Need help. <>John Ballard (b.1795) and Katie Meiers (b.1800) married March 8, 1921 in Lincoln County, NC. They had two sons: John Franklin Ballard (July 30,1821- June 24, 1898) and Benjamin Hawkins Ballard (April 13, 1827 - November 5, 1905). Everyone tells me that John Franklin Ballard was fathered by a man named Hawkins who returned to England, abandoning his wife and unborn son. What is the basis for this information? I'm not disputing the fact, just want proof. And, why did she name her second son Benjamin Hawkins Ballard? John Ballard's first wife was Salley Childress (marr November 1, 1815). Supposedly he married his second wife, Katie(or Catey) Meiers, because he needed someone to take care of his children and she needed someone to be the father of her bastard son. Who were his children by Sally Childress? The second son, Benjamin Hawkins Ballard, was in the 1900 Lincoln County, NC, census listed as "brother-in-law to Sallie L McMinn", wife of John Franklin Ballard. Joyce Graham