Henry Ballenger & Mary Harding

Any information is only as reliable as its source.  Evaluate the following sources accordingly.

                For published histories of the Ballenger family, the reader is directed to Emma Barrett Reeves, Three Centuries of Ballingers in America, and Lanson B. Harvey, The Ballinger Family.  What you will find below is drawn mostly from Emma Reeves and from researcher Virginia Paddock.

c. 1660: Henry Ballenger was born in Benningham, England.  [Harvey, The Ballinger Family, p. 5, copy provided by Virginia Paddock]   Quaker Yeoman, however, claims a a birth place of Birmingham, England.  [Quaker Yeoman, p. 79b]

Henry was probably of Hugenot extraction, "Ballinger" being possibly derived from the French word for "baker".   While it's generally believed that the family was driven out of France, fleeing first to Holland, and then to England, where Henry was born; one descendant was admitted to the Hugenot Society in the 1920s based upon Henry Ballinger being born in Artois.  Some researchers have claimed that his father was Aubrey Ballenger, son of William and Elizabeth Harris Ballenger.  That claim remains unverified.  

Henry moved to Gloucestershire as a young man, where he converted to the Society of Friends, uniting with the Nailsworth Meeting there.   Reeves claimed that there had been five brothers: One who was hung, one burned at the stake, one who settled in NJ, one who settled in VA, and our Henry.  [Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, p. 219, copy provided by Virginia Paddock; Reeves, p. xix, from George Decou, p. 120]  I've seen no evidence verifying such fates, but there was an Ives Bellange in Philadelphia and a James Bellange in Burlington County.  Both were no doubt related to Edward Byllinge/Byllynge, a brewer from London who had been a military officer under Cromwell during the Commonwealth and was one of the original proprietors of West Jersey.

Quaker custom was to name the first son after the mother's father, second after the father's father; the first daughter after the father's mother, second after the mother's mother.  If Henry and Mary followed that tradition in general, Henry's parents may have been named Amariah and Elizabeth.  One researcher, a descendant of Thomas Ballinger and Elizabeth Elkinton, believes that Henry's father was Aubrey Ballinger (born c. 1630 in Bennington, Gloustershire), and that the lineage is therefore Henry Ballinger, son of Aubrey Ballinger, son of William Ballinger (b. 1535; m. Elizabeth Harris), son of William Ballinger (m. Isabel).  The History of Kentucky by Perrin states that Henry was a younger son of Aubrey Ballinger who married in 1620 in Westminster Abbey.  Aubrey is given as the son of William Ballinger, who, according to the register of Charlton, King's Parish, was married to Elizabeth Harris "on ye last day of ye year 1555".  Yet this researcher also has William's parents, William and Isabel Ballinger marrying on 13 Nov 1539 in Charlton King's, Gloucestershire -  an impossible date given the just-described lineage. 

c. 1664: Mary Harding, daughter of Thomas and Eleanor Bagwell Harding was born in Nailsworth, England.  [Virginia Paddock]

Mar 1677/8: Henry embarked from London in the ship "Kent" with 230 passengers to establish their colony.  She landed first in New York, then to Perth Amboy, and finally to the Delaware River, arriving 23 Jun 1678 in Burlington Township in the Quaker Colony of West Jersey.  [Reeves, Three Centuries of Ballingers in America, p. 1]  Also on board the "Kent" were Thomas Eves, and Thomas Harding.  At first the colonists lived in wigwams, although they were able to complete log cabins before the end of the winter.  For food, they depended largely on the Indians, who supplied corn and venison.  The first Friends meeting was held under a sailcloth tent.

16 May 1681: A survey for Richard Fenimore described his land as lying on the east side of Henry Ballenger's land.  [Nelson, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. 21, p. 349, from original Liber A, p. 15]

1684: Henry Bellange "located" 262 acres at "the vale of Evesham", now in Burlington County, NJ.  [Shourds, p. 219; Jeff Fowler, from Old Mooresville Families, p. 120]  This original farm was located on the road leading from Evesboro to Medford about 1 - 1 ½ miles east of the former village.  It is still known as "Ballenger Farm".

4 Sep 1684: Henry, "husbandman at North River", and Mary Harding "of Burlington" were married in Evesham.  [Reeves,, p. 387, from Burlington Monthly Meeting Minutes, p. 193]   The date given in the Minutes was "fowerth day ye ninth month 1684".  Since the new year began on 25 March until 1752, that could mean the date was actually 4 December.   Whatever the actual date, witnesses included Freedom Lippincott, and [Mary's parents] Thomas and Elener Harding.

December 1684: The survey of Henry's 262 acres was returned.  It described the parcel as lying "in the vale of Easham" adjoining William Hulen.  William Huling's survey, in turn, located his track on Pennsawkin Creek adjoining Henry Ballenger.  [Nelson, p. 361, from Liber A, p. 72; ibid, p. 371, from Liber A,  p. 106]

10 May 1686: In a deed from Percivall Towle to William Hulings "in the second tenth" at Easham the tract was described as adjoining Henry Ballenger.  [Nelson, p. 417, from Liber A, p. 125]

25 May 1687: A deed from the "proprietors of several undivided shares of West Jersey to Thomas Budd for 15,000 acres to be bought from the Indians, under reference to proceedings of the General Assembly of May 12, 1687 concerning the public debts" included the signatures of both Thomas Harding and Henry Ballenger.  [Nelson, p. 419, from Liber A, p. 150]  They were two among many.

