My Great Grandmother is Isabell Balch. She was, and therefore I am, a decedent of this man, John Balch. The history of the Balch family is well researched. The likeness of John on the cover of this book bears resemblance to a portrait that hangs in my grandmothers living room.
link to google book here
Hi Tommy,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you were going to go into the Balch genealogy. It would be cool if you did, because it is so well researched. Let me tell you what I know from the top of my head:
Your great Grandmothers full name was Isabelle Hall Balch. Her dad was George Eben Balch who was married to Jenny Meek.
George was a silver smith who designed and carved the engravings for the molds used for the cutlery at the Towle Silver Co. in Newburyport MA. ( we have sampler sheets of lead that he used to carve his design "sketches" into. He was quite the artist!)
Jenny Meek came from an industrious family who made their living from the manufacture of cast iron stoves at the Meek Oven company. Jenny herself ran her own bakery ( we have a couple of her business cards advertising the bakery and a photograph of the interior) and while doing that she also ran a boarding house. She was also one of the first to own an automobile in Newburyport. (Family stories have it that she was also involved in one of the first auto collisions. Many of the roads were narrow and unpaved that existed before cars became common and so were not suited for two way traffic. Jenny and the local sheriff were driving toward each other and got into an argument as to who should be the one to pull over so that the other could pass. Jenny stood on the issue that as she was a lady the sheriff should be the one to pull over, the sheriff apparently did not agree. So for several yards the yelling match continued as each vehicle drew closer and closer, neither driver willing to pull over until eventually their front bumpers struck. Now they were only going at the top speed of perhaps 10 mph or that of walking but it made the local news.)
George Eben's father was named Eben George and I believe he was a clock maker as was his father Daniel Balch and a whole line of Balch's as well.