The Ballards of Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina:
A Source Book

Compilation and Comments by John M. Weisner 

Please see Origins for an Introduction to this section.

Part Four: English Origins

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE — SOUTHWELL

First Subpart: City and Minster of Southwell

“Southwell, which … was once the occasional seat of the Archbishops of York, is an ancient market-town, pleasantly situated upon a gentle eminance, emblosomed in trees, and in the centre of an amphitheatre of swelling hills, on the western bank of the little River Greet. It is 14 miles north-east of Nottingham, 8 miles west of Newark … and 129 miles north by west of London.” (See the entry for Southwell under Nottinghamshire towns and parishes at http://www.genuki.org.uk.) “Southwell is one of the smallest cathedral Cities in England, (any town with a cathedral is automatically a city), and is often affectionately known as the ‘Cathedral Village.’” (See the history section under Southwell Minster at http://www.john316.com, where there is also a “Guided Tour.”) In a book about Nottinghamshire from 1938, it is written: “Is there in England, we wonder, a greater surprise for most of those who come, for here is the least-known cathedral in our Motherland, with a dignity and beauty unsurpassed. The rushing tide of life has passed it by and left it standing in a quietude of loveliness, like some dream of time gone by before our century came.”  Arthur Mee, Nottinghamshire: The Midland Stronghold, p.264 (London, 1938).The Collegiate Church of St. Mary’s in Southwell, known as the Southwell Minster, is the cathedral for Nottinghamshire. It has been the principal church in the County since the twelfth century. It was commenced in about 1108 and was largely complete by 1340. “Southwell Minster is one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in England, and shows Norman workmanship at its finest.” (See http://www.john316.com.) “It suffered much in the civil wars, being sequestrated, but afterwards restored, but it has not yet recovered the damages done by Cromwell’s troops, who converted it into a stable for their horses, broke down the monuments, and ransacked the graves of the dead for lead, and other valuables.” (See the “genuki” web site, supra.)

It was at Southwell where in May 1646 King Charles I spent his last hours of freedom before surrendering to the Parliamentary forces (leading to his eventual execution in London). On a happier note, it was also frequented by Lord Byron, whose mother lived at Burgage Manor House during his Harrow and Cambridge years.”The town has been much larger than it is at present…. It is properly divided into two parts, or constablewicks, viz. The Burbage and the Prebendage, the former of which comprehends all that space between the Market Place and the River Greet, whilst the other, which is called the High town, is the Collegiate Church and its property.” (See the “genuki” web site, supra.)

Second Subpart: Records from the Parish Registers of Southwell and Nearby Towns

(a) Introduction

The parish registers of Southwell fortunately managed to survive the English Civil War. They are described in detail in Nottinghamshire Parish Registers: Marriages, Vol. 16, p.1-3 (London, 1912). The most important register for our purposes is Volume 1, containing baptisms, marriages and burials for the period 1559-1681. Transcripts of these registers are also in existence. The original volumes do not appear to be available on microfilm through the Mormon Family History Centers. These Centers do, however, offer a microfilm of the transcripts of the baptism and burial records, with an index (Microfilm No. 1526414). The transcript of the Southwell marriage records was published in 1912 as part of a series of marriage records from Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire Parish Registers, supra, Vol. 16, at 1-140. Although the records are nearly complete, there are some missing years: there are nearly no records of any kind for 1624 and 1625, no marriage records from 12/1644 to 10/25/1653 and no burial records from 12/26/1645 to 10/9/1653. In the entries that follow, I have also included all references to “Bullard.” Dates are left in the old style.

(b) Southwell Baptisms (Ballard Baptisms) (from the transcript)

3/4/1563 — Henry Ballard — Henry Needham, James Pallmer and Dorothie Lee were godparents (p.9).

3/23/1564 — William, son of William Ballard — William Burnell, Esq., William Leake and Margaret Palmer, godparents (p.11).

4/6/1566 — Anne Ballard — Sir Edmund Robinson, Anne Needham and Anne Blunstone, godparents (p.13).

12/14/1568 — John, son of William Ballard — Mr. John Brome, John Lee and Anne Brignall, godparents (p.19).

1/14/1598 — Frances, daughter of Henry Ballard (p.68)

7/8/1600 — Thomas, son of Mr. Henry Ballard (p.70)

11/18/1601 — Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Ballard (p.72)

4/18/1603 — Fraunces, daughter of William Ballard (p.74)

6/9/1603 — William, son of Henry Ballard (p.75)

8/14/1604 — Philip, son of Henry Ballard (p.76)

12/31/1605 — Catherine, daughter of Mr. Henry Ballard (p.79)

11/17/1608 — Anne, daughter of Mr. Henry Ballard (p.84)

8/8/1613 — Frauncis, son of Mr. Henry Ballard (p.92)

8/4/1622 — Edward, son of Edward Ballard (p.103)

12/8/1623 — Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Ballard, gent. (p.105)

7/9/1626 — William, son of William Ballard, gent. (p.105)

7/14/1626 — Thomas, son of Edward Ballard, gent. (p.105)

7/30/1627 — Thomas, son of William Ballard, gent. (p.107)

10/20/1628 — Elizabeth, daughter of William Ballard, gent. (p.109)

2/8/1628 — Flora (“Floea” in transcript), daughter of Edward Ballard, gent. (p.110)

12/2/1629 — Francis, son of William Ballard, gent. (p.111)

9/8/1630 — Gervase, son of Edward Ballard, gent. (p.112)

5/25/1631 — William, son of William Ballard, gent. (p.113)

9/16/1632 — Alice, daughter of Edward & Hellen Ballard (p.115)

9/3/1635 — Robert, son of Edward & Ellen Ballard (p.120)

2/15/1637 — Charles, son of Edward & Ellin Ballard (p.124)

8/8/1640 — Katherine, daughter of Edmund (sic) & Ellin Ballard (p.128)

9/13/1657 — John, son of Mr. Edward Ballard & Anne his wife (p.151)

6/2/1723 — Benjamin Ballard, son of a traveler (p.243)

(c) Southwell Baptisms (Ballards as godparents) (from the transcript)

11/8/1565 — Anne, daughter of John Lee — Sir Edmund Robinson, Anne Blunston and Agnes Ballard, godparents (p.12).

5/31/1567 — William, son of John Banes — William Leake, William Alvie and Anne Ballard, godparents (p.14).

10/16/1568 — Ellinor, daughter of Robert Chapman — William Ballord (sic), Ellinor Banes and Margerie Hearson, godparents (p.18).

6/3/1570 — Anne, daughter of Roger Blackburne — Edward Saynton, Anne Ballard and Margerie Herson, godparents (p.22).

7/29/1570 — Jane, daughter of John Bennet — George Thetford, Bennet Dyca and Agnes Ballard, godparents (p.22).

9/9/1570 — Thomas, son of John Battinson — Thomas Little, William Ballard and Mrs. Bingham, godparents (p.22).

1/27/1570 — William, son of Edmond Arwinge — Mr. William Leake, Ezachiell Taylor and Agnes Ballard, godparents (p.24).

3/31/1571 — Phillis, daughter of Thomas Egglestone — Henry Ballard, Phillis Lee and Joane Atkinson, godparents (p.25).

2/23/1571 — Henry, son of Richard Herson — Henry Townrowe, William Ballard and Jane Joanes, godparents (p.27).

2/23/1571 — Robert, son of Thomas Aslin — Robert Bulbie, William Ballard and Elizabeth Awdie, godparents (p.27).

7/5/1572 — Henry, son of John Banes — Henry Townrowe, William Ballard and Dorothie Lee, godparents (p.28).

8/30/1572 — Margaret, daughter of Roger Blackburne — Ezechiell Taylor, Margaret Palmer and Agnes Ballard, godparents (p.28).

10/5/1572 — Gervase, son of Walter Joanes — Mr. Gervise Clifton, Henry Townrowe and Anne Ballard, godparents (p.28).

11/22/1572 — Elizabeth, daughter of John Bettinson — Thomas Weste, Elizabeth Leeke and Agnes Ballard, godparents (p.29).

4/12/1573 — Agnes, daughter of Ralph Cuckson — Hugh Baskafeild, Agnes Ballard and Joane Bulbie, godparents (p.30).

12/20/1573 — Issabell, daughter of Robert Walker — Richard Awdie, Issabell Townrowe and Anne Ballard, godparents (p.31).

5/2/1574 — William, son of Nicholas Page — William Leeke, William Ballard and Jane Joanes, godparents (p.33).

5/9/1574 — Anne, daughter of Thomas Chambers — John Banes, Anne Ballard and Agnes Childe, godparents (p.33).

10/30/1574 — William, son of Richard Awdie — William Ballard, George Tetford and Dorothie Leye, godparents (p.33).

11/27/1574 — Anne, daughter of Miles Bennet — Christofer Hutchenson, Anne Cowper and Anne Ballard, godparents (p.34).

1/29/1574 — John, son of Thomas Huffit — John Banes, William Ballard and Margerie Hearsie, godparents (p.35).

(d) Southwell Burials (from the transcript)

1/4/1568 — John, son of William Ballard (p.8)

11/22/1573 — Anne Ballard (p.12)

10/21/1596 — Anne, wife of William Bullard (sic) (p.39)

2/4/1598 — Henry, son of Henry Ballard (p.41)

12/13/1603 — Fraunces, daughter of Henry Ballard (p.48)

7/24/1616 — Mr. William Ballard (p.60)

6/28/1619 — William, son of Henry & Elizabeth Ballard (p.65)

10/2/1619 — William Ballard (p.65)

1/14/1621 — Henry Ballard, gent. (p.67)

9/23/1626 — William, son of William Ballard, gent. (p.69)

7/3/1654 — Edward Ballard, gent. (p.99)

11/4/1657 — John Ballard (p.105)

2/2/1657 — William Ballard, gent. (p.105)

2/27/1696 — Mr. Edward Ballard (p.155)

11/6/1699 — Mrs. Ballard, widow (p.158)

(e) Southwell Marriages (from the transcript)

11/23/1563 — William Ballard & Agnes Robertson (Vol. 16, p.5)

11/19/1589 — William Ballard & Alice Marten (Vol. 16, p.12)

12/14/1656 — Edward Ballard of Southwell & Anne Lane of East Retford (Vol. 16, p.34)

(f) Edingley Burials (from the transcript) (same microfilm as Southwell)

8/22/1604 — Frances, daughter of Mr. William Ballard, Junior of Southwell(g) Newark-upon-Trent Marriages (from the transcript)

10/28/1633 — Phillip Ballard & Barbara Pilkington (Vol. 4, p.90)

5/1/1687 — John Leeson & Ann Bullard (Vol. 4, p.116)

6/6/1702 — Robert Bullard & Ann Bowes (Vol. 4, p.123)

Third Subpart: The Visitation of Nottinghamshire of 1614

In 1614, a “Visitation” of Nottinghamshire was conducted in order to survey and ensure the proper use of coats-of-arms in that County. Among the several families utilizing a coat-of-arms there were the Ballards of Southwell. The officials evidently questioned Henry Ballard, who supplied them with details about the family history. See The Visitations of the County of Nottingham in the Years 1569 and 1614, p.104 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 4, 1871). The Visitation recorded the following information with respect to the Ballards of Southwell: Phillip Ballard of Greenwich in County Kent married Joane, the daughter of Edward Fitzwilliams. Their son William Ballard of Southwell in Nottinghamshire married Anne, the daughter “of Lunn of Welley” in Nottinghamshire. Henry Ballard, the son of William and Anne, married Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Townesend of Testerton in Nottinghamshire (Testerton is actually in the County of Norfolk — see below). Henry and Elizabeth had the following children: Thomas (14 years old in 1614), Catherin, Anne, William, Phillip and Elizabeth.

