) for receiving brush bristles at probably Old Bailey on 28 10 1818, sentenced to 14years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict probably with her mother after a voyage of 9months on LORD WELLINGTON; she was 5'4" brown hair hazel eyes. She was issued her Ticket of Leave no.229/2363 on 7 9 1806 at Sydney. She produced perhaps 2children in her lifetime.] [Some details taken from this Website] Reference: Craig James Smee 'Births and Baptisms Marriages and Defacto Relationships Deaths and Burials New South Wales 1788-1830' ..a complete listing from church & other records in the early colony.

135

C H on 10th March 2024

Old Bailey Online JAMES BALL. Theft; grand larceny (to 1827). 6th December 1797. Text type Trial account Defendants JAMES BALL Offences Theft > Grand larceny Session Date 6th December 1797 Reference Number t17971206-18 Verdicts Guilty Punishments Transportation 19. JAMES BALL was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 3d of November , twelve penny-weights of gold, value 2l. 3s. and eight pieces of gold, called blanks, of the weight of two ounces four penny-weights three grains, value 8l. 8s. the property of Joseph Safe , William Gregory , Henry-William Atkinson , Reuben Fletcher , John Nichol , and Richard Franklin . Second Count. Laying it to be the property of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England .(The indictment was stated by Mr. Ward, and the case by Mr. Fielding) JOHN NICHOLL sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. I am a monier of the Mint, the prisoner was employed in the Mint , and had been about six months; the moniers of the Mint are Joseph Safe, William Gregory , Henry- William Atkinson , Reuhen Fletcher, Richard Franklin , and myself. Q. The ingots are delivered to you in bars? - A. Yes; we have the charge and custody of it, and are responsible for the money. Q. What was the prisoner? - A. What they call a sizer, he oils the guineas, and carries them in various states from one room to another. Q. Having access to the different commodities that are there? - A. Yes. Q. Was there, on the 3d of November, or before that, golden blanks for guineas? - A.There were, on that day, and the next, I believe, I cannot speak exactly, we missed them frequently. Q. Are you enabled to say there were some taken away? - A. Yes, certainly, I should think so; this is the blank that I received from Cuff, the pawnbroker's man, it has the assay mark upon it, but I should have known it without. Q. Did you see the prisoner when he was apprehended? - A. Not till he was before the Lord-Mayor. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. A number of men are employed in the same office that this man is? - A. Yes. Q. It is not your duty to inspect the office he belongs to? - A. Yes, it is. Q. I believe, you do not know any thing about any loss, except by the comparison of some books? - A. Yes; I have missed blanks several times, but could not tell how they were gone. Q. How often? - A. I cannot say, every day almost. Q. You have a great number of men employed? - A. Yes. Q. No individual man has any particular charge over any particular portion of it? - A. Certainly not. Q. There are six monies of the Mint? - A. Yes. Q. Are there any superior officers to you? - A. Yes. Q. What sort of commission have you? - A. A commission from the Crown. Q. Then the capacity in which you are authorized to dispose of any of the property that comes into your hands, is merely a capacity of so many persons, moniers in the Mint-when you undertake to perform any particular act, you must perform that act in your capacity as moniers, and in no other capacity? - A.Certainly. Q. Therefore, any other act which is not done by you, as moniers of the Mint, must be null and void? - A. I do not understand you. Q. Suppose five of you were to do an act without the sixth, that act must be null and void? - A. Yes. Q. Is there any particular Act of Parliament by which you have authority to act? - A. No. Q. In the authority you have got, giving you a privilege to act, is that a joint authority, which says you shall do so and so? - A. I neverread the authority under which I act. WILLIAM CUFF sworn. - I live with Mr. Fullwood, pawnbroker, No. 30, Barbican; the prisoner came to our house on the 3d of November, between two and three o'clock; he offered for sale eight gold blanks, nearly the size of a guinea each, and several small pieces of gold; he wished to know the value of them; having bought two small parcels of gold of him in the month of July, it gave me to suspect he had not