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Recollections of the Ballantine side of our family – Gerald Finley Ballantine

Grandpop B. (Gerald Finlay) was born in “the village of Maghera across the river

Bahn” as he was fond of telling my father. This would have been in County Derry,

N. Ireland, in 1848 as nearly as I can find out. His father’s name was Robert,

vocation-school teacher, who moved from Scotland; apparently between the twodevastating potato famines. Grandpop’s mother’s maiden name was Catherine Orr.

Beyond that I have no definite knowledge except that other intermarried family

names were Finley, Graham, McMillan. Great grandfather Robert was repute to

have a full knowledge, speaking, reading, and writing of Latin and Greek.

At the age of 9 yrs Grandpop emigrated to the US, it must have been under the

same aegis as that of his sister Margaret who later married a Dickey. (Naturalized 9-

3-64) They were the ones who settled in Rich nominally Pawtucket, but only knew

them to be in a suburb of Lonsdale. The only survivor in our generation now (April

’83) is Isabelle.

Grandpop reportedly was one of seventeen, Margaret was the only one who also

came to the states. He was the only one who also came to the states. He was

confirmed in Newburgh, NY by Bishop Horace Potter, 1869. Why the move here

(USA?), I never heard. I know that other brothers and sisters emigrated to other

sections of the British Empire, one specific place was Christ Church, New Zealand.

Grandpop died in February 1911, the year of my birth, and that is probably why I

was named for him. He was the one that insisted on the spelling of Finley, rather

than the ending of lay.

On the Chestnut side (Grandmom B., b. 1850, d. 1938) the immigrant was Benjamin

(naturalized __-8-46), who arrived a generation before the B’s. I have bothcitizenship certificates. Grandmom’s name was Rose Anna, and she had a sister

Mary (Glasgow) and two brothers who went out west. One of them, Tom,

apparently pretty much settled in Silverton, CO; and I donated an early photo that

had been sent here to their l of l and got many thanks for it, since it was unique. I

didn’t mention that the Chestnuts came from Loleraine and Portrush, both not far

from the Giants Causeway.

Now to deal with Dad’s immediate family. There were eight children. In order;

Catherine, Benjamin, Mary, Gerald, Jennie, Robert, Rose and Bess. Jennie died

young. Since a family of that size required all that could be brought in, Ben went to

work at age 11 for his uncle John Glasgow. Eventually, he rose in that same line of work, grocery, to the important post in the American Stores he eventually held.

Gerald was placed with Lupkins at 13 years, first in the office, and then, when it was

found he couldn’t sit, out in the shop where he eventually learned his iron-workers

trade, and stayed with it till he was 65. Believe me, quite a guy! Dad tried a couple

of jobs, one was with the jewelers Kind, before he wound up with the Penney. He

went to night school to learn Gregg and typing and gradually advanced to being a

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head clerk; later, supervisor. The regard for him of his “people” could never be

doubted by anyone who attended his viewing.

On the distaff side, Dad’s sister Mary married Will Jackson, and had two offspring,

Mary [Ballantine] Jackson and Henry. Rose married August Zehner and had one

child, Geraldine Natalie in1925. She is the youngest of our generation. Bessmarried Albert Hollingsworth and had a son by him, Durham, before he expired.

She later married Will Lambert and had a son by him, William. Catherine did not

marry until after Grandma B’s death, as was the unfortunate circumstance of many

a spinster of that era. After an interval she married a William McFarland, and died

before him. He went back to Ireland, County Donegal I think, and died there after a

single return visit.

I think all of us know the rest of the story. Uncle Ben and Aunt Lizzie had six

children. In order, they were Margaret, Rose, Sarah, Robert, Betty and Mary. Uncle

Gerald never married an that’s about it for the Ballantines.

Now, as for the origin of the family. In the early days of my working life I became

acquainted with, and friends, with two naturalized Italians, Joe Catelli and John

Strazulli, who both worked in Snellenburg’s warehouse as cabinet makers an

furniture finishers; both were true artisans who has served their apprenticeships

before immigrating here. One day, about a year after I first made their

acquaintance, they ganged up on me and told me I was Italian. My response was

immediate and positive, NO WAY! I said that the history of Ballantines went back as

far as Scotland’s own, and that they dated back over 300 years. They insisted and I

resisted, so the subject was dropped. After Dad retired and about a year before he

died he confronted me and said, “My father told me that originally we were Italian.

 That was that. First of all, I had complete trust in him. Second, I knew that somethings in our history only exist because of passage by word of mouth through the

generations. Such as a large part of the Bible. Also, before the invention an wise-

spread use of short-hand, reporters of public debates and similar designated

addresses only memory was the instrument of transmission. Confirmation was by

comparison of report to original text and signaled extreme, often complete

accuracy. At any rate, the Ballantines came to Scotland as Italian mercenaries of 

the Spanish via the Armada in the year 1588. Before that it is believed that they

arrived in Italy (then a very segmented country from France)as did the House of 

Savoy which later became the ruling royalty of Italy. I never completely followed

this up, but I submit it as a possible explanation. Confirming is what Dad was toldby a Scotch acquaintance at work, who said that in one of his visits he had been to

a town about twenty miles south of Edinburgh called Kelso, and where the

population was in large part Ballantines or their relatives. It is entirely believable to

me that shipwrecked survivors of the Armada would choose a location like that to

consolidate for mutual support.