August 1689: One survey described a parcel of 50 acres situated between Jonas Smith and Henry Ballenger.  [Nelson, p. 372, from Liber A, p. 110]

5 Oct 1695: Henry Ballenger, yeoman, purchased 1/3 of a 1/8 share of land from Walter Humphries.  [Nelson, p. 463, from p. 471]

1697: Some 40 Quakers in the New Jersey General Assembly signed an agreement to support the King.  One of those signing was "Henry Callinger" or Ballinger.  [Harvey, p. 42, from NJ Archives, v. 2, p. 148; Quaker Yeomen, p. 79b, from NJ Archives, v. 2, p. 147; Society of Colonial Wars 1923 Yearbook, p. 97]

May 1701: He was appointed Special Tax Collector in Evesham in May of 1701.  [McIntosh Gazette, v. 2, n. 1, Jan-Feb, copy provided by Virginia Paddock]

c. 1706: Henry signed a petition in Burlington protesting Lord Cornbury's prohibition against land patents.  [Harvey, p. 42-43]

1710: Henry supposedly deeded 1,200 acres on Stow Creek in Salem County, NJ to sons Joseph, Josiah, and Henry.  Salem County had been formed from West Jersey in 1694.

1724: This entry appeared in the records of the Haddonfield Monthy Meeting in Salem County: "Henry Ballanger has been seen in actions unseemly with a woman of ill fame - disowned."  [Meldrum and Launey, Early Church Records of Gloucester County, New Jersey, p. 97]  This could be Henry Senior or Henry Junior as the latter did not marry until 1726.  Junior, however, may have already left New Jersey, and he certainly seemed to be a devout Quaker all his life.  It could have been a young man's wild oats - or an old man's decline.

8 Mar 1727: Henry signed his will.

Will of Henry Ballenger

The eighth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven, I Henry Ballinger of the Township of Evesham in the County of Burlington in the western division of the Province of New Jersey, being weak of body but of perfect memory and understanding, praised be God for the same, and knowing the uncertainty of this transitory life upon earth and the certainty of death and being willing to settle all my concerns in this world, do make and constitute this my last will and testament in writing in manner and form following, hereby revoking and making null and void all former and other will and wills testament and testaments by me heretofore made and do declare this to be my last will and testament.

Impr   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary Rethmel the sum of five shillings for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth Willard the sum of five shillings for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Esther Bartlett the sum of ten pounds for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rebecca Ballinger the sum of twenty pounds for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Hannah Ballinger the sum of twenty pounds for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ruth Ballinger twenty pounds for her use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas Ballinger the sum of five shillings for his use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Amariah Ballinger the sum of five shillings for his use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Henry Ballinger the sum of five shillings for his use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Josiah Ballinger the sum of five shillings for his use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Joseph Ballinger the sum of five shillings for his use.

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son Amariah Ballenger my dwelling house and land thereto belonging with all the improvements thereon and all my shares and undivided parts of proprieties of land within this Province and unto his heirs and assigns forever.  I also constitute and make my son Amariah my whole and sole Executor of this my last will, who I also appoint to pay my debts if any be and legacies and after the debts and legacies be paid and funeral charges defrayed, all the overplus of my estate both real and personal to be and remain unto my said Executor and unto his heirs and assigns forever.  In witness whereof I the aforesaid Henry Ballinger hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written.

Henry Ballinger

Signed and sealed, published and declared by the Testator aforesaid as his last will and testament in the presence of us

Jonathan Eldridge

William Hollinshed

Jacob Heulings, Justice

10 Apr 1733: Henry's will was proved by the testimony of Eldridge and Hollinshed.  The estate's value, the inventory taken by Jonathan Eldridge and Andrew Conarrow, was £10.10.  [Reeves, p. 390, from 2451-2454C; Reeves, p. 389] 

1739: Mary Harding Ballenger died in Burlington County, NJ.

Children of Henry and Mary Harding Ballenger:

Thomas Ballenger (13 Jun 1685 – 14 May 1739; m. Mary Elizabeth Elkington 28 Mar 1713)   

Mary  was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Humphreys Core Elkinton.  After Thomas Ballenger's death, she married Freedom Lippincott. 

Elizabeth Ballenger (Mar 1686 –     m. Henry Willard)

Josiah Ballenger (c. 1690 – 7 Sep 1748; m. Mary Wright 30 Jun 1727)

Joseph Ballenger (c. 1692 – 1744; m. Charity Wade c. 1720)

Esther Ballenger (c. 1693 -     ; m. _______ Barlett)

Henry Ballenger (24 Jun 1695 – 4 May 1774; m. Hannah Wright 18 Jun 1726)

Amariah Ballenger (1 May 1699 – 12 Feb 1747; m. Elizabeth Ann Garwood 8 Nov 1725)

He submitted the inventory of his father's estate on 10 Apr 1733, signed with his mark.  [Reeves, p. 388]

Widow Elizabeth Garwood Ballenger received permission to marry Henry Sparks from the Haddonfield Monthly Meeting in 1750.  [Reeves, p. 5]

23 Sep 1755: Elizabeth Sparks signed her will, which was proved 20 Jun 1760.  Witnesses: Josiah Albertson and William Wood.  [Reeves, p. 5, from Book 10, p. 104]

Mary Ballenger (1701 – 6 Apr 1764; m.  1st John Rethmel 24 Apr 1723, m. 2nd Thomas Garwood 4 Nov 1733)

Rebecca Ballenger (     - 1721; m. 1st Nathan Haines, m. 2nd Francis Harding 9 Apr 1715)

Hannah Ballenger (     - 10 Feb 1783)

Ruth Ballenger

John Ballenger (     - 1721; m. Mary Ridgeway 10 Jan 1718)   John is usually listed as a son but was not named in the will.  Why not?