Born ‎± 1585 Shalluck, Wiltshire, England, died ‎1 Nov 1655 Concord, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts‎, approximately 70 years
JOHN BALL, b. England, d. Concord, Massachusetts Oct. 1, 1655, m. Ruth _____.
John Ball was born in England probably about 1585 and came to America, from Wiltshire England, on the ship Planter, in 1635. He settled in Watertown where he was made a freeman May 22, 1650 and later moved to Concord where he lived with his son
Nathaniel until his death in 1655. John Ball is reported to be the son of William Ball of Wiltshire, England, whose six sons emigrated to New England. If this was the case, no proof can be found to support the report. In the scanty records no
mention is made of his wife (by some authorities his wife was Joanna King). It is thought that she did not come to this country and had probably died before embarkation. The records show only two children, sons John and Nathaniel, although there
Massachusetts ya have been others. The son John Ball later removed to Lancaster, a town on the western frontier at the time of King Phillip's War. It was originally called Nashaway Plantation when Sholan, sachem of the Nashaway Indians, deeded an 8
by 10 mile tract to Henry Symonds and Thomas King. Sholan offered to sell this tract, which is 35 to 40 miles west northwest of Boston, if King and Symonds would build a trucking house on the land and trade with the Indians. The General Court
confirmed the deed, and the trucking house was built in 1642 on the southeast side of George Hill. Three men were sent out to occupy the land and take care of the trucking house. These men were Lawrence Waters, Richard Linton, and John Ball, all
three of whom are ancestors of Hattie Bruce. The first two built houses and settled with their families, but John Ball disappeared from the records. He evidently moved back to Watertown and was possibly the John Ball who died in Concord in 1655,
although it was more likely his son John. A petition to incorporate Nashaway Plantation as a town was sent to the General Court. The people wished the place to be called Prescott, after John Prescott who went there in 1647, but the Court gave it the
name West Towne. The petitioners were unhappy with the name and petitioned for the name of Lancaster, which was approved. Thus Lancaster became a town in 1653. John Ball's son John was an inhabitant of Lancaster and played a part in its history.
For more on Lancaster, see the text on him.
The inventory of John Ball's estate was taken on October 6, 1655 and totaled 30.6.10.[3/1:73]
[5] John Ball (039) came to America on ship 'Planter' in April 1635 with the Winthrop Colony. Was made freeman at Watertown 22 May 1650 and later moved to Concord where he lived with his son Nathaniel until his death in 1655. In 1642 he was sen t
out to occupy and take care of land at the Nashaway Plantation, where a trucking house was built to trade with the Indians. He eventually moved back to Concord where he died in 1655.
REF:
[1] History of Watertown - Henry Bond, 1860
[2] Descendants of John Ball of Watertown - F.D. Warren, 1932
[3] Middlesex County Probate (First Series Docket 895)
[4] Records of Births Marriages and Deaths, First Book - Watertown Records, Vol. 1, 1894
[5] Middlesex County Probate (First Series Docket 895)

Born ‎IN 1591 Millenbeck, Wiltshire Co., England‎

Born ‎IN 1592 Millenbeck, Wiltshire Co., England‎

Born ‎IN 1593 Millenbeck, Wiltshire Co., England, died ‎1687‎, 93 or 94 years

Born ‎IN 1594 Millenbeck, Wiltshire Co., England, died ‎1603 England‎, 8 or 9 years

Born ‎IN 1595 Barkham, Berkshire Co., England, died ‎21 Sep 1689 New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut‎, 93 or 94 years

Born ‎IN 1599 Barkham, Berkshire Co., England, died ‎03 Oct 1648 Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts‎, 48 or 49 years

Born ‎IN 1601 Millenbeck, Wiltshire Co., England, died ‎IN 1613 Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts‎, 11 or 12 years

Born ‎02 Feb 1603 Barkham, Berkshire Co., England, died ‎IN 1684 Lower, Norfolk Co., Virginia‎, 80 or 81 years

