Hi,
I may be a little confused, but your wife's memory of being born and raised on a farm near Ballymena ties in with the details of a Bamber couple raising a family in the 1870s in the Galgorm district of Ballymena. The same family were still there in the 1911 census. They are described as farmers. There is a head of family, Samuel, age 64 and a son, Samuel age 35 also a farmer, and a grandson, John. The younger Samuel is married but no wife is listed. The elder Samuel is a widow and three daughters are still living at home.