The Ancestry of the Balls of Berkshire, Northamptonshire and Virginia
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THE ANCESTRY OF THE BALLS OF BERKSHIRE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AND VIRGINIA A monograph by D. J. French Contents A. Introduction 1 B. Authorities 2 Rev.d H.E. Hayden Rev.d William Ball Wright Rev.d P.H. Ditchfield Leonard Abram Bradley Earl L.W. Heck Burke's 'American Families with British Ancestry' Peter Walne C. Joseph Ball II's Letter Book 11 D. Downman Family Bible 17 E. Balls of Berkshire 18 F. Balls of Northamptonshire 22 Rev.d Richard Ball (1570-1631) Lawrence Ball of Northampton (died 1607) John Ball and Baylie Ball Nicholas Ball (1592-1638) Richard Ball of Balsall Rev.d Robert Ball (1551-1613) Balls of Scottow Interpretation of evidence G. Balls of Virginia 36 Primary sources Emigration to Virginia Coat of arms English ancestry Interpretation of evidence H. Maryland connection 46 I. Pedigree of Hannah Atherold/Atherall/Athereth 49 J. Manor of Barkham 54 Lordship Barkham Manor Standen family/William Ball 'of Barkham' K. Conclusions 56 Appendix I. Endnotes 58 Appendix II. Internet links 124 Appendix III. Transcript of Downman Family Bible 134 Appendix IV. Ball entries in the Barkham parish registers 1539-1579 136 and 1667-1691 Appendix V. Some wills and probate inventories of the Balls of Berkshire 138 Probate inventory of Robert Ball of Barkham 1546 Will of William Ball of Wokingham, husbandman 1550 Will and probate inventory of Edward Ball of Barkham 1558 Will and probate inventory of Agnes Ball of Barkham, widow 1572 Will of John Ball I of Wokingham, yeoman 1591 (proved 1599) Will of John Ball of Knights, Wokingham, yeoman 1592 Will of Robert Ball of Holshot, gentleman 1639 Will of William Ball of Lincoln's Inn, esquire 1647 Appendix VI. Barkham Assessment (Subsidy) Rolls 1524 and 1525 180 Appendix VII. Rev.d Richard Ball (1570-1631) 184 Part A - Transcript of grant of crest in 1613 Part B - Tomb in St. Michael's Church, Chalton, Hampshire Appendix VIII. Ball entries in the Northampton, All Saints' parish registers 188 1559-1624 Appendix IX. Some wills of the Balls of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and 197 Northamptonshire Will of the Rev.d Robert Ball of Eastington 1613 Will of Nicholas Ball of London, fishmonger 1638 Will of Lawrence Ball of Northampton, mercer 1642 Appendix X. Northamptonshire Ball family wills (and administrations) 217 1510-1700 Appendix XI. Family trees 223 Part A - Conjectural family tree of the Balls of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Part B - Conjectural family tree of the Balls of Lichfield and Warwickshire Part C - Conjectural family tree of the Balls of Lichfield Appendix XII. Ball wills proved in the Consistory Court of Lichfield (and 226 administrations) 1516-1652 Part A - Phillimore index 1516-1652 Part B - Wills/administrations 1520-1600 held by the Lichfield Record Office Appendix XIII. Escutcheon and armorial glass of Rev.d Robert Ball, 235 New College, Oxford Appendix XIV. Balls of Staffordshire 237 Part A - List of Ball families living in the Archdeaconry of Stafford c.1532-33 Part B - Ball entries in the Lichfield, St. Mary's parish registers 1566-1589 Appendix XV. Maryland State Archives land records 241 Part A - Warrants and Patents Part B - Land transactions Appendix XVI. Notes on Atherold family pedigree 247 A. Antiquarian sources B. Primary sources C. Endnotes to Appendix XVI Appendix XVII. Some Atherold family wills 269 Will of Thomas Atherold II of Burgh 1614 Will of Nathaniel Atherold of Hasketon, gentleman 1653 Will of Thomas Atherold III of Gray's Inn, esquire 1655 Will of John Atherold of Freston, gentleman 1657 Will of Thomas Atherold IV of Burgh, gentleman 1665 Appendix XVIII. Atherold entries in the Burgh and Hasketon 305 parish registers 1538-1666 N.B. The endnotes in Appendix I are extensive and include a considerable amount of editorial comment. Internet readers may therefore find it convenient to open a second copy of this monograph at the endnotes for ease of reference. © D. J. French 2013 v1.2 A. Introduction There is a widespread belief that Colonel William Ball of Millenbeck, the first Virginian ancestor of George Washington's mother, Mary Ball, was descended from the family of Ball of Barkham (later Wokingham), notwithstanding that the arms claimed by the Virginia family match the arms of the Balls of Northamptonshire. Per Heck (1928): "There have been few Colonial American pedigrees more difficult to trace in England than that of Colonel William Ball, the great-grandfather of Washington on his mother's side. And there are few other instances where such a long and persistent effort has been made to determine the English branch without much success."A1 Per Walne (1959): "On few families can so much ink have been spilt to so inconclusive a result as is the case with the Ball family."A2 Per Walne