Fourth Subpart: Wills of Southwell Ballards

(a) Will of William Ballard (Senior) (dated 1596, proved 1605)

Pubic Record Office, 68 Hayes 1605

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Will of William Ballard, Southwell, Nottinghamshire

Will dated 8 December 1596, Probated 8 October 1605

In the name of God Amen. The 8th day of December in the year of our Lord God one thousand five hundred ninety six. I William Ballard of Southwell in the county of Nottingham gent being as it pleases god sicke in bodie but in his goodness and mercy of sound mind and memory for which I render most humble and hearty thanks unto him do make and ordain this my present testament containing herein my last will in manner and form following. First I recommend my soul to Almighty God and my body to the earth from whence it came trusting through the merit and passion of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus and by no worldly means or help that it shall be raised again to life everlasting in the kingdom of heaven. And for those worldly blessings which the Lord in merit hath bestowed upon me I will and give and bequeath to my son William Ballard in full satisfaction and discharge of his filial and child’s part of my goods the sum of 100 pounds and I will and bequeath and devise to my nephew William Ballard some <???>? all those my land tenements hereditaments left <????> and being within the >< fields and territories of Nottingham <????> of Nottingham amounting to <?the yearly?> value of 16 pounds or thereabouts be it more or less which land tenements and hereditaments I first purchased of Edward <Samon> esquire as by my deeds of my first purchase made of and from the said Edward it doth and may appear to have and to hold all the said land tenements and hereditaments with the appurtenances to the said William Ballard the <?son?> and his heirs forever and I will that with the profits and issues of the said lands and premises my said nephew be brought up in good learning. Also I bequeath to <outwit> of the younger children of my said son William Ballard 10 pounds and I do ordain and make my son Henry Ballard the sole and lawful executor of this my testament or last will and for his pains to be taken in the execution of the same I give and bequeath unto him all the residue of my goods and chattels <???> <???> and <???> legacies paid up and discharged and I remit and forgive to Henry Robertson of <Oxf??> in the county of Nottingham all <???????> <?????> all I have here put my hand and seal these being witnessed John Martiall, Edmund Robert farmer, William Ballard.

Probate granted London, to Henry Ballard son of the deceased 8 October 1605.

(b) Will of Henry Ballard (dated 1620, proved 1623?)

[This will is located at the Lincolnshire Archives in Lincoln, England under the document reference “Stow Wills 1623/48-51.” My copy was apparently copied out of a book, and the text near the right margin of the second and fourth pages is missing. Because of context or the repetition in the will, I could fill in many, but not all, of the blanks. The symbols “{ }” are used here to show those parts of the text that are missing on my copy.]

“In the name of God Amen the fow{rth} day of November in the yeare of our Lorde God 1620 And in the yeares of the Raiyne of our souvraigne Lorde James by the grace of God kinge defendor of the faith etc. (That is to say) of England France and Ireland the Eighteenth and of Scotland the fowr and fyftieth. I Henrie Ballard of Southwell in the county of Nottingham Gentleman beinge in good health and perfect memory (the Lorde be thanked) yet callinge to mind the frayltie of man and that nothinge is more certayne than death, but the time when most …, Doe therefore at this present whilst health doth permitt {…} make this my last will and Testament in … under my hand and Seale in manner and forme followinge. First I bequeath {my} soule to Almightie God my maker nothinge doubting but for infinite mercies sett fourth in the … death and blood shed {…} of his dearly beloved sonne Jesus Christ our alone Saviour and Redeemer he[?] will receive[?] my soule unto his glorie and place it in {the} Companie of the heavenly Angells and blessed Saincts. And concerninge my bodie I commend it to the earth from whence it {came?} and do believe that at the generall day of Judgment my bodie shall rise againe And that both bodie and soule shalbe received amongst … elect companie into heaven And in this faith I doe stedfastly hope that god for Christ his sonnes Sake will Strengthen me to … my life {…}. Item I will that all such debtes and duties as I owe of right or of conscyence to anie person or personns be well and truly contented and paid by my executors hereafter named. Item my will and minde is that Elizabeth my wife shall have for dower or anie thinge else that the lawe of this land will allott her of my goods without Suite or Controversie. Item I give and bequeath to my fowre yonger Children (That is to say) Phillipp Ballard, Elizabeth Ballard, Katherin Ballard and Ann Ballard all my landes Tenements and hereditaments sett lyinge and beinge in the Towne of Nottingham in the County of the Towne of Nottingham {…} the fields terrytories meadowes … of the said County of Nottingham in as large and ample manner as can be {…} have and to hould all thabove[?] specified and intended premisses[?] {…} sonne Phillipp Ballard Elizabeth Ballard Katherin {Ballard} and Ann Ballard and to theire heires and assignes so {….} Moreover[?] I doe give and bequeath to my fowre said yonge(r children) and for theire[?] better advancement and … in manner {…} followinge. And first to my sonne Phillipp and his assignes {I give} devise and bequeath one Anuitie or yearly rent or Summe of {Ten pounds} of lawfull English money issuinge and goinge fourth of my {Mannor or} Lordshippe of Saxlebye in the County of Lincoln and {Nottingham.} And out of all my Messuages Landes Tenements and heredita{ments with} the appurtenances in Saxlebye aforesaid or reputed taken occupied {or enioyed} as parte parcell or member of my said Manno[r] or Lordshippe {To} have and to hold perceive and enioy the said Annuall rent or {summe of} Ten pounds unto my said son[n]e Phillipp and his assignes {for and} duringe the naturall life of my said Sonne Phillipp payable at or in the p[a]rish church of Saxlebye aforesaid within the {countie} of Lincoln at the feast of th[e] ann[un]tiacon of our blessed ladie {Saint} Marie the virgin and at the feast of Saint Michaell the {Archangell} by even and equall portions. The first payment thereof to {begin at} the first of the said feasts dayes wh[ich] shall fortune to happen {next after} my death And I further will that yf shall fortune the said {Annuall} rent or summe of Ten pounds or anie p[ar]te or parcell thereof to be {behinde} and unpaid at anie of the said feasts or daies whereat the same {ought to} be paid that then and from thenceforth it shalbe lawfull f{or and to} my Said[?] sonne Phillipp and his assignes into the Man{nor messuages} landes and premisses to enter and distreyne and the distresses th{en and there} found to leade drive chase and carry away and the same to d{etayne} and keepe untill he be of the same rent and arrerages thereof {fully} satisfied contented and paid. Item I give devise and beq{ueath} unto Elizabeth Ballard my eldest daughter and to her assignes {one A}nuytie or yearly rent or summe of Ten pounds of lawfull En{glish monie} … [under the same conditions as for Phillipp Ballard]. Item I give devise and bequeath unto Katherin Ballard my second daughter and to her assignes one anuytie or yearly rent or summe of Ten pounds of lawfull English money … [under the same conditions as for Phillipp Ballard]. {Item} I give devise and bequeath unto Anne Ballard my yongest daughter {and to her} assignes one Anuytie or yearly rent or summe of Ten pounds of {lawfull} English money … [under the same conditions as for Phillip Ballard]. Item I ordayne my welbeloved Brother in lawe Thom{as} Townshend of Testerton in the county of Norfolk gent {and my} welbeloved Brother in lawe Roger Townshend gent Execu{tors of} this my last will and Testament not doubtinge but that they {will be} indiferant judges betwixt my wife and my children. In w{itnesse} whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and put my seale {…} my last will and testament the day and yeare first above written {in the} presence of these witnesses whose names are hereunder subscribed {…} whom … published the Same. John Bayes. Edmund {….} John Beeston. Edwarde Ballard. Thomas Ballard. Rob{….} Rich: Blackbourn.”The section that follows concerning proof of the will is in bad handwriting and in Latin. Nevertheless, the date 1623 is easy to read and is presumably the year the will was proved.

(c) Will of Edward Ballard (dated 1653, proved 1654)

After I submitted my report on Jarvis Ballard to the Ballard List about two weeks ago, I learned that three of the wills I cited (this being one of them), plus an amazing amount of other material concerning British Ballards, is now available on the web site of Paul Ballard [http://www.paul-ballard.com].   Although I had checked his site late last year in preparation for my report, I must have done so shortly before he included the transcripts of the wills. [transcripts are included here below]

Public Record Office

PROB11/234 folio 178v

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Edward Ballard

Southwell, Nottinghamshire

Will dated 20 September 1653, probated 28 August 1654.

In the name of God Amen. The six and twentieth day of September one thousand six hundred and fifty three. I Edward Ballard of Southwell in the County of Notting being of whole mind and in good and perfect remembrance thanks and praise be unto Almighty God do make and ordain this my present Testament and last will in manner and form following. That is to say first I commend my soul unto Almighty god my maker and redeemer and my body to be buried in the Collegiate Church of Southwell near my father where he lyeth. Item I will that such debts as I owe of right or of conscience to any person or persons be well and truly contented and <out> of my goods only the money that I owe upon the mortgage of some of my lands to be paid as hereafter is nominated and set down, and after my debts paid I will that all my lands goods and chattels shall be divided as followeth. Item it is my will and I do bequeath that Ellin Ballard my wife shall have all my lands tenements and hereditaments whatsoever so <?????> appurtenances set lying and being in the town country and territories of Southwell the burgage of Southwell Easthorpe Westhorpe and Upton & Hallam in the county of Nottingham during her natural life And after her decease I bequeath my dwelling house I now live in situate in the burgage the orchard adjoining unto it and one Close called by the name of Dovecoate Close and also one Close called by the name of Dove Close with the appurtenances to Edward Ballard my eldest son his heirs and assigns for ever. Item I give and bequeath all the rest of my lands tenements and hereditaments whatsoever with their appurtenances set lying and being in the <Towns> <fields> Territories of Southwell the Burgage of Southwell Easthorpe Westhorpe Upton and Hallam in the County of Nottingham to <several> of my younger children to them and their heirs for ever to be equally divided amongst them. That is to say to Thomas Ballard, Jervase Ballard and Robert Ballard Elizabeth Ballard Flora Ballard Alice Ballard and Katherine Ballard provided that whereas the most part of the land is mortgaged to one Francis Leeke and William Roscoe gent it is my will that Thomas Ballard my second son shall sell so much of the said land as shall pay and redeem the said mortgage and then the rest of the said land to be divided as aforesaid. Item I give unto Charles Ballard my youngest son the some of twenty pounds to be paid out of my goods and chattels by my executrix hereafter named when he shall accomplish the age of twenty four years of age. Item I give unto the poor of Southwell twenty shillings All the rest of my goods and chattels whatsoever my debts funeral <?????> legacies paid and discharged I give and bequeath to Ellin my wife to be at her disposing in good hope that she will be a good mother to all my children Whereof I institute and make Ellin Ballard my wife sole executrix of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof to this <????> being written with my own hand I have published my name and put to my seal the day and year above written Edward Ballard In the presence of these Martyn Ballard, <Magister> James <????> his mark.

Probate Westminster 28 August 1654 granted to Ellin Ballard.

(d) Will of Ellen Ballard (dated 1656, proved 1657)

Public Record Office

PROB11/268 folio 108 r

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Ellen Ballard (widow)

Southwell, Nottinghamshire

Will dated 9 May 1656, probated 12 October 1657.