come by them honestly; I wished him to leave them and call again at five o'clock; he would not leave them without my putting down the weight, two ounces, sixteen penny-weights, which I did, and gave him the paper, he said he would call at five o'clock; I then sent them by the lad who was in the shop with me, to my master, the boy's name is Lawrence Notley ; my master returned between four and five, and the prisoner came again between five and six; Mr. Fullwood, Mr. Mason, and the boy were then in our house; he wished to have the value of the gold, Mr. Fullwood then came out of the parlour with the constable, and took him into the parlour, where he remained till the gentlemen came from the Mint; I went into the parlour with the gentlemen, and they seemed very much surprised, and said, Ball, is it you? there were several words passed, and he was taken to the office. Q. What became of the blanks you had sent by Notley to your master? - A. I received them from Mr. Fullwood. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. How many are concerned in the shop besides yourself? - A. The boy Notley. Q.What time did the prisoner bring these to your shop? - A.Between three and four. Q.Was it you that entered into the treaty? - A. Yes. Q. Had you ever bought any gold in the shop before? - A. Yes. Q.Something similar, I suppose? - A. Something similar. Q. Had not your master been in treaty with some persons, that, before the Magistrate, he said, were coiners? - A. I did not hear any such thing; I remember his saying, he did not know whether somebody had not tried to make a Yorkshire guinea, and failed in the attempt, and sold it. Q.Sterling gold you know, is what they call Yorkshire gold? - A. We did not know it was sterling gold. Q. You a pawnbroker, and not know sterling gold; do you not try every bit of gold before you deal about it? - A. Yes. Q. These being Yorkshire guineas, was his honest excuse for purchasing such a commodity? - A. I left it to my master. LAWRENCE NOTLEY sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. I was in the shop when the prisoner came into the shop; when the prisoner came in, I took eight blanks of gold, and sundry pieces of gold, which I took from Cuff, to Mr. Fullwood; I gave them into his hand. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. You received some pieces from the last witness, you do not know where he got them? - A. Yes; I saw him receive them from James Ball . Q. Did you give it to your master? - A. Yes. Q. Did you watch your master while he was looking at them? - A. He took them to Mr. Aspinshaw, and he said it was Tower gold. Q. Was it ever given to you again? - A. No. Q.Therefore whether your master changed it or not, before he brought it back, you do not know? - A. No. WILLIAM - ROBINSON FULLWOOD sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. I am a pawnbroker: The boy came to me on the 3d of November, and brought me eight blanks of gold, and some other pieces; I was at my uncle's, No. 70, Leather-lane; I returned them to the man again in the same state that I had received them from the boy. Cuff. These are the pieces I had from Mr. Fullwood. Q.(To Notley). These pieces that you received from Cuff, you gave your master? - A. Yes. Mr. Nicholl. I had these from Cuff, before the Lord-Mayor. Cuff. That is one of the parcels that I received from the prisoner. Fullwood. Before I got home, I had applied to a person in Leather-lane, Mr. Aspinshaw, who is a smith in the Mint; I then went home, and had got Mason, the constable, ready to take him up. Q. When the prisoner came into the shop, did he apply to you, or to the man? - A. He applied to the man at the door; I did not hear distinctly what he said, but hearing something, I went out, the constable followed; I produced the pieces, and he said, what will you give me for them; I told him, I thought he had not come honestly by them, and I should give charge of him; the moniers of the Mint came, and so did Mr. Aspinshaw; before they came, I had asked him if he sold them for himself, or for any one else; he said, he had brought them for no person but himself, they were his own property, and so he should make it appear; we expressed surprise that the parties were so long in coming; he seemed to wish to know who the parties were that were coming; Mr. Aspinshaw came about five o'clock, or it might be something more. