Joseph Ball was born on 11 February 1883, in Moore. His father was William and his mother Elizabeth (sometimes recorded as Edith). The family lived at Cockfight Cottages and had two other sons, John b1886 and George b1893 and three daughters, Mary Ann b1888, Emily b1889 and Elizabeth b1897 . William was a farm labourer and had previously lived and worked at Acton Grange.
By 1901, the family had moved to ‘The Square’ in Daresbury and presumably this was where Joseph met his future wife, Elizabeth Scarlett. They were married at All Saints’ on 1 December 1903. He was just 20 and she only 17 years of age. Joseph was an agricultural labourer.
In 1911, Joseph and Elizabeth were living in Spruce’s Cottages, Moore and had one son, William Joseph, b1907. By this time, Joseph was working as a platelayer on the London and North Western Railway.
Joseph joined the Royal Engineers, service numbers 290428 and WR275237. Nothing else is known of his military service.
After the war, he returned to Moore and continued to live at Spruce’s Cottages, where he was living with Elizabeth and an Ernest Ball b1879, though the relationship between the two men is unclear.
Joseph died in 1955, aged 72 years.