again: "It was perhaps unfortunate that by the time Joseph Ball II began to conduct his own researches into his ancestry in the 1740s, during his long residence in England, passage of time appears to have dimmed to the point of extinction the clear light of true knowledge of his family's origins."A3 Unfortunately for anyone interested in pursuing the English ancestry of the Balls of Virginia, it rapidly becomes apparent that families bearing the name Ball were numerous and widespread, as exemplified by the large number of Balls whose wills surviveA4 or who are recorded as matriculating at the Universities of OxfordA5 and Cambridge.A6 1 B. Authorities Set out below are précis of the findings of the principal authoritative writers on the ancestry of the Balls of Berkshire, Northamptonshire and Virginia, in order of publication. Rev.d H.E. Hayden, 'Virginia Genealogies' etc., 1891 1.(a) The Rev.d H.E. Hayden's 'Virginia Genealogies', published in 1891, includes 99 pages devoted to an extensive analysis of the Ball pedigree.B1 Hayden, who was himself descended from one of the lines of New England Balls,B2 consulted various family papers, including Joseph Ball II's letter book (see Section C), as well as local county records and church registers. Hayden begins by setting out verbatim a letter from Colonel James Ball Jr. of 'Bewdley' to his nephew, Colonel Burgess Ball, dated 11 September 1789, which contains a detailed narrative family pedigree.B3 (b) Hayden admitted that he had not discovered any tradition in the Virginia family as to the origin of Colonel William Ball's line in England. "The many Ball charts preserved by the families of the Va. line very incorrectly deduce Col. Wm. Ball's descent from the Balls of Barkham. This deduction, or rather 'guess work', is simply based upon the fact that the last male member of the Barkham line, as recorded in the Essex Visitation of 1634, was a William Ball. B4 The fatal error in this deduction is the utter absence of any similarity in the arms and crest of the two families. I regret to see that Mr. M.D. Conway, in his very interesting volume published by the L.I. His. Soc. on 'Washington and Mt. Vernon', 1890, repeats this groundless deduction."B5 (c) Hayden identifies six Balls who are recorded as being in Virginia prior to 1624, and conjectured that it was possible that 'Colonel' William could have been the son of one of these early settlers, especially since Joseph Ball II had been unable to locate any of his grandfather's ancestors in England.B6 (d) 'Colonel' William's eldest son was called Richard, and Hayden believed that he was named after his own father. "It was very common in those days to name the first son and daughter after the grand parents, and the second after the parents."B7 (e) Hayden notes that the family arms engraved on the 'illuminated parchment' said to have been brought by 'Colonel' William to Virginia are attributed in Burke's 'General Armory' to the Balls of Northamptonshire.B8 (f) Hayden also mentions four lines of Ball descent deriving from four brothers who are said to have settled in New England 1640-1650, each claiming a relationship with the Virginia Balls.B9 One of the brothers was Alling Ball, whose pedigree is the subject of Bradley's book (post). His eldest son, John (1649-1731),B10 handed down an engraved copper plate of the arms of the New Haven Balls. The description of the shield is the same as the shields of the Balls of Virginia and the Balls of Northamptonshire, although there is a different crest (a stag trippant proper) and motto (Semper Caveto).B11 2 (g) The Rev.d Eliphalet Ball (1722-1797), who was the grandson of Alling Ball's eldest son, John, and who founded Ballston (or Ballstown) near Saratoga N.Y. in 1767, claimed to be George Washington's third cousin, and Washington apparently recognised this when he visited Ballston in 1783 and was the guest of the Rev.d Ball.B12 (h) Hayden produced a deliberative family tree showing the lines of descent from the supposed brothers, including 'Colonel' William and Alling.B13 (i) Hayden states that 'Colonel' William was born around 1615,B14 but he does not cite any authority for this, which would make him about 23 when he is said to have married Hannah Atherold in 1638. (j) Hayden notes the tradition that 'Colonel' William came to Virginia with his wife and family around 1650, although it seems that he did not immediately acquire land. Hayden says he first appears in the Northumberland county records in 1661 as 'William Ball, Merchant', and that he did not acquire land in the Colony until January 1663/64, when he purchased 300 acres on Narrow Neck Creek, Lancaster county.B15 (k) Hayden observes that in 1667 Colonel (then Major) William Ball and Thomas Chetwood received a grant of 1600 acres on account of 'head rights' attributable to "Will Ball, His sonn, Hanah Ball, Her Daughters, Mary Jones, Martha Jones, Ran Grevill, Jos.