Born ‎1615 Barkham Manor, Berkshire Co., England, died ‎15 Oct 1680 Millenbeck, Lancaster Co., Virginia‎, 64 or 65 years
Colonel Ball was the younger son of Reverand Richard Ball, Vicar of St. Helen's Bishipsgate, London, and is of the Northamptonshire brach of the widely-scattered English family.
Colonel Ball came from England with his family about the year 1650 and settled at the mouth of the Corotoman River in Lancaster County, Virginia.
Educated in or about London, and possibly studied law, as in later years he showed more than ordinary knowledge in the principles of Common Law.
He married July 2, 1638 in London to Miss Hannah Atherold, the daughter of Thomas Atherold, a barrister-at-law, who was living at Gray's Inn during 1610/11.
The culture of tobacco had by 1655 become an important industry of Virginia, and was the chief, if not the only, source of income to the colonists. By 1650, Augustine Herrman of New Amsterdam, and George Hack of Virginia, had built up a large trade of
tobacco between the Colony and London. It is, therefore, quite probable that William Ball became a tobacco merchant, carrying the produce to England and disposing of it there.
If Ball first came to Virginia with the intention of remaining only so long as the Protectorate existed in England, he soon decided to cast his lot with the fortunes of the New World. After 1660 he took an active part in the religious, political and
social life of Virginia. In 1660 he was a member of a court to make a treaty with the Indians and to establish a boundary for the occupation of land. In 1661, his name still appears in the Northumberland County Records as a merchant. Later he became a
planter, and on January 18, 1663, received a grant of land on Narrow Neck Creek in Lancaster County. Four years later, he appears in the records as Major Ball, and together with Thomas Chetwood, received a grant of sixteen hundred acres in the County
of Rappahannock on the north side of the river of the same name. A few months later he acquired three hundred additional acres of rich bottom land adjoining the estate of Daniel Fox, whose friendship Ball appears to have cultivated, and who later
became the Colonel's son-in-law, marrying his only daughter, Hannah.
It was on the Lancaster County estate, however, where Colonel Ball built the beautiful Georgian mansion which was later to become famous. He named it "Millenbeck," probably after a place in Warwickshire or Northamptonshire. The estate was held for four
successive generations by William Balls, and with "Epping Forest," the home of Mary Ball (Washington), played a prominent part in the annals of Virginian history.
It seems highly probable, moreover, that Ball remained something of a merchant after he became a Lancaster County planter, and he undoubtedly made frequent trips back to London, for in those days it was a common practice for one planter, skilled in
business usages, to see about the marketing of his own as well as the tobacco of two or three of his closest neighbors and best friends.
From 1672, Ball took an active part in the administration work of his adopted county and colony. He first received the title of "Colonel" in that year. It is the opinion that he was the County Lieutenant of Lancaster of that year, in as much as we find
that Robert Jones had to pay him on March 19th of that year over fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco. In Introduction to Vol. I, Calendar Papers, the author, Plamer, has given us the following description of the General Court of Virginia, and with it the
origin of the Virginian title of Colonel:
"This august and aristocratic body was always composed of the class known at that time as "gentlemen," men of wealth, family and influence, and whose official station added much to their influence. They, with the Governor, formed the executive council,
who dispensed the entire patronage of the colony in the way of official appointment, at the same time that each individual himself was himself commissioned "Colonel" by royal authority . . ." "The Governor was Lieutenant-General, the Councillors,
Lieutenants of Counties with the title of Colonel, and in counties where a Councillor resided, some other person was appointed with rank of Major."
In light of this information, it has been concluded that Colonel Ball may have been a Colonel of Foot or Horse and not County Lieutenant. If not County Lieutenant, he was doubtless Presiding Magistrate and Colonel Commandant of the County.
From 1675/77, Colonel Ball served on various committees in Lancaster County. March 28, 1675/76, he and Lieutenant-Colonel John Carter were empowered by the General Assembly of Virginia to mobilize men and horsese in defense of the colony against Indian
depredations, to be lead by Nathaniel Bacon. He was presiding member of various courts held in Lancaster County, and received this honor for being the only resident Colonel in that county.
August 14, 1677, Colonel Ball and his neighbor, John Washington, were present at a meeting to impress upon the citizens the necessity of making immediate payment of a tax imposed upon the people by the General Assembly to put down Bacon's rebellion
which had lately arisen. From 1670 on until hs death, he was a member of the Burgesses of Lancaster County.
Colonel Ball was an earnest and devout churchman, and was a zealous supporter of the Virginia branch of the Church of England; he was at various times a member of committees appointed for arranging the government for its support. He and John Washington
were wardens of Christ Church, Lancaster County.
At the time of his death, Colonel Ball owned nearly two thousand acres of land in Lancaster and Rappahannock Counties. Of this, "Millenbeck" comprised five hundred and forty acres. He died at "Millenbeck" November 1680. Colonel Ball willed his favorite
estate to his eldest son, William, after making ample provision for his wife, his other son, Joseph, and daughter Hannah, both of whom he saw successfully married. Mrs. Hannah Atherold Ball, his widow, continued to live at Millenbeck with her elder son
until her death in 1695. Her will is on record in Lancaster County and dated June 25, 1695.