In the name of God Amen. The ninth day of May one thousand six hundred fifty and six I Ellen Ballard of Southwell in the County of Nottingham Widow being of whole mind and in good and perfect remembrance thanks and praise be unto Almighty God do make and ordain this my present Testament and last will in manner and form following. That is to say. First I commend my soul unto Almighty God my Maker and Redeemer and my body to be buried at the discretion of my executor. Item I will that such debts as I owe of right or of conscience to any person or persons or persons to be well and truly <consented> and paid of my goods and after my debts paid I give and bequeath as followeth. First I give and bequeath unto Edward Ballard my son six shillings in full satisfaction of the child part or portion. Item I give and bequeath to Thomas Ballard my son ten pounds whom I purpose in this my last will and testament to make my executor. Item I give and bequeath to Gervase Ballard my son Ten pounds in full satisfaction of his childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Robert Ballard my son Ten pounds in satisfaction of his childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Charles Ballard my son Twenty pounds in full satisfaction of his childs part or portion being formerly given by his late father Edward Ballard my late husband <??????> also binding him apprentice at my charge do give unto him five shillings in full satisfaction of his childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Elizabeth Ballard my daughter twenty pounds in full satisfaction of her childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Flora Ballard my daughter twenty pounds in full satisfaction of her childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Alice Ballard my daughter twenty pounds in full satisfaction of her childs part or portion. Item I give and bequeath unto Katherine Ballard my daughter thirty pounds in full satisfaction of her childs part or portion. All which aforesaid sums <are> to be paid within one half year after my decease. Item I give unto my son Edward and to his son Thomas twenty shillings. Also I give unto my son Bayley husband to my daughter Elizabeth to his two children twenty shillings a piece to be paid aforesaid. Item I give unto my three youngest daughters my household goods to be equally divided amongst them after my decease. And I do make and ordain Thomas Ballard my second son full and sole executor of this my last will and testament. And this I the said Ellen Ballard do fully declare to be my last will in the presence of Ellin Ballon Ballard her mark <?????> Tho. Rixxon, Martin Ballard Clerk.

Whereas since the date of my last will and testament I have lent to my son Edward fifty pounds and have a mortgage of the lands for the security of it I do hereby devise the said fifty pounds and the ensuing interest to my executor the better to enable him to perform this my will and in case default of payment be made therein then I devise to my said executor and his heirs the said lands granted to me and my friend Master Rixxon for the security of the said fifty pounds and interest <Published?> and declared by the said Ellen Ballard in the presence of Wm. <Clan>, John Kendrick.

Probate London 12^th October 1657 to Thomas Ballard.

(e) Will of Thomas Ballard (dated 1659, proved 1659)

Public Record Office

PROB11/394 folio 28 v

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Thomas Ballard

The Minories, London

Will dated 4 July 1659, probated 24 August 1659

In the name of God Amen. The fourth day of July in the year of our Lord according to the Computation of the Church of England One thousand six hundred fifty and nine. I Thomas Ballard of the Minories in the parish of Buttolph Algate London Vintner and Citizen and Haberdasher being sick and weak in body but in good and perfect mind and memor y All laud and praise be given to Almighty God for the same considering with my self the certainties of death and the uncertainty of the hour thereof do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner following. (Videlicit). First and principally I commend my soul unto the most mournfull hands of Almighty God my creator whom and by the alone merits bitter death and passion of Jesus Christ my Saviour <??> but and by a timely faith believe to be saved and to have his <????> of eternal happiness in the kingdom of Heaven and my body I commit to the Earth from whence it came to be decently interred in the South yard of the parish Church of Buttolph Algate as near unto my deceased Mother and children as conveniently may be at the discretion of my executorix hereafter named. And as touching that wordly estate which God in mercy hath lent me to the intent that after my decease it may be disposed of without suit or contention of or in the Law I give will and bequeath the same as followeth. Imprimis I give and bequeath unto the poor of the parish aforesaid the sum of twenty shillings to be distributed unto and amongst whom in bread on the day of my funeral. Item I give and bequeath unto my loving Brothers and Sisters Edward Ballard, Elizabeth Baylie, Flora Ballard, Jarvis Ballard, Alice Morehouse, Robert Ballard Charles Ballard and Katherine Ballard the sum of two shillings and six pence a piece of lawful money of England. Item I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas the sum of One hundred pounds of the like money to be paid by my executorix hereafter named when and so soon as he the said Thomas shall accomplish his full age of one and twenty years. Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ann Ballard the sum of sixty pounds of the like money to be paod by my executorix hreafter named when and so soon a she the said Anne shall accomplish her like age of one and twenty years or be married which shall first happen. All the rest residue and remainder of my <????> chattels household stuff ready money plate jewels leases and estate whatsoever (after my debts funeral expenses and the aforesaid legacies shall be paid and discharged I <?????> give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife Anne Ballard whom I make full amd sole executorix of this my last will and testament. Lastly I do hereby revoke frustrate and make void all former wills legacies and bequests by me atany time made or given and do declare this only to stand and to <???> and as my will and Testament. In witness whereof I the said Thomas Ballard have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written. Thomas Ballard signed sealed published and declared by the said Thomas Ballard the testator for and as his last will and testament in the presence of us John Butler Snr. And Jo. Bullock his servant.

Probate London 24^th August 1659 to Ann Ballard

Fifth Subpart: Other Documentary Evidence

Since there was no baptismal record for Edward Ballard (died 1654) in the Southwell parish registers, other records needed to be used to determine his parents. See the records summarized in the report on Jarvis Ballard showing that Edward Ballard and a Martin Ballard were sons of William Ballard (Junior) of Southwell.  See also the Inquisition Post Mortem for William Ballard (Junior), which lists not only Edward Ballard as his second son, but also William Ballard (III) as his son and heir (a transcription is to be posted on the web site of Paul Ballard, at www.paul-ballard.com/ipm.htm). [transcribed below]

Public Record Office WARD 7/51 no. 153

INQUISITION indented held at Newark upon Trent in the county aforesaid the twenty sixth day of September in the year of the reign of our lord James by the grace of God of England Scotland France and Ireland King defender of the faith and so forth, that is to say, England France and Ireland the fourteenth and Scotland the fiftieth [26 September 1616] Before George Wigsall Esquire Escheator of the said lord King in the county aforesaid by virtue of his office to an inquiry after the death of William Ballard late of Southwell in the county aforesaid gentleman deceased upon the oaths and so forth WHO say upon their oaths aforesaid that the aforesaid William Ballard for a long time before his death was seized in his demesne as of fee of and in one capital messuage or tenement and three cottages with appurtenances situated and being within the town of Southwell aforesaid And of and in forty acres of land twenty acres meadow and thirty acres of pasture with appurtenances in the town of Southwell aforesaid and in the fields and territory of Southwell aforesaid and Upton Halam Easthorpe and Westhorpe in the same county of Nottingham aforesaid messuages whether being tenements or appurtenances And that the aforesaid William Ballard so of the aforesaid messuages or tenements and the other premises being seized made his last will in writing bearing date the twenty eighth day of May in the year of the Lord 1616 by which amongst other things he wished and bequeathed the aforesaid messuages or tenements cottages and other premises to Edward Ballard second son of the same William to have and to hold the same to him the aforesaid Edward his heirs and assigns for ever in these words in English following, that is to say, And I will and bequeath unto my second sonne Edward Ballard all those my lands tenements and hereditaments whatsoever with all and singuler their appurtenances sett lyinge and beinge in the townes feildes and territoryes of Southwell the burgage of Southwell Easthorp Westhorp Upton and Halam in the county of Nottingham to have and to hold all the same landes tenementes and hereditaments with their appurtenances to the same Edward Ballard my second sonne and to his heirs forever, As by the same will the jurors aforesaid shown in evidence full appears and it is evident that afterwards he the aforesaid William Ballard thus also of the aforesaid messuages or tenements cottages and other premises being seized about the twentieth day of June now last past of such his estate died so in respect thereof seized And the jurors aforesaid furthermore on their oaths aforesaid say that the aforesaid messuages or tenements and other premises are held and at the time of the death of the same William were held of our lord Archbishop of York of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter York or his Archbishopric of York as of his manor of the Burgh of Southwell aforesaid in free soccage for fealty and suit of court common and annual rent of nineteen shillings and two pence by the year And by what other services the jurors aforesaid are wholly ignorant And that the clear value by the year in all issues above the deductions from profit is forty shillings And that William Ballard is son and heir and the next of kin of William the father and was aged at the time of death of his father twenty four years and more And that he had no other or more lands or tenements at the time of his death or held of the said lord King nor of any other person to their knowledge. In testimony of which thing, and so forth.

Sixth Subpart: The Ballards of Southwell: A Summary

(a) Phillip Ballard of Greenwich and His Son William Ballard (Senior) of Southwell

According to the Visitation of Nottinghamshire of 1614, Phillip Ballard of Greenwich in the County of Kent (now part of Greater London) married Joane, the daughter of Edward Fitzwilliams. Their son William Ballard (Senior) lived in Southwell and, as shown by the Visitation, married Anne, the daughter of Lunn of Welley in Nottinghamshire. See The Visitation of the County of Nottingham, supra, p.104. See also the report on Jarvis Ballard in this “Source Book” under Maryland (submitted to the Ballard List on June 24-25, 2000) for more information on the Ballards of Southwell. In order to keep repetition to a minimum, I will not repeat the bulk of the information contained there.

The parish registers for Southwell show that William Ballard (Senior) married Agnes Robertson (Robinson?) (not Ann Lunn — see the discussion in the report on Jarvis Ballard) on 11/23/1563. William Ballard (Senior) had the following children:(1) 3/4/1563-4 — Henry (see below)(2) 3/23/1564-5 — William (see below)(3) 4/6/1566 — Anne (buried 11/22/1573)(4) 12/14/1568 — John (buried 1/4/1568-9)The burial of William Ballard (Senior) is not included in the transcript of the parish registers, but it must have occurred sometime between 12/9/1596, when his will was written, and 10/8/1605, when it was probated. In it, he mentioned his sons William Ballard (Junior) and Henry Ballard and his nephew William Ballard.

The fact that William Ballard (Senior) had a nephew by the name of William Ballard implies that he had a brother who had at least one son (or a sister with an illegitimate son). The only possible clue that I have located so far as to the name of a brother is the mention of a “Henry” Ballard as a godparent in Southwell in 1571 (if that entry was not a misprint in the transcript or in the original). The entry would seem to be too early to be a reference to Henry the son of William (Senior), since he would have been only seven years old at the time. I do not know if the brother or sister (whatever their name) or the son William ever lived in Southwell, or if the son William ever had children of his own. In the burial register, there is an entry for a “William Ballard” on 10/2/1619, who might possibly be the nephew mentioned in the will.

(b) The Family of Henry Ballard, Son of William Ballard (Senior)

The elder of the two surviving sons of William (Senior) was Henry Ballard. It was this Henry who was evidently the person who supplied the information at the Visitation of 1614. Therein, he stated that he married Elizabeth Townshend, the daughter of Thomas Townshend of Testerton. (According to A Genealogical Gazetteer of England, p.513 (Baltimore, 1968), Testerton was a small parish in Norfolk, located 2 3/4 miles southeast of Fakenham, in the Archdiocese of Norwich.) This would probably make Elizabeth the granddaughter of Thomas Townshend (Senior) of Testerton (died 1573), the fifth son of Sir Roger Townshend II (1478-1551). See The Visitation of Norfolk (for 1563, 1589 and 1613), pp.290-91 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 32, 1891); The Visitation of Norfolk Anno Domini 1664, Vol. II (M-Z), pp.267-68 (London, 1934); C.E. Moreton, The Townshends and Their World: Gentry, Law, and Land in Norfolk: c.1450-1551, p.44 (Oxford, 1992); Homer W. Brainard, Some Lines of the Townshend-Townsend Families of Old England, New England and Minnesota, p.7 (1931).

In his will, Henry named as his executors his brothers-in-law Thomas Townshend of Testerton and Roger Townshend. At some point, Henry inherited or acquired a manor called Bassites Manor in Saxilby in the County of Lincoln. See his will (above) and his Inquisition Post Mortem [transcribed below].