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. You are a pawnbroker? - A. I am a silversmith and salesman. Q. Not a pawnbroker? - A. Yes; but not in that shop; it is my uncle's shop; I have the management of it. Q. Does he manage the pawnbrokering business now? - A. I am obliged to mind that for him. Q. These blanks had been in a good many hands besides yourself? - A. Yes; I gave them first into the hands of Mr. Aspinshaw's father, and he shewed them to his son; but they never passed my sight; the time Mr. Aspinshaw wanted to take care of them, I would not leave them. Q. You have seen Yorkshire guineas? - A. Yes. Q. And these are very small to Yorkshire guineas? - A. Yes. Q. They were very much like Yorkshire guineas? - A. I went to a refiner for his opinion; if I had known it had been stamped for gold, I should not have let him have them for three guineas; it would have puzzled a refiner in that state. Q. Has there not been something before the Magistrate about guineas? - A. What Magistrate? I have heard nothing about it, except before the Lord-Mayor, in the present business; I never bought any like this. Q. What do you know about Yorkshire guineas? - A. I had taken them in the way of trade. Q. And you a silversmith? - A. Yes. Q. You did not go before the Lord-Mayor? - A. Not till the Monday following. Q. Did you not say you would purchase one hundred pounds worth of such goods, if they were brought to you? - A. No. Q. How many persons were at Mr. Aspinshaw's? - A. His sister. Q. Do you mean to swear these pieces are the pieces that came from the prisoner? - A. Yes. Q. When you buy silver, do you always go to a refiner's, to see whether it is gold or silver? - A. Yes; but when gold is in this state, it is impossible to tell what it is. WILLIAM MASON sworn. - I went to the house of Mr. Fullwood, and saw Cuff, to take charge of a person they expected to return about six o'clock. Q. When was it that you saw the prisoner at the bar? - A. About five o'clock in the evening, being in the parlour, I waited for a signal to know when the man was come; he was pointed out to me; I went into the parlour, Mr. Fullwood came into the room; the prisoner seemed very sorry for what had happened; and I desired him to sit down, for I expected a gentleman to call; Ball sat down in a chair, and wanted to know how long it would be before the gentleman came; I talked to him, and endeavoured to persuade him to be satisfied for a few minutes. Q. How long was it before any gentleman came? - A. About half an hour; while I was in the parlour, I asked him if it was his own property, or if he sold it for any body else; he said, it was his own, he had bought it of a man; I asked him who that man was, and where he lived; he could not tell, but said it was his own property; I asked him if he had got any more; he said he had got no more at all; still he was very impatient; he threw this piece of paper on the fire, accordingly I picked up the piece of paper; after that, Mr. Atkinson and a Mr. Gregory came into the house, with some other gentlemen; soon after that one of the moniers gave me charge of him. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. You were before the Lord-Mayor? - A. Yes. Q. I believe there was a little contest between you and Mr. Nicholl, about this gold, whether it would be identified? - A. No; the man never said what gold it was, I was informed before that they were blank guineas. - ASPINSHAW sworn. - Examined by Mr. Fielding. Q. You are employed in the Mint? - A. Yes; I went to Mr. Fullwood's house in consequence of his calling upon me, I saw the prisoner there; I asked him how he came by them, and whether there was any other man concerned besides himself; but he said, it was all his own doing. Q. Did he say where he had got them? - A. No; he had hid them in various places, and that no one was concerned with him. Q. In various places where? - A. In the building. Q. You meea in the Mint? - A. Yes; I asked him how he got them; he said from different places, some were taken from the size-room, and others were taken from the Mint office. Q. Is that where the blanks are lodged? - A. No; the pieces of cecil are. Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. In what state do you receive the gold from the moniers, is it not in bars? - A. No; they receive it in bars. Q. Is it in bars when the moniers give it to you? - A. Yes; it goes through various processes.(Mr. Nicholl proved the blanks having come from the Tower). Court. Q. How does the money come to you? - A. It goes in ingots to the melter, and from him to us; and we return it to the Bank of England weight for weight, as we receive it. The prisoner called five witnesses, who gave him a good character. GUILTY (Aged 28.) Transported for seven years .