This site is about the Clarke and Ballard families that were connected by the marriage of  William Parsons Clarke and Mary Ann Ballard in 1875 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.  The  Clarke line is traced back to John Clarke born in Leicestershire about 1700.  John’s son became a  brass founder in Birmingham in the late 1700’s and his sons continued in this work.  Descendants  of John Clarke worked primarily in the metals industry, especially electroplating, all through the  1800’s into the early 1900’s.  Many descendants still reside in the Birmingham area with others in  Canada, United States of America, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.  The Ballards on the other  hand were employed in the silk weaving industry in Coventry, Warwickshire through the first half  of the 19th century.  When that industry declined about 1860, many moved to Birmingham to work in  the metals industry, although one branch went to Lancashire and stayed with textiles.  The first  family, Joseph Ballard, born about 1774, and his wife Elizabeth Ann Battlemore, born about 1790,  were in Coventry by 1820.  Elizabeth Ann was born in Kent but the birthplace of Joseph is  unknown.  
         I present in this website my research of the Clarke and Ballard families backward in time  as far as possible and forward in time to the present day, including siblings at every  generation.  The website contains data, photos, and stories.  The data is presented in a manner  similar to any genealogical computer program.   The photos are mostly of people, but also include  scans of documents, maps, and buildings.  The stories are accounts about the lives of families  written, in some cases, by someone who knows or knew them.  A few of the stories are about  Birmingham and other topics.
         I am pleased to authorize members of the extended Clarke and Ballard families to view the  entire Clarke & Ballard Family website.  All I need is your e-mail address.  Just click Request  Invitation, fill in the form to identify yourself and send it to me.  The website is secure and  only family members authorized by me will be able to view the website. To further protect living  persons, only their names are visible.  Non-members are able to see only this home page.            Family members authorized to visit the website are urged first to read the “story”  INTRODUCTION TO TRIBAL PAGES for a more complete description of the content and how to access it.         And of course I shall be most pleased to hear from anyone interested in my Clarke and  Ballard families.
 Sincerely,
 Dick Stein
 Administrator, Clarke & Ballard Family website