Public Record Office

Chancery Inquisition Post Mortem of Henry Ballard

C142/767 no. 106

LINCOLN

Inquisition indented taken at Swinshead in the said county of Lincoln the twenty first day of November in the twentieth year of the reign of our lord James by the grace of God of England France and Ireland King defender of the faith and of Scotland the fifty sixth [21 November 1622] Before Thomas Welby Esquire Escheator of the said lord king in the county aforesaid by virtue of a writ of de diem clausit extremum directed to the same Escheator and annexed to this Inquisition to enquire after the death of Henry Ballard gentleman deceased upon the oaths of Nicholas Tompson of Wigtoft, William Stawson, James Scochey, William Allison, William Everett, Robert East, William Briggs, John Ellis, George Sharpe, Thomas Storer, Thomas Howdell, Edward Still and Henry Mylles upright and lawful men of the county aforesaid who say upon their oaths aforesaid that Henry on the day on which he died was seized in his demesne as of fee of and in one manor of Saxleby called Bassites manor with appurtenances in the county aforesaid And furthermore the jurors aforesaid say upon their oaths aforesaid that the aforesaid manor in Saxleby is held and the time of the death of the aforesaid Henry Ballard was held of the reverend father in Christ John Bishop of Lincoln in soccage and the clear value by the year in all issues above the deductions from profit is thirteen pounds six shillings and eight pence And furthermore they say upon their oaths aforesaid that the aforesaid Henry Ballard of such estate as previously mentioned died seized in respect thereof the fourteenth day of January last past and that Thomas Ballard is the son and next heir of the aforesaid Henry and was aged at the time of the death of the aforesaid Henry Ballard twenty one years and more And that the aforesaid Henry Ballard on the day that he died did not have nor hold any other or more lands tenements or hereditaments in demesne or reversion in the county aforesaid nor any other to our knowledge In testimony of which thing to one part of this inquisition the aforesaid Escheator remaining in the possession of the aforesaid jurors has placed his seal To the other true part remaining in the possession of the aforesaid Escheator the jurors have affixed their seals the day and year abovesaid.

[signature] Tho[mas] Welby Escheator.

This Henry Ballard was buried 1/14/1621-2.

The parish registers for Southwell show that Henry had the following children:(1) date unknown — Henry (buried 2/4/1598)(2) 1/14/1598 — Frances (buried 12/13/1603) (3) 7/8/1600 — Thomas(4) 11/18/1601 — Elizabeth(5) 6/9/1603 — William (buried 6/28/1619)(6) 8/14/1604 — Philip(7) 12/31/1605 — Catherine(8) 11/17/1608 — Anne(9) 8/8/1613 — Frauncis (died by 1614) Although there is no baptismal entry for him, the existence of a son Henry is implied by the burial entry from 1598. Since the list of children given by Henry at the Visitation in 1614 does not include his son Francis, born in 1613, we can assume that Francis must have died shortly after birth. The death register shows that Henry’s son William died in 1619, which is confirmed by the absence of any mention of him in Henry’s 1620 will. The other five children of Henry Ballard — Thomas, Elizabeth, Phillip, Catherine and Anne — all survived into adulthood. I know nothing more of Thomas. Because of his family connections to the County of Lincoln and to the city of Newark-upon-Trent in Nottinghamshire, however, he is a good candidate to be the Thomas Ballard who rose through the ranks in the English army to become Sergeant Major General of the Parliamentary forces during the early stages of the English Civil War. (A future installment will provide additional information on this interesting person.) Of course, he also could be the Thomas Ballard who traveled to Virginia in 1635. Or he could be neither or both of the above. The son Phillip Ballard may be the one who married Barbara Pilkington in Newark-upon-Trent on 10/28/1633. The “familysearch” web site lists at least Thomas (baptized 11/6/1634) and Phillip (baptized 2/20/1635) as sons of Phillip and Barbara Ballard of Newark-upon-Trent. I have ordered microfilms of the parish registers for Saxilby and of the bishop’s transcripts for Newark-upon-Trent. The property records for the manor in Saxilby, if they still exist, should also offer some clues as to the fates of the children of Henry Ballard.

(c) The Family of William Ballard (Junior), Son of William Ballard (Senior)

The Southwell church registers show that William Ballard (Junior), the second son of William Ballard (Senior), was baptized on 3/23/1564 and married Alice Martin of Newark-upon-Trent on 11/19/1589. She was the daughter of John Martin of East Allington in Lincolnshire. William Ballard (Junior) was buried 7/24/1616. According to his Inquisition Post Mortem, he left a will dated 5/28/1616, a copy of which I have not yet been able to locate.

The baptism of only one child of William (Junior) and Alice was mentioned in the Southwell parish registers: a daughter Frances, baptized 4/18/1603 (who was buried in nearby Edingley on 8/22/1604). The other children must have been born elsewhere. It is probable that William (Junior) lived elsewhere and returned to Southwell after his father died. I have ordered the parish registers for East and West Allington and the bishop’s transcripts for Newark-upon-Trent, which may contain some of the missing baptismal entries for the children of William Ballard (Junior). (Unfortunately, the parish registers for Newark-upon-Trent do not begin until 1600 and, in addition, are evidently not yet available through the Mormon Family History Centers.)

As noted above, the Inquisition Post Mortem for William Ballard (Junior) states that his son and heir was William (III) and that his second son was Edward. It further states that William (III) was 24 years old when his father died (c7/24/1616), which means that William (III) must have been born in approximately 1592. Moreover, we know from the records cited in the report on Jarvis Ballard that one of the sons of William Ballard (Junior) was a Martin Ballard, who became a minister. From the above information, we can summarize what we know about the births of the known children of William Ballard (Junior) as follows:(1) c1592 — William (see below)(2) date unknown — Edward (see below)(3) date unknown — Martin (see below)(4) 4/18/1603 — Fraunces (buried 8/22/1604 in Edingley)  Of course, he may have had additional sons and daughters.

As we have seen, the eldest son of William Ballard (Junior) was William Ballard (III). The Southwell church records do not show to whom he was married, but do show that he was buried 2/2/1657. They also record the baptisms of his children:(1) 7/9/1626 — William (buried 9/23/1626)(2) 7/30/1627 — Thomas(3) 10/20/1628 — Elizabeth(4) 12/2/1629 — Francis(5) 5/25/1631 — William

I have so far not located any information that would show what became of any of his children (other than the first William).The second son of William Ballard (Junior) was Edward Ballard (Senior). Ellen (or “Hellen”), the wife of Edward Ballard (Senior), was the daughter of Thomas Grant of Allington in Lincolnshire and Agnes Robinson his wife. See Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Vol. II, p.420 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 51, 1903). The Southwell parish transcripts show the baptisms of the children of Edward (Senior) and Ellen Ballard as follows:(1) 8/4/1622 — Edward (see below)(2) 12/8/1623 — Elizabeth (married Baylie by 1656)(3) 7/14/1626 — Thomas (see report on Jarvis Ballard)(4) 2/8/1628 — Flora(5) 9/8/1630 — Gervase (see report on Jarvis Ballard)(6) 9/16/1632 — Alice (married Morehouse by 1659)(7) 9/3/1635 — Robert (see report on Jarvis Ballard)(8) 2/15/1637 — Charles (see report on Jarvis Ballard)(9) 8/8/1640 — KatherineEdward Ballard (Senior) was buried 7/3/1654. His widow Ellen was buried in London in 1657.As mentioned above, Martin Ballard, a younger son of William Ballard (Junior), became a minister. At least during the years 1633-1639, he served the parish of Upton, which is located between Southwell and Newark-upon-Trent. See Seventeenth Century Parish Register Transcripts Belonging to the Peculiar of Southwell, pp.75-78 (Thototon Society. Record Series, Vol. I, 1903).As seen in the report on Jarvis Ballard, Edward Ballard (Junior) was evidently the only male member of the fourth generation of Ballards to remain in Southwell. On 12/14/1656, he married Anne Lane of East Retford. The only child of Edward Ballard (Junior) and his wife Anne to be found in the Southwell registers was:(1) 9/13/1657 John (buried 11/4/1657)Edward Ballard (Junior) was buried 2/27/1696, and his widow (Anne?) was buried 11/6/1699.

Seventh Subpart: Possible American Descendants of the Southwell Ballards

(a) Introduction

A number of Internet genealogies and at least one publication have tied the Southwell Ballards to early immigrants to the American Colonies. Now that we have had a look at the Southwell parish registers and numerous wills and other documents, we can better evaluate some of the claims of kinship.

(b) “Ballard-Ballord Bits”

As we have seen, Jarvis and Charles Ballard of Boston and Maryland were apparently the sons of Edward and Ellen Ballard of Southwell in Nottinghamshire. Ballard-Ballord Bits, which concerned itself, inter alia, with Jarvis and Charles, starts with them already in America and made no attempt to trace them back to England.

As mentioned in the report on Jarvis Ballard, however, Ballard-Ballord Bits hypothesized that three other early Boston Ballards might be brothers of Jarvis and Charles. It named a new, earlier Jarvis Ballard as the father of Jarvis and Charles, and then added Isaac, Samuel and Daniel as possible further sons. If these relationships had been genuine, one could conclude that these “other sons” must also be from Southwell. The information in this report, however, shows that there was no earlier Jarvis Ballard and that Isaac, Samuel and Daniel were not the brothers of Jarvis and Charles. In fact, none of the names “Isaac,” “Samuel” or “Daniel” even appear in the records so far identified with the Ballards of Southwell. It therefore seems that the descendants of these three persons must look for other connections to trace their families further back. At this time, there is no evidence of a close relationship between Isaac, Samuel or David Ballard of Boston and the Ballards of Southwell.

(c) “Intrepid Ballards”

Intrepid Ballards (3rd ed., 1995) by Miriam Ballard-Pringle does specifically make a number of connections between the Southwell and American Ballards. According to that book (on p.10), “Henry [Ballard of Southwell, who was married to Elizabeth Townshend] and his sons Thomas and William Ballard were the first three of this family to emigrate to the new land … AMERICA…. Henry and Thomas to the first Colony of Virginia (1635 &1636) and William to New England…. Henry’s grandson, Thomas Ballard (1630-1689) arrived in Virginia in 1637.”

(i) Henry Ballard of Warwick County, Virginia

Let us take a closer look at these purported immigrants, one by one, to see if the ties to Southwell can be substantiated. Intrepid Ballards (on p.21) states: “Henry Ballard, emigrant in 1636 to Virginia, father and grandfather of the two Thomas Ballards, decided to remain in Virginia for on 31 October 1642 he received 50 acres in Warwick County, Virginia on Otter Dam, adjoining Governor [= “Garrance”] Stephens for the transportation of George Murcocke.” Now that we have had a chance to review the Southwell church records above, we can see that Henry Ballard of Southwell who married Elizabeth Townshend could not be the 1636 immigrant and 1642 patentee, since he died and was buried in 1621-2.

(ii) Thomas Ballard, 1635 Immigrant to Virginia

With respect to Henry’s son Thomas, Intrepid Ballards says (on p.22): “Thomas Ballard, father of Virginia’s politically famous Col. Thomas Ballard (1630-1689) remains a mysterious figure. Born in 1603 to Henry and Elizabeth Townsend-Ballard, Thomas Ballard, age 32, emigrated to Virginia on the ship, GEORGE, on 21 August, 1635 with Humphrey Higginson, age 28, and his wife, Anne Higginson, age 25…. The following record connects the Ballard and Townsend family in Virginia: 24 June, 1659…Francis Townshend & Thomas Ballard appraise the estate of Henry Russell, sworn by Robert Baldrey.” The English records mentioned above tell us very little about this Thomas, and, so far, there is no particularly good evidence that would point to him as the 1635 immigrant or as the father of Colonel Thomas Ballard of Virginia. According to John C. Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality…., p.124 (Baltimore, 1983), the 1635 immigrant’s name was Thomas “Bullard,” not “Ballard” (which may or may not be significant, since the two names are sometimes interchanged or misread). He was evidently arbitrarily given a birth date of 1603 in the Ballard book (see above) so that his age would be 32 in 1635, as recorded in the records for the ship’s voyage. In reality, though, the Thomas Ballard who was the son of Henry was born on or shortly before 7/8/1600 (when he was baptized), so that he was 34 or 35 years old in 1635, and not 32. The cited connection to Francis Townshend is with Colonel Thomas Ballard, not with this earlier Thomas Ballard, and it is not as strong as it might seem: Colonel Thomas Ballard’s name appeared on numerous documents with numerous different people. Furthermore, it is not even sure if Francis Townshend’s father Richard was from the Norfolk Townshends. See Charles H. Townshend, The Townshend Family of Lynn in Old and New England, Genealogical and Biographical, 3rd ed., p.65 (New Haven, 1882), where it is suggested that Richard Townshend may have come from County Warwick. I personally think that the Francis Townshend record may provide a clue pointing to a possible connection between Colonel Thomas Ballard and the Norfolk Townshends (see below), but I do not see that it helps to identify the origins of this earlier Thomas Ballard who immigrated in 1635.

Intrepid Ballards asserts (on p.22) that the earlier Thomas Ballard was Clerk of the Court of Charles River County (later renamed York County), which would imply a strong connection to Colonel Thomas Ballard, who we know was Clerk of the Court in York County by 1652. The book states: “The elder Thomas Ballard was Clerk of Court in a record, dated 8 July, 1637, an Indenture of Hugh Bullock in Charles Rivershire, Virginia. Thomas Ballard, first to arrive in Virginia on the ship, GEORGE, in1635, left only the single Virginia record as Clerk of Court, 8th July, 1637.”  This assertion, however, is based on a misreading of the York County records: although the cited indenture is indeed dated 7/8/1637, it was not recorded in the record book until 6/26/1652, by which time Thomas Ballard (c1630-1689) (the later Colonel) was the Clerk. Accordingly, there is not much (if any) evidence left pointing towards Thomas Ballard (the son of Henry) as the 1635 passenger to Virginia. I think it is safe to say, therefore, that this relationship is unproven until more evidence is located.

(iii) William Ballard of Lynn, Massachusetts

As seen above, Intrepid Ballards also contends that the William Ballard who emigrated to New England was another son of Henry Ballard of Southwell. This reference is evidently to the William Ballard who arrived in Boston on the ship James in 1635 and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. According to the surviving records, he was 32 years old at the time, which would mean that he was born in approximately 1603. That birth date would indeed match with that of William, the son of Henry Ballard of Southwell. What was not known until now, though, is that Henry’s son William died in 1619 at the age of 16. Accordingly, he could not be the William Ballard of Lynn, Massachusetts.

Ballard-Ballord Bits and some recent genealogies on the Internet have offered a different birthplace for William Ballard of Lynn, Massachusetts, namely Salford Priors in Warwickshire. Evidently, a William Ballard was baptized there on 8/14/1603. Interestingly, some of the Internet genealogies have used the Salford Priors birthplace for William, but have kept Henry Ballard of Southwell as the father. We now know that that cannot be true, because Henry had his own family (including a William — who died at age 16) in Southwell. In October of 1998, Paul Ballard, the English genealogist and frequent contributor to the Ballard web site, supplied information on William Ballard of Salford Priors to that site in two separate messages. According to that information (some of which he had acquired from Arlene Ballard of Easton, Maryland), the parents of William born 1603 in Salford Priors were William Ballard and Ellinore Haynes. To view both messages in their entirety, including a discussion of the reasons why this William may also not be the one who emigrated to Massachusetts, go to the Ballard List archives, enter “Ballard” as the list, “1998″ as the date and “Salford Priors” as the Query.

If the William of Salford Priors also turns out not to be the William of Lynn, Massachusetts, there are evidently several alternatives worth further investigation. A quick look at http://www.familysearch.com reveals at least three additional William Ballards who were born in 1603, namely: (1) William (baptized 5/29/1603), the son of William Ballard of Farnsworth near Prescot, Lancashire, (2) William (baptized 8/1/1603), the son of William Ballard of Luton, Bedfordshire, and (3) William (baptized 11/11/1603), the son of Giles Ballard of St. Dunston, Stepney, London (who married Ellen Hunte in 1596).(iv) Colonel Thomas Ballard (c1630-1689)Finally, as seen above, Intrepid Ballards asserts that Colonel Thomas Ballard (c1630-1689) of Virginia was the son of Thomas Ballard who, in turn, was the son of Henry Ballard of Southwell. Because the claimed connection of Henry Ballard to Virginia turned out not to be correct, and the claimed connection of his son Thomas to Virginia turned out, at best, to be unproven, most of the circumstantial evidence cited by the book in support of the claimed connection of Colonel Thomas Ballard to the Southwell Ballards is missing. One major problem with what is left is the absence of proof that Thomas Ballard, the son of Henry, even had a son named Thomas. Although the claimed parentage of Colonel Thomas Ballard cannot be disproved, neither has it been proved. On February 13, 2000, Paul Ballard wrote to the Ballard web site the following response to an inquiry about Colonel Thomas Ballard being the son or grandson of Henry Ballard of Southwell: “Unless the internet sources you mention have cited their sources and then given a detailed analysis of the logic which proves the relationships etc. then I would simply ignore them. The jury is still out on Thomas’s roots and is likely to be for some time yet.”

There are, nevertheless, a number of clues that point towards Southwell as the ancestral home of Colonel Thomas Ballard, some of which will be discussed in a future installment. As is the case with so much Ballard research, however, there are also numerous clues pointing in one or more other directions. For right now, let me just point out that the Southwell parish registers listed above do identify one possible candidate for the future Colonel of Virginia, namely Thomas Ballard, the son of William Ballard (III) of Southwell. He was, however, born 7/30/1627, which probably makes him about three years too old. Colonel Thomas Ballard stated on 11/17/1659 that he was 29 years old, i.e. born between 11/18/1629 and 11/17/1630. See York County Record Book 3, p.69A; York County, Virginia: Records 1659-1662 (abstracted by Benjamin Weisinger III), pp.17-18 (Richmond, 1989).

Supplement No. 1 to Report on the Southwell Ballards

by John Weisner

I. Introduction

My earlier report on the Southwell Ballards, submitted to the Ballard List on 7/7/2000, concentrated on the Ballards who actually lived in Southwell, based primarily on the church records from that city. We know from that report and from my even earlier report on Jarvis Ballard that Jarvis’ (and Charles’) father Edward Ballard (Senior) and his grandfather William Ballard (Junior) had married women from towns in Lincolnshire near the Nottinghamshire border and that Jarvis’ father’s cousin Phillip Ballard (the son of Henry) had married and lived in nearby Newark-upon-Trent in Nottinghamshire. We also know that his great-uncle Henry Ballard had become the owner of a manor in Saxilby in Lincolnshire, and had willed interests in that manor to several of his children. I therefore wanted to follow up on the earlier information by taking a look at the church records for East and West Allington and Saxilby in Lincolnshire and Newark-upon-Trent in Nottinghamshire. This Supplement will report on the results of that research and add a couple of facts on the Southwell Ballards that I have come across since my earlier reports.

II. Miscellaneous Facts

One piece of information that I came across recently was that Henry Ballard of Southwell (1563/4-1621/2) was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1583. See “Register of Admissions to Gray’s Inn,” in Collectanea Genealogica, Vol. 3, p.36 (1887). Gray’s Inn was one of four Inns of Court in London that helped to train lawyers and controlled their admission to the English bar. We can therefore assume that Henry pursued a career in the law.

I was also interested in knowing if there were any memorials within the Cathedral at Southwell or gravestones outside of it that might supply additional information about the Ballards of that city. We know from the will of Edward Ballard (Senior) (dated 1653) that his father William (Junior) (died 1616) had been buried inside the church. I therefore wrote to the Minster Office with my inquiry. Mr. Laurence Craik, the Minster Librarian and Archivist, answered on June 14, 2000, with the following information: “I regret that there are no identifiable gravestones or monuments for any members of the Ballard family either in the church or in the churchyard. Unfortunately, there are several badly eroded or illegible stones in the floor of the church, with no means of identification. The Civil War affected Southwell, and some earlier monuments may have been destroyed before 1660.”

III. Ballards and Their In-Laws in East and West Allington, Lincolnshire — the Grandparents and Great-Grandparents of Jarvis and Charles Ballard

A. Overview

As we saw in the report on Jarvis Ballard, his mother was Ellen (or Hellen), the daughter of Thomas Grant of Allington and his wife Agnes Robinson. The Lincolnshire Pedigrees, cited in that report, provides additional generations of Grant ancestors (see below). Furthermore, the Chancery records mentioned in the same report show that his paternal grandmother (the mother of his father Edward Ballard) was Alice Martin, the daughter of John Martin of East Allington and his wife, probably the one named Isabella. They also mentioned that Edward Ballard’s brother Martin (Jarvis’ uncle) was given land in Allington by that John Martin and his wife Isabella. When I checked at the local Family History Center, I was pleased to discover that it could offer microfilms of the parish registers for both East and West Allington (in Lincolnshire). Although the microfilms were sometimes difficult to read, they contained a wealth of information. Combined with other information, they make it possible to identify all eight of the great-grandparents of Jarvis and Charles Ballard, the early immigrants to Maryland and Boston.

B. The Grandparents and Great-Grandparents of Jarvis and Charles Ballard on Their Mother’s Side

Let us start with Jarvis’ (and his brother Charles’) mother’s side. It is recorded in the parish register for West Allington (also cited here as “WA”) that Jarvis’ parents, Edward Ballard and “Hellen” Grant, were married in that parish on 9/23/1619. It further shows that “Helene” Grant was born in 1599. (Unfortunately, the page at issue is ripped and only the year and first name remain. Nevertheless, since there are no other “Hellens” mentioned about that time, the entry must refer to her.) For the children of Edward and “Ellen” Ballard and a reference to her will, see the report on Jarvis Ballard at the tenth and eleventh subparts. She was buried on 9/8/1657 in the parish of St. Botolph without Aldgate in London. The multi-generation pedigree of the Grant family, contained in Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Vol. II, p.420 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 51, 1903), states (as mentioned above) that the parents of Ellen (or Helen) (i.e., Jarvis’ maternal grandparents) were Thomas Grant (III) of Allington, who died in 1618, and his wife Agnes Robinson. According to the parish registers, their marriage was solemnized on 6/24/1594 in the parish church of West Allington (in the register her name is spelled “Robenson”). Thomas (III) was probably the Thomas Grant who was baptized 3/28/1567 (WA), at a time when the parents were not named in the register. In a slight contradiction to the pedigree, the register recorded his burial on 8/7/1617 (WA), not 1618. It is also recorded that he gave 40 shillings to the poor in 1617 (evidently in his will) (WA). His will is referenced in Calendars of Lincoln Wills, Vol. II, Consistory Court Wills, 1601-1652, p.74 (providing citation for will as “1617ii, 144″) (The Index Library, Vol. 41, 1910). His wife Agnes was most likely the Agnes “Robinson” who was baptized 6/7/1572 (WA) and the Agnes Grant who was buried 2/2/1613 (WA).Now, let us go one generation further back to Jarvis’ maternal great-grandparents. According to the pedigree, Thomas Grant (III)’s father was also named Thomas Grant (Junior), and his mother’s maiden name was Britten. It was probably his father who was the Thomas Grant buried on 2/18/1591. The administration of his estate is referenced in Calendars of Administrations in the Consistory Court of Lincoln, A.D. 1540-1659, (providing citation for administration as “1591: Av 28; BI, 115″) (The Index Library, Vol. 52, 1921). He had evidently been married twice. The children shown in the pedigree as being mothered by Helen, the daughter of Augustin Earle, were born between the years 1577 and 1589 (WA). The children shown as being mothered by his other wife, including Thomas (III) (baptized 1567 — see above), were born between 1565 and 1569 (WA). Therefore, Helen Earle was his second wife, and his first wife was the one with the maiden name Britten, who must have died between 1569 and 1577. Indeed, the parish register recorded the burial on 2/17/1570 of “Joane the wife to Thomas Grant.” Consequently, “Joane Britten” would have been the mother of the Thomas Grant III (baptized 1567) who was married to Agnes Robinson. If we assume a marriage date of approximately 1563 for Thomas and Joane and figure backwards (estimating the husband’s age as approximately 25 years and the wife’s age as approximately 20 years at the time of the marriage), we can conclude that this Thomas Grant (Junior) was born c. 1538 and that his wife Joane Britten was born c. 1543.

Agnes Robinson’s parents (Jarvis’ other set of maternal great-grandparents) can also be deduced from the parish registers. The only Robinson in the registers who could have been the father of Agnes (who was baptized on 6/7/1572) was Michael Robinson, who married Agnes Day on 8/3/1571. This marriage was recorded in both West Allington and East Allington (also cited here as “EA”). In West Allington his name was spelled “Robenson,” and in East Allington, “Robynson.” They also had a son by the name of Michael, who was baptized on 12/30/1576. Michael Robinson (“Robynson”), the elder, was buried 7/29/1605 (EA). In his will he gave 60 shillings to the poor (WA). That will is referenced in Calendars of Lincoln Wills, Vol. II, supra, at 155 (providing citation for will as “1606, 332″). His wife Agnes may have been the one who died on or shortly before 6/3/1620, when it was recorded that the “Vidua Robinson” was buried (WA) (but this could also have been the widow of Michael Robinson, the younger, since he died in 1607). She also could have been the “Agnes Robinson” who gave 10 shillings to the poor in 1626 (WA). Using the same calculation as above, we can estimate that Michael Robinson, the elder, was born c. 1546 and that Agnes Day was born c. 1551.

The Grant pedigree supplies the additional information that the father of Thomas Grant (Junior) (born c1538) was, once again, named Thomas Grant (Senior) (Jarvis’ great-great-grandfather). (Figuring 30 years back from the birth of a child, he would have been born c. 1508.) It is probably his will that is referenced in Calendars of Lincoln Wills, Vol. I, 1320-1600, p.160 (providing citation for will as “1567, 285″) (The Index Library, Vol. 28, 1902). And maybe it is the administration of his wife, “Agnes Grant, widow, Allington, 1582″ that is referenced in Calendars of Administrations, supra, at 58) (providing citation for administration as “1582: Aiv, 30; BI, 231″). According to the pedigree, the father of Thomas Grant (Senior) was Robert Grant of Allington (probably born c. 1487) (Jarvis’ g-g-g-grandfather).

C. The Grandparents and Great-Grandparents of Jarvis and Charles Ballard on Their Father’s Side

As we know from the report on Jarvis Ballard, the father of Jarvis and Charles was Edward Ballard (Senior) of Southwell, who was born in approximately 1594, married Ellen Grant (in 1619 — see above) and died in 1654. The same report cites various records to the effect that Edward’s parents were William Ballard (Junior) of Southwell and Alice Martin, the daughter of John Martin of East Allington in Lincolnshire. It also shows that William Ballard (Junior) was baptized in Southwell on 3/23/1564-5, was married to Alice on 11/19/1589 and was buried on 7/24/1616. A look at the parish register of East Allington reveals that his future wife “Alles Martyn” was baptized 8/23/1571.The records cited in the report on Jarvis Ballard show that the father of William Ballard (Junior) was William Ballard (Senior) (i.e., one of Jarvis’ paternal great-grandfathers). With respect to the wife of William (Senior), we know that there is a contradiction between the Visitation record and the parish register. According to the Visitation of Nottinghamshire, his wife’s name was Anne Lunn. According to the Southwell parish register, William Ballard married Agnes Robertson on 11/23/1563. Since the Sir Edmund Robinson who served as a godfather to one of the children of William and Agnes was usually spelled “Robinson,” but sometimes “Robertson,” my guess is that Agnes’ last name was more likely “Robinson.” Because of this godfather and the greater likelihood that the parish record was the more accurate one, I would give the preference to Agnes Robinson as the mother of William Ballard (Junior) until proof of someone else is found. (See also the discussion below under Saxilby.) According to the above-mentioned calculation, William Ballard (Senior) would have been born c. 1538 and Agnes Robinson c. 1543. The Visitation goes on to state that the parents of William Ballard (Senior) (i.e., great-great-grandparents of Jarvis) were Phillip Ballard and Joane Fitzwilliams, the daughter of Edward Fitzwilliams.

We know from the records cited above that Alice’s father John Martin had been married to an Isabella and that they conveyed land to Edward Ballard’s brother Martin. After the death of Isabella, John evidently married Margaret Leake, who survived him and conspired with her brother to disinherit Martin Ballard. It is recorded in the parish register of East Allington that John “Martyn” married “Issabell Wynter” on 7/24/1569. Since Alice was born two years later, we can assume that Isabella was indeed her mother. Because the quality of the microfilm was so bad, it was impossible to find the burial entry for Isabella and the marriage entry for John and Margaret. It was probably this John Martin who was the one buried 4(?)/25/1614 (EA).

According to my standard calculations, John Martin would have been born in c. 1544 and Isabella Winter in c. 1549. As a point of interest, let me mention here that one of the maps I consulted for the location of Allington in Lincolnshire (i.e., SSE of Newark-upon-Trent and NW of Grantam) contains the notation “Old Manor House” next to that village. See Rand McNally Road Atlas of Britain, p.34 (Glasgow/Leeds, revised edition, 1983/1984). One must wonder if that manor house once belonged to the ancestors of Jarvis and Charles Ballard.

IV. Martin Ballard of Southwell, East Allington and Upton

As mentioned in the section above, there had been a dispute concerning lands in Allington given by John Martin and his wife Isabell to their grandson Martin Ballard. The report on the Southwell Ballards, in the sixth subpart, briefly discusses this Martin, the son of William Ballard (Junior) and his wife Alice, stating that he was probably the Martin who became a minister and served the parish of Upton during at least the years between 1633 and 1639. I was therefore somewhat surprised to find him mentioned in the East Allington parish register. Evidently, the Ballards prevailed in their dispute concerning his land. How he combined being a minister and living on this land is not fully clear to me.

Nevertheless, Martin Ballard appears in the East Allington register as the father of at least three children. Since the entries come in a part of the register where the microfilm is quite poor, I cannot be sure if I located all the references to him. The baptismal records from that register list at least the following children:(1) 4/9/1615 — Elizabeth(2) 2/?/1616 — Sara(?)(3) 10/17(?)/1619 — Rececca.

Unfortunately, the legible entries do not give the name of Martin’s wife. They also do not mention his occupation. If Martin’s older brothers were born in approximately 1592 and 1594, he must have born in approximately 1595, which would make him a young 20 years old at the birth of his first child. After 1619, Martin and his family disappear from the register — perhaps they moved to Upton in Nottinghamshire at about that time. Or perhaps that is when he studied for the ministry.Since I was anxious to continue tracing Martin and his children, I checked to see what church records were available for the parish of Upton in Nottinghamshire (located between Southwell and Newark-upon-Trent). According to the information in Nottingham Parish Registers. Marriages, Vol. 16, p.157 (London, 1912), the Upton registers go back to 1586. The marriages for Upton from that date are published in that volume, but, of course, not the baptisms or the burials. Interestingly, there is a specific mention in the book (at p.166) that Martin Ballard was the vicar of Upton from 1628 to 1663. On the same page, the marriage on 5/4/1649 between John Sands and Rebecca Ballard is listed. This was most likely Martin’s daughter who had been baptized in East Allington in 1619.Unfortunately, the Family History Centers do not offer a microfilm of the parish register for Upton. In fact, it appears that none of the parish registers in Nottinghamshire (maybe with some exceptions) are available there. The Centers do have available the Bishop’s transcripts from 1633 to 1812 (FHL British Film 504053, Item #1), which I reviewed. These transcripts cover only a few years prior to 1686, i.e., 1633-1634, 1635 and 1639(?). Although Martin Ballard signed all three of these transcripts, they do not appear to contain any other Ballard information. A closer look at the actual parish registers of Upton can evidently only be had in Nottingham (where I assume they are today). (Paul Ballard recently informed me that they are indeed in the Nottinghamshire Record Office in Nottingham, and a transcript is held in the Society of Genealogists library in London.) Although Upton is small in size, there are at least two books written about life there around the time of the English Civil War. A Nottingham Village in War and Peace: The Accounts of the Constables of Upton 1640-1666 (Thoroton Society Record Series, Vol. 39, 1995) contains a few mentions of a “Mr. Ballard,” evidently referring to the Vicar, Martin Ballard. It also refers once to “Major General Thomas Ballard’s brief siege of Newark, 27-28 February 1643″ (at p.132), but makes no connection between the General and the Vicar.

The other book, Francis H. West, Rude Forefathers: The Story of an English Village 1600-1666 (London, 1949), is a gold mine for information about Martin Ballard, since he is prominently featured. In the section entitled “The Vicarage” (pp.77-84), it is written (pp.77-80): “There are many references in the account books to Mr. Martin Ballard, vicar of thye parish for 36 years, whose incumbancy covered the most eventful period of Upton’s history. During the Civil War he shared in the discomforts and hardships of his parishioners, contributing with the others to the maintenance of the troops in the vicinity of the village, and sometimes accompanying the constable on missions to Newark.”

Macauley, in his description of England in 1685, refers to the humble origin of the majority of the country clergy. One of Martin Ballard’s daughters married John Sandes the Weaver, another a Thomas Sare who apparently could not sign his own name…. Whatever his origin was, Mr. Ballard probably had a good deal more learning than the Squire. The records show that he was often consulted about the numerous official documents, warrants and assessments which descended upon the 17th century wardens and constables. In 1646 he helped draw up the statement of the loses incurred by the village during the troublous years of the Civil War. “Of his opinions and personality we know nothing. Presumably he conformed to Parliament’s ecclesiastical regulations and accepted the Directory Service Book without voicing any objections, for … he was allowed to retain his living during the Commonwealth. But the Commission which was set up in 1654 to enquire into the state of the ministry in the parishes, reported that he was too old for the responsibilities of his office, and that the village required a younger man as its minister. Possibly because a more suitable man was not forthcoming, Mr. Ballard was not removed from his vicarage and remained there until his death in 1664 nearly four years after the restoration of Charles II.”

The parish registers and his will give us a glimpse of the last months of his life which appear to have been clouded with sorrow and misfortune. Two of his children, Martin and Elizabeth, were undutiful and refused to write him. On 4th September, 1663, his wife Joan, died, to be followed in January by their widowed daughter, Rebecca Sandes. Two months later the lonely old man, lying in his four-poster bed in the vicarage parlour, dictated his last Will and Testament to his son-in-law, Thomas Sare, and two of his parishioners. His undutiful children he cut off with a shilling apiece. The rest of his property he left to his three grandchildren. The next day he died. On March 22nd, 1663-4 his body was buried in the church, across the way from the house in which he had lived for 36 years. “Mr. Ballard’s nuncupative will. (A nuncupative will is one that is dictated by word of mouth to witnesses.)  ‘That upon 20th day of March Anno Dni 1663 Martin Ballard the late vicar of Upton neare Southwell in the county of Nottingham being then in perfect mind and memorie and being fitt in body and did (with intent to make his last will nuncupative) dispose of his estate in manor following or words to that effect. Viz. He said that he had a son called Martin Ballard and a daughter whose name was Elizabeth and sayed that they were disobedient and would not write to him and therefore he sayed that he did give the said Martin his said son and the said Elizabeth a XIId apeece. And he did give the rest of all his goodes, debts having first been paid and funerall expenses discharged to his three grandchildren John Sandys, Rebecca Sandys and Sarah Sare to be equally divided amongst them : there being then and there present and witnesses to the same[.] Richard Gibson. Thomas Sare. Frances the wife of George Harper. [This section of the book also contains the inventory of Martin Ballard and a description of the living conditions in the vicarage.]’”

From the will and other information contained in Rude Forefathers, we know that Martin Ballard died 3/21/1663-4. He was married, at least towards the end of his life, to a woman with the first name “Joan,” who died on 9/4/1663 and who may or may not have been the mother of his children. We also know from the same source that Martin had at least four children: Martin, Elizabeth, Rebecca (who married John Sandes (Sandys)) and an unnamed daughter (who married Thomas Sare). If the unnamed daughter was Sarah (born 1616), then the only birth (baptism) missing would be for his son Martin. Rebecca died as a widow in January 1663-4. She and John Sandes had two children, also named Rebecca and John, who were living at the time of Martin’s will in 1663. The unnamed daughter (Sarah?) evidently died before her father, since she was not named in his will. She and her husband Thomas Sare had one child, named Sarah, who was alive at the time of the will. Finally, we can deduce that Elizabeth and Martin had moved away from Upton.

Rude Forefathers also contains one reference to Thomas Ballard, the Parliamentary commander at the siege of Newark-upon-Trent: “In February, 1643, a Parliamentary force commanded by Col. Ballard sallied forth from Nottingham and laid siege to Newark. For two days there was confused fighting on the outskirts of the town and once the besiegers actually broke into the streets. Had it not been for the incompetence of Ballard and the contrasting enterprise of Henderson, the Royalist commander of Newark, the stronghold would have fallen and the whole course of the war in the Midlands changed. As it was the garrison counter-attacked and the town was saved. Upton militia men took part in the fight.” An argument can be made that the actions (and motives) of Thomas Ballard are unjustly simplified in this book’s account of the siege. Important for this report, however, is the fact that this reference also makes no connection between Parliamentary commander Thomas Ballard and the Vicar Martin Ballard.

V. Phillip Ballard of Newark-upon-Trent

As pointed out in the report on the Southwell Ballards, Phillip Ballard (baptized 8/14/1604), the son of Henry, was probably the person with that name who married Barbara Pilkington in Newark-upon-Trent on 10/28/1633. See Nottingham Parish Registers. Marriages, Vol. 4, p.90 (London, 19??). He and his wife apparently resided in that city, since at least two sons were baptized there:(1) 11/6/1634 — Thomas(2) 2/20/1635 — Phillip.

Since I wanted to see what became of these children and if Phillip and Barbara had other children, I checked on the availability of the parish registers. I called the church in Newark-upon-Trent and was informed that the registers are no longer at the church, but were moved a few years ago to the archives in Nottingham. I learned from the volume mentioned above that the registers start in the year 1600 (with the information for 1599 being available from the Bishop’s transcripts (records sent each year from the various parishes to the Bishop or Archbishop).Unfortunately for my research, the parish registers themselves are not available on microfilm at the Family History Centers (operated by the Mormon Church). Nevertheless, at the Center near me I was able to order a copy of the “Bishop’s transcripts” for Newark-upon-Trent on microfilm. These transcripts, though, are incomplete, missing several of the potentially most interesting years. The years for which the transcripts exist (in the order they appear on the microfilm) are 1599, 1606, 1608-1611, unknown, 1618, 1620-1623, 1625, 1624, 1627-1628, 1617(?), 1628-1640(?), 1661-1662, etc. I reviewed the transcripts through 1662 and found no Ballard entries other than the ones mentioned above. The missing years, of course, may contain several additional entries. They will evidently have to wait, though, until someone has the opportunity to look at the parish registers in Nottingham.

There are two additional marriages in the published volume worth mentioning here, although the name listed is “Bullard,” not “Ballard” On 5/1/1687, John Leeson married Ann Bullard (p.116), and on 6/6/1702, Robert Bullard married Ann Bowes (p.123). These names, of course, might simply be a misreading of the original, to which I have not had access. On the other hand, these “Bullard” names might go back to Thomas “Bullar,” who was the first Town-Clerk under the city’s 1626 Charter. See Cornelius Brown, The Annals of Newark-upon-Trent, pp.101, 103 (London, 1879). Although I do not know the origins of this Thomas “Bullar,” there were several “Buller” families in the area who appear to be unrelated to the “Ballards.” Perhaps a look at the actual parish registers will resolve this issue.

The records of the Nottingham Hearth Taxes of 1664 and 1674 include persons with “Ballard” or similar names in the vicinity of Newark-upon-Trent (and Upton and Southwell). See Nottinghamshire Hearth Tax 1664 : 1674 (Thoroton Society Record Series, Vol. 37, 1988). In the report on the Southwell Ballards it was mentioned that Edward Ballard (Junior) appeared on the list for Southwell in 1674. In Farnton (a town just SW of Newark-upon-Trent) taxes were paid in 1664 by John “Ballord” (p.18), and in 1674 by John “Bullard” (p.108). Also of interest with respect to Newark-upon-Trent is the fact that that city evidently had a Quaker community. The Family History Center offers a microfilm covering the Quarterly Meeting for Lincolnshire, including Newark-upon-Trent in Nottinghamshire (with births from 1632, marriages and burials) (FHL British Film 1484594), although it is stated that it is very light (and evidently nearly impossible to read). Since many of the early Ballards in Virginia were Quakers, a look at these records would make sense.

VI. The Search for Ballards in Saxilby, Lincolnshire

As we know from his will and from his inquisition post mortem, Henry Ballard of Southwell had somehow during his lifetime acquired a manor in Saxilby in Lincolnshire. See my report on the Southwell Ballards at the Sixth Subpart. In his will, he gave interests in this manor to his “four younger children” Phillip, Elizabeth, Catherine and Anne. According to the inquisition post mortem, the major interest in the manor descended to his eldest son Thomas. As a result, I thought that the records from Saxilby may contain clues about the fates of all of Henry’s children, especially his son Thomas. Therefore, I checked at the Family History Center to see what documents they could provide for Saxilby. I was pleased to find out that I could order a microfilm of the parish register for the church in that town, going back to 1563. When I received the microfilm (No. 1450478, Item 2) and started to review it, my enthusiasm was quickly dampened, since the quality was so bad that it was nearly completely impossible to read. To my surprise, though, the book had been refilmed. The second microfilm (No. 9897923) turned out to be much better, although there were still some sections that were difficult to make out.

My main focus in reviewing the earliest parish register for Saxilby (1563-1696) was to look for any mention of Henry’s children in the years from about 1620 until about 1670. For the sake of completeness, though, I started my review from the beginning. After reviewing several pages with no mention of Ballards, I unexpectedly came across the entry for the burial of Mr. William Ballard on 9/14/1605. This was surely William Ballard (Senior) of Southwell (whose will was proved 10/8/1605), the father of Henry. His burial here, of course, raised the question of what his connection was to Saxilby. One explanation could be that William’s wife was from that town and that she had inherited the manor from her parents (or they had given it directly to their grandson Henry). Perhaps William Ballard (Senior) died on a visit there.

This sudden turn of events made me more interested in the early entries in the register and in references to either a Lunn family or a Robinson family. (As mentioned above, William Ballard’s wife was reportedly either Anne Lunn or Agnes Robinson.) I remembered that there had been several Robinsons in the records, and a review showed that they went back to the entries in the late 1550’s. This information would tend to confirm the entry in the church records at Southwell that William Ballard had been married to Agnes “Robertson” (= “Robinson”). There was also a burial entry for a William Robinson on 4/20/1571. A look at the lists of wills in Lincolnshire
turned up the will of William Robinson from Saxilby, proved in the period 1572-74. Calendars of Wills and Administration at Lincoln, p.145 (The Index Library, Vol. 57, 1930) (referring to its location as among the Stow Wills at “1572-4, 10″). Could this William be the previous owner of the manor there and the father of Agnes? A look at the will itself might provide the answer. (I should mention here that I also found what appears to be a reference to a Thomas “Lunne”(?), who had a son named Anthony baptized in 1597.)

After finding the reference to William Ballard, I continued my review of the Saxilby parish register through 1680. Unfortunately, I did not locate any additional references to a Ballard.

VII. Future Research

There is, of course, still substantial research that can be done on the Ballards of Southwell. More information on the earliest representative of this line, Phillip Ballard, and his wife Joane Fitzwilliams might help to establish a provable connection to other Ballard lines. As mentioned above, some clues exist that could clear up the uncertainty with respect to the identity of the wife of their son William Ballard (Senior). The fates of several members of the Southwell Ballards are still unknown: e.g., all of the children of William Ballard (III) (including the Ballard-name-bearing sons Thomas, Francis and William, born 1627, 1629 and 1631, respectively), the children of Phillip Ballard of Newark-upon-Trent (including at least Thomas and Phillip, born 1634 and 1635, respectively) and two of the children of Martin Ballard (Elizabeth and Martin, born 1615 and probably c1621, respectively). Maybe most interesting would be the fate of Thomas Ballard (the brother of Phillip Ballard of Newark-upon-Trent), born 1600. Although I speculated in my report on Jarvis Ballard as to the fate of Robert Ballard (the brother of Jarvis and Charles), more research is certainly needed to confirm my suggestion.

Higginson/Moone/Ballard/Bullerd Connection

In her message to the Ballard List on 7/16/00, Rebecca (whom I want to thank, together with others, for their kind words concerning my Jarvis Ballard and Southwell Ballard reports) pointed to an interesting group of records that might offer a clue to the origin of Colonel Thomas Ballard of Virginia and/or other early American Ballards. Namely, she mentioned the 1635 passenger list from the George (which lists Humphrey Higginson, age 28, and Thomas Bullard, age 32), the Humphrey Higginson patent from 1637 (listing Thomas Bullard as a headright), the Humphrey Higginson & Abraham Moone patent from 1654 (listing Richard Bullerd and Thomas Bullerd as headrights) and the assignment of a different Abraham Moone patent to (the future Colonel) Thomas Ballard, which land Ballard then patented in his own name in 1657. These records seem to suggest a connection between Humphrey Higginson, Abraham Moone, Thomas and Richard Bullard (or Bullerd) and Colonel Thomas Ballard.

In the last couple of days, I have made a couple of visits to the library and to my files to see what additional information I could add concerning these citations. Although these records do not prove a clear connection, they certainly should be kept in mind when looking for British origins.

The passenger list for the George can be found in the not-too-concisely-titled book by John C. Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles: Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations 1600-1700 with Their Ages, the Localities Where They Formerly Lived in the Mother Country, the Names of the Ships in Which the Embarked, and Other Interesting Particulars, pp.124-26 (Reprint, Baltimore, 1962). The passenger list itself is dated August 21, but without a year. As Lynne Miller pointed out when she put the list on the Ballard List on November 23, 1997, the document was evidently found among other records dated 1635. Assuming that the 1635 date and the reported ages are correct, Thomas Bullard, who gave his age as 32, would have been born between August 22, 1602 and August 21, 1603. Also on board was Ann Higginson, age 25.

The first Humphrey Higginson patent, dated 2/6/1637, was recorded in Patent Book No. 1, at p.519. It is abstracted in Nell M. Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers (hereinafter “C&P”), Vol. 1, p.80 (Richmond, 1992). C&P transcribed the headright at issue as “Tho. Bullard”. I looked at the microfilm of the original of this record at the Library of Virginia, and the name in the original is easy to read and is spelled the same as in C&P, but punctuated slightly differently, i.e. “Tho: Bullard”. Four of the 14 headrights Higginson utilized for this patent had been passengers on the George, namely Thomas Bullard, Nowell Floyd (“Lloyd” in the ship’s list), Thomas Rogers and Mary Robinson. Also included among the 1637 headrights was a “Henry” Moone (written “Hen: Moone” in the original), but not an “Abraham” Moone as suggested by Rebecca. Nevertheless, since the name Moone is not very common, there certainly may have been some close connection between Henry and Abraham Moone. The notation “Exmd” appears in the margin not only for this patent but for all patents before and after this one. According to the staff of the Library of Virginia, it simply stands for “examined.”

