I do not intend this to be the definitive Bale family genealogy; its purpose is only to explore the individuals from whom our particular family line descends. Bold face type indicates individuals who are ancestors of our particular family. Sources can be accessed by clicking on the bracketted blue numbers, or you may see all the citations at the bottom of this page. If any reader has corrections or additions to this Bale line, I would appreciate hearing
from you via e mail to kwg at cwru.edu, substituting @ for "at".
First Generation
Thomas Bale1 probably lived in Withyscombe Raleigh Parish, Devonshire, England.[1] The parish
was bounded on the west by the River Exe. Its manor was formerly held "by
the tenure of finding the King, whenever he should hunt in Dartmoor, two good arrows stuck in an oaten cake”. A portion of its ancient church, which the Bale family would have known, was pulled down about 1745 and a new church built a half mile from Exmouth.[2] Anthony Bale, gent., from the same parish emigrated to Maryland, but there is no proved connection between the two men.[3]
I have discovered disappointingly little about Thomas. He was married to Urath CARNELL, and died in 1704. Thomas Bale, or Bales, was transported to Maryland in 1665, but under what circumstances, or who bought him, is unknown to me.[4] One intriguing factoid is that a Thomas Bale had a sister, Mary WOOTON of Exmouth, Devonshire. Christopher RANDALL served as attorney for her when she conveyed 222 acres of “Bond’s Desire” to John SWYNYARD—land she had inherited from her brother. Christopher also served as attorney when Mary Wooton, widow, conveyed “Bonner’s Purchase” to Roger MATTHEWS. The deed was acknowledged in court on 8 March 1732.[4a]The relationship, if any, between Mary Wooton and our Thomas Bale has not yet been proved.
Real estate records are frustrating because there were several men named Thomas Bale or Beale. If we eliminate those obtaining land in Calvert, Dorchester, or Prince George’s Counties, that leaves one Thomas Beale of Anne Arundel County who acquired 141 acre “Beale’s Purchase” in Baltimore County 14 July 1700. In June 1702 this Thomas or another purchased 284 “Beale’s Enlargement” and 100 acre “Level”.[5] In 1702 the 140 acre “Addition” was surveyed to him, and 10 October 1704 it was patented. On 10 May 1704 Thomas Bale of Baltimore County, merchant, conveyed 200 acre “Stout” (part of 529 acres) to John WHIPS, Jr., Thomas’s wife Sarah, consenting.[5a] Since our Thomas was not married to Sarah, this transaction can be safely eliminated. The spelling is not necessarily a reliable guide. However, Thomas Bale obtained three tracts in Baltimore County. “Bale’s Increase” of 300 acres was surveyed 10 October 1704. Its name implies that he already had some land. He obtained 222 acre “Bond’s Discovery” on 20 November 1705, and 221 acre “Thomas’s Choice” on 10 June 1706.[6]
Thomas’s will was proved in 1704; he was buried in St. George’s Parish, in what later became Harford County, Maryland, north of Baltimore. Urath married a second time, and this husband was alive in 1720.[7] I have been unable to discover his name.
The name Bale eventually became corrupted
to Beale, and became a fairly frequent first name in colonial Maryland.[8] But it more likely refers back to Ninian Bale/Beale
rather than to our Thomas.
Children of Thomas and Urath Bale:
i. Thomas Bale2, b. ca. 1664; bur. 5 Feb. 1708 in St.
George's Parish; m. (2?) Sarah GIBSON, daughter of Miles
Gibson.[9] Thomas’s will was probated
18 Mar. 1707. He had a daughter, Urath,
whose will dated 18 June 1708 (pr. 19 Nov. 1708) mentions her “mother-
in-law” (often meaning step-mother), her Uncle Anthony Bale, and aunt
Hannah RANDALL, the wife of Thomas Randall.[10]
ii.
Hannah Bale, d. by May 1727; m. by
2 Feb. 1708 Thomas RANDALL.
iii.
Mary Bale, m. ___ WOOTON; res.
in Exmouth, Devonshire in Jan. 1729 when she sold “Bond’s Discovery”, land she
inherited in Maryland from her brother Thomas.[11]
iv.
Anthony Bale, d. Apr. 1720 in Balt. Co.;
m. 15 June 1713 Anne PLUMMER.[12] An Anthony Bale of Withyscomb,
Gent., purchased a lot in London Town (Md.) 6 Aug. 1717 from Nicholas GASSAWAY.[13] In Anthony's will, dated 10
Apr. 1720, he gave to his sister Hannah Randall the plantation at Patapsco,
mentioned his sister Mary Wooten “now in
England”, and his “dear and antient mother,
if alive”. His wife was executrix and received the residue of his estate.[14] He was styled “Gent.”, and
was brother and heir-at-law with Thomas of Withycomb
Rawleigh Parish.[15]
Second Generation
Hannah Bale2, daughter of Thomas and Urath, is even less well-documented than her father.
We know she married Thomas RANDALL in 1707. Hannah took out an administrative bond 16 April 1722 to settle his estate. It was valued at £285.[16]
In 1706, before her marriage,
her brother Thomas bequeathed Hannah land at the Garrison named “Green
Spring Punch”, “Rich Level”, and
“The Addition”, as well as “Tom’s” in the Garrison Road which Thomas had purchased from Andrew HURD.
In a codicil, he also left her 100 acres of “Gibson’s Park”.[17] Some fourteen years later her other
brother, Anthony, left her tracts called “Murray’s
Point”, “Gutridge’s Addition”, and “Kinsey’s Choice”.[18]
Hannah Bale Randall signed her
will 23 October 1726 (proved 19 February 1732). In it she mentioned
her son Christopher and her daughter Urath, wife of Samuel OWINGS. It gave to Samuel £74, being in right of his wife Urath from her father. This language might have been used if Urath had already died and the hope was to make sure her children inherited. But she was still very much alive; the legal fiction of femme covert (that a husband and wife were one legal person, that person being, of course, the husband) encouraged parents to bequeath items to their sons-in-law on behalf of their daughters.
Children of Thomas and Hannah (Bale) Randall (may be incomplete):[19]
i.
Christopher Randall, b. ca. 1708; m. Catherine LARKIN.[20]
ii.
Urath Randall, b. 1 or 22 Jan. 1713/4; d. 15 Dec. 1796; m. 1 Jan. 1729/30 at St. Thomas Parish in Baltimore Co., Samuel OWINGS.
If you have corrections or additions, please send an e mail to kwg
at cwru.edu, substituting @ for "at".
This page was most recently updated 3m/6/2008.
See some other colonial Maryland families that link one way or another with these Bales:
Addison,
Brooke,
Browne,
Dent,
Dorsey,
Ely,
Hall,
Hatton,
Holliday,
Howard,
Isaac,
Molton,
Norwood,
Owings,
Randall,
Ridgely,
Sim,
Smith,
Stone,
Tasker.
Warfield.
and Wilkinson.
See the index of Collateral
Lines to see other lines included in this website.
Return to the top of the page.
Citations and Notes
The full bibliographical
citation is given the first time a source is mentioned, but is not repeated
each time that source is cited. Scroll up til you find the first mention
and there you will find the complete citation.
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