Hi there---
Ok, Thank you, that does help quite a bit.
My Ballard line did move around a bit in NB and New England, but I place them at Bathurst in 1850; my 2nd grt-grandfather was born in 1810 in English Canada (my uncle seemed to think St. John NB or possibly Maine).
So, what you say does at least narrow down the possibilities as to what line we belong to. It does seem a lot more are present in NB after about 1850 or so, and very few before 1840. I am pretty certain my line is of English or New England origin, but the Ballard name seems quite scarce in the 1810s there, but I just can not find any church, birth, marriage records, etc. that early that have Ballards in them (though I know a lot is not online). But that certainly narrows down the possibilities a lot.