The Humphrey Higginson & Abraham Moone patent, dated 9/20/1654, was recorded in Patent Book No. 3, at p.302. It is abstracted in C&P, Vol. 1, p.298. It transcribed the two headrights at issue as “Rich. Bullerd” and “Tho. Bullerd”.  This time the microfilm, although legible, was too light to be sure of individual letters. As Rebecca wrote, the “o” and the “e”, as well as the “u” and the “a”, sometimes appeared very similar. Therefore, I was allowed to look at the original patent book. In the original book, it was clearer how the writer distinguished his “o” from his “e”. The “o” was a circle with the continuing line coming off the very top. The “e”, on the other hand, was a circle with the continuing line curving down from the top and crossing through the right-hand side of the circle. In addition, the writer seemed to be consistent at closing the top of the letter “a” and leaving the top of the letter “u” open. Moreover, he consistently started the “u” with a short upstroke, something he did not do with his letter “a”. With the clearer view, it was possible to confirm the spelling from C&P. Once again, however, the punctuation was slightly different in the original, namely, “Rich Bullerd” and “Tho: Bullerd”.  That said, I am not sure that the spelling is crucial here.  York County Record Book No. 1, pp.275-76 (York County: 1648-1657, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Vol. 26, p.56 (Baltimore, 1961)) shows that the Abraham Moone patent (Patent Book No. 3, p.326, C&P I/303-04) was assigned to Thomas Ballard on 8/24/1655. Since the future Colonel Thomas Ballard was Clerk of Court of York County at this time and, therefore, would have personally written this entry, it is likely that he would have mentioned some distinguishing characteristic, i.e. “of ___ County,” if he was referring to a “Thomas Ballard” other than himself.  Ballard then patented the same 600 acres in his own name on 10/15/1657; he later assigned this patent to David Cant before 4/2/1662 (Patent Book No. 4, p.126 (186), C&P I/354).

I have located one other document mentioning Thomas Ballard in connection with Abraham Moone. After Moone’s death, his inventory, dated 2/23/1655-6, included the following item in a list of debts due to the estate: “Tho: Ballard his bill for 30 yds. of lockram … [no amount given]” (quoted from the original). Lancaster County Court Record Book, No. 2, p.28, Lancaster County, Record Book #2, p.8 (Richmond, 1937).The 1635/1637 references to a Thomas Bullard and the 1654 reference to a Thomas and a Richard Bullerd as passenger/headrights raise a number of questions. If these individuals stayed in Virginia, why are they not mentioned in any other records showing their actual presence? Was it because they lived in a county where the records have been destroyed, such as James City County? Or were they here only temporarily, perhaps as merchants overseeing their business, who simply sold their headrights to Higginson?

The fact that the name “Richard” has been added to the pool of clues is not terribly helpful, since there were evidently nearly as many Richard Ballards (Bullards) as Thomas Ballards (Bullards) living in England at about the same time. The Virginia Colonial Records Project, however, does mention two Richards who are worth further study. An English merchant by the name of Richard Ballard was a witness to a dispute involving Virginia tobacco in 1646-7. See Survey Report No. 10996. In the 1680’s and 1690’s, another merchant, Richard Buller (sometimes “Bullard”) was involved in litigation concerning his trade with Virginia. See, e.g., Survey Reports Nos. 00236, 00672, 00675, 01455, 04564, 10096, 10463, 10464, 10573, 11524, 11526 and 11528.

I would certainly like to investigate the above-mentioned records a little more closely. Right now, however, I do not have the time. If these matters are still of interest later this summer, I would like to get back to them then.

Sincerely, John (not Jim) Weisner

A Preliminary Report on the Implications of Daniel Ballard’s Will (1640)

by John Weisner (also on behalf of Paul Ballard)

I. The Will of Daniel Ballard of London (1640)

Shortly after I submitted my reports on Jarvis Ballard and the Southwell Ballards, Paul Ballard pointed out to me a possible connection that he had spotted between the Southwell Ballards and another line of Ballards. He had noticed that in the will of Daniel Ballard of London, dated 1640, there was a reference to “his cousin” Elizabeth Bayley, the wife of Theophilus Bayley.

Public Record Office

PROB 11/183/438

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Daniell Ballard

St Clement’s Danes

Will dated 26 March 1640, probated 15 June 1640

In the name of God. Amen. I Daniell Ballard of the parish of St. Clemet’s Danes in the county of Midd. Cittizen and draper of London being weake and pained in body but of sound and perfect mynd and memory praised be god therefore revoking all former wills and testaments by me heretofore made doe make and declare this my last will and testament in manner and form following viz I comend my soule into the hands of Almightie god my Creator and of Jesus Christ my blessed Saviour and Redeemer by whose only merrits death and passion my hope and trust is notwithstandinge my unworthiness I shall be saved.

And my bodie to the earth to be buried in the middle isle of the parish church of St.Clements aforesaid as neere to the bodie of my late deceased wife Anne Ballard as conveniently may bee and in decent and Christian manner in and about which my buriall my will and mynd is that there shall be expended the soms of one hundred pounds in money or more if my executors undernamed shall in their discretion soe thinke fitt. And as touchinge my coppie hold lands which through gods mercie I did heretofore purchase lyinge and beinge in the parishes of Barnes and Horton in the countie of Surry. The which with the surrenders thereof and admittance thereunto did cost me six hundred and threescore pounds of lawfull money of England att the last. And which I have before the last of the date hereof surrendered to the use of my last will accordinge to the custom of the Generall mannors whereof they are holden. My will and mynd now is And I doe give devise and bequeath all those my coppie hold lands with the appurtenances lyinge and being in the said parish of Horton unto my lovinge brother Adrian Ballard and my lovinge sister in lawe Anne his nowe wife for and during their naturall lives and the life of the longer liver of them. And from and after the decease of the survivor of them. Then I devise and bequeath the same coppie hold lands in Horton aforesaid unto my nephew John Ballard sonne of my said brother and sister and to his the said John’s heires forever.

Item I devise and bequeath unto my said brother Adrian Ballard for and during his naturall life All those my coppie hold lands with the appurtenances lying and beinge in the said parish of Barnes And from and after his my said brothers decease give and devise the same unto my said nephew John Ballard and his heires forever.

And concerning the personall estate which god in mercie hath likewise vouchsafed unto me I dispose thereof as followeth viz I give and bequeath unto my wellbeloved wife Ruth Ballard (in lieue and full satisfaction of all such parte and porcion as their shall or may by lawe or custome of London or otherwise clayme or challenge out of my estate) one full moitie or half parte of said personall estate. And also one of my seale rings and my diamond ringe.

Item I give and bequeath to the towne of Wymeswold in the countie of Leicester where I was borne fortie pounds of lawfull money of England to be paied to the Vicar and Churchwardens of the same towne within twoe years next after my death and by them to be lent out uppon good securitie for three yeares unto five poore cottagers widdowes of the same towne if there shall bee soe many or otherwise to five of the poorest cottagers there by even and equall portions And at the expiration of those three years to five other poore cottagers widdowes if they be there to be found or otherwise to the poorest cottagers as aforesaid for three years more. And so from three years to three years for ever. And my will is that att the end of every of the said three years the said parties whoe shall have the loane and benefitt of this legacie shall give five little bibles to five such poor children of Wymeswold aforesaid as in the judgement of the vicar and churchwardens thereof for the time beinge shall by their reading best deserve the same.

Item I bequeath unto my cosen Anne Barfoote twentie pounds in money to be paide unto her within one year after my decease and unto either of her children fifteene pounds a peece in money to be paid into the hands of my cosen theire father within three yeares after my death soe as att the receipt thereof he doe as my will is he shall give good securitie by bond unto my executors for the disposing of the said twoe legacies for the use and benefitt of his said children in such sorte as my executors shall thinke fittinge.

Item I give and bequeath unto my goddaughter Prudence Mountague daughter of William Mountague baker ten pounds in money to bee within twoe yeares after my decease paied unto her said father for her use, to the said William Mountague I bequeath thirtie pounds in money to be also paied within the said twoe years to his brother Richard Mountague nowe my servant, I bequeath twentie pounds in money to be paied into the hands of his said brother within one year of my death and by the said William to bee paied unto the said Richard when he the said Richard shal be settled as a master in some good course of life and not till then; to his brother Robert Mountague I give tenn pounds in money to be paied unto him when he shall be a freeman of London. And to his sister Margaritt Mountague tenn pounds in money to be paied within one yeare after my death.

Item I give and bequeath to the towne of Radcliffe upon Trent in the countie of Nottingham twentie pounds in mony to bee paied unto the Vicar and Churchwardens thereof within three yeares nexte after my death and by them to be lent upon good securitie for fower yeares unto fower poore people of that towne by even and equall portions. And at the expiration of those four years to fower other people of that towne for fower yeares more. And soe from fower years to fower yeares for ever. And my will is that every one that shall have the benefitt of this legacie shall att the end and expiracion of the fower years give a service book with the newe testament therein unto such of the poorest children of the said towne as in the judgement of the Vicar and churchwardens thereof for the time beinge shall by readinge best deserve the same bookes.

Item I bequeath unto the prisons of Ludgate and the twoe compters in London twentie nobles appece in mony for and towards the enlargement of freedom of such poore prisoners as be there in prison for five marks apeece or thereaboute.

Item I give to be distributed to and amongst poor exiles of the Palatinate at the discretion of Doctor Tonge and Mr. White counsellor tenn pounds in mony to be paied to them or one of them within one yeare after my death. And alsoe tenn pounds more in money to be by them distributed to and amongst poore ministers widdows and to be paid to them or one of them within two yearess after my death.

Item I bequeath unto John Winthrop Esquier and Mr: Humfreyes twentie marks in mony to be paied within twoe years after my death. And to be disposed of by them or one of them towarde the educatinge of native children of and in Newe England in America in a christian way to and for none other use whatsoever.

Item I give and bequeath unto the company of White bakers in London to be paied within the said twoe years tenn pounds in mony to buy them a salte if it appeare not that before my death I give them the like guifte.

Item I bequeath to the churchwardens of the parishe of St.Clement Danes aforesaid to be paied within one yeare after my death twentie pounds in mony towards the puttinge forth of five poore children of the same parish apprentices.

Item I give and bequeath to the churchwardens of the parish of Christ Church, London, where I sometimes dwelt twentie nobles in mony towards the puttinge forth of twoe poore children of that parishe apprentice, the same to be paied within one yeare after my death.

Item I bequeath unto my cosen Barton my uncle Halls daughter to buy necissaries for herself and her children tenn pounds in mony and to be paied within six months after my death. To my cosen Elizabeth Bayley wife of Theophilus Bayley I bequeath fortie shillings, and to their little daughter twentie shillings.

To my brother in law Mr.William Mountague fortie shillings. To George Mountague twentie shillings. To John and Edward Lambert twentie shillings a peece. And to John Saltre twentie shillings to make every one of them a ringe to weare in remembrance of me.

Item I bequeath to my sister in lawe Anne Ballard tenn pounds in money to make her a diamond ring to weare for my sake.

My will and mind further is and I doe desire that if my executors thinke good to have a sermon att my buriall that then my worthie good friend Doctor Tonge will be pleased to take paines to preach the same. And for his paines I doe give fortie shillings unto him. And to Doctor Juxon parson of the said parish of St.Clement I give twentie shillings if he shall give way to the said Doctor to preach at my buriall.

Item I give to everie of my servants that shall dwell with me at my death twentie shillings in mony.

The rest and residue of all and singular my goods chattells and debts where of by custome of the said cittie I may dispose I whollie give and bequeath to my said brother Adrian Ballard and to his said sonne John Ballard my nephewe whome I make and ordaine the joynte executors of this my last will and testament. And I desire and appointe the said Doctor Tonge and my cousin Theophilus Bayley and Mr. Henrie Dormir of Ludgate Hill haberdasher to bee the oversers of this my will intreating them accordinge to the confidence which I repose in them to see the same performed and to be assistinge to my executors in the execucion thereof. I doe give unto every of them fortie shillings to make rings to weare in remembrance of me.

In witness whereof I the said Daniel Ballard have to this my present last will and testament containing with this leafe six leaves or sheets of paper sett my seale and subscribed my name to everie leaf thereof.

Dated the six and twentieth day of March in the yeare of our Lord God after the computn of the Church of England one Thousand six hundred and fortie. Dainell Ballard. Signed, sealed, published and