GEN-MEDIEVAL-L Archives

From: Raymond Phair< >
Subject: Edward Ball
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1971 19:08:33 -0500

The following had been intended for the late Gee Gee Hughes who recently
asked here for information about Edward Ball (b. ca.1640-4) of CT and NJ,
suggesting he may have been a son of Thomas Ball of Newcastle, England,
and Barbados. It is posted in case it is of interest to others.

Unfortunately, the ancestry of Edward Ball remains undiscovered, as well
as his relationship (if any) to the other Ball families in New England and
elsewhere. There have been three proposals for his ancestry:

1) Sometime before 1950, perhaps before 1910, W.C. Ball wrote that Edward
of NJ was the same as the Edward (b. 1640) said to be a son of Thomas
Ball (b. 1612) of Newcastle and Barbados, and Margaret, daughter of
Cuthbert Booth of London, Eng.[1]. No material was offered to support the
conclusion that Edward Ball of NJ was the same as the man in Barbados.
On the other hand, there was a contemporary Edward Ball in Barbados who
married Prudence Waters (d.1718) in 1671, served there in the militia,
left a 1695 will naming his wife Prudence as the executrix, and both he
and his wife were buried in Barbados [2].

The Edward Ball of interest married, ca.1662, probably in Branford, CT,
Abigail, daughter of Thomas Blatchley and Susanna --, moved to Newark, NJ,
in 1667-8, was living in Essex co., NJ, in 1724, and was frequently
mentioned in NJ records throughout this period [3].

There was another contemporary Edward Ball who married Mary George, lived
in Block Island, RI, by 1678 and left a 1714 will there which named his
wife Mary and children; he may have been the Edward Ball (b. ca.1630)
who was a resident of Maine in the 1660s [4].

2) He was sometimes claimed to be a son of Alling (Allen) Ball of New
Haven, CT. Alling was a cousin of John Ball of London who left a 1638
will; Jacobus examined the CT records of Alling, his relatives, and
their estates and found no indication that Edward was a son [5].

3) The notorious Gustave Anjou claimed Edward was a son of Richard Ball of
Drogheda, Ireland, who was said to be a descendant of Robert Ball, sheriff
of Drogheda in 1414 [6]. There probably was a Ball family in Ireland from
the medieval era; however, the records Anjou cited as proof of the link
between that family and Edward Ball may well have been more of his
forgeries. An examination of his report is continuing.

[1] Report by W.C. Ball, NJHS mss. collections. An identically named
man was a member of a Ball genealogy club (primarily Edward Ball's
descendants) which disbanded about 1907. The librarian said the report
was in material acquired before 1950.

[2] "Genealogies of Barbados Families", compiled by J.C. Brandow, 1983,
pp.135-143; "Omitted chapters from Hotten's original lists", ed. J.C.
Brandow, 1982, p.172.

[3] J.R. Burnet mss. and other records, NJHS; "Records of the town of
Newark", [ed. S.H. Congar], 1864, passim; "Documents relating to the
colonial history of the state of New Jersey", 1st series, vols. 21 (1899)
and 23 (1901), passim.

[4] J.O. Austin, "The genealogical dictionary of Rhode Island", rept.
1969, pp.11, 445; G.A. Moriarty, NEHGR 105:176 (1951); "Province and
court records of Maine", v.2 (1931), ed. C.T. Libby, p.105; S.Noyes, et
al., "Genealogical dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire", repr. 1972,
p.39.

[5] NEHGR 54:96 (1900); D.L. Jacobus, TAG 10:208-212 (1933).

[6] [Gustave Anjou], "The Ball Family", typescript, no date. It was
probably written in 1925 or later.


Ray Phair

This thread:

• Edward Ball by Raymond Phair< >