Last April on our way back from Dallas, cousins Nedra Harris Turney and Karen Ball Cowan and I decided on a whim to see if we could find the old Ball Cemetery a cousin had mentioned to me when we passed through New Boston, Texas.
We got extremely lucky because they had just cleaned the Ball cemetery up the prior weekend and uncovered only two headstones. One headstone was that of Bathsheba A Ball.
S A C R E D
to the memory of
Mrs. Bathsheba A. Ball
consort of
Isaac M. Ball
who departed this life
the 24th day of June, 1851
aged 21 years 6 months
and 26 days
Earth lost her, Heaven found her.
And you know what’s really cool about this being the one of the two headstones in the Ball Cemetery that they found? The fact that I had just heard this woman’s name two days prior when Karen shared a note written with me by my 2nd great-grandmother, Venetia Smith Ball. Here is part of the note.
I highlighted the area where she talks about Bathsheba. She basically states that she was the first wife of her husband’s cousin, Isaac Mitchell Ball. She also states that her name is Bathsheba Hooks and that she is her cousin.
Here is another view of Bathsheba’s headstone. The scratch marks are from the tractor that dug it up. It was broken as they removed it from the ground.
And here is a view of the cemetery after all the weeds and brush were cut back and the two headstones uncovered. You can still see the shovel stuck in the ground and standing up to the left of the other headstone. I wonder if there are other graves there?
Is that luck or what? I hope there is a descendant out there looking for information on Bathsheba and can find it here because I’m telling you, it was a small miracle to get the note, and find the grave all on the same trip. A grave that had been covered up for a long time.
My 2nd great-grandmother Venetia Smith Ball was the granddaughter of Warren Hooks, for whom the town of Hooks, Texas was named for. There have been several people that have done extensive work on documenting the lineage of the Hooks family. I did not find Bathsheba’s name in any of these, so I don’t know how she fits into the Hooks family.
I asked cousin Diana Smith Walker if she had heard of Bathsheba, and she had not heard of her either and did not have her listed in any of her information.
But, as Diana told me, “I love a good mystery!”
Maybe we can dig up more on Bathsheba besides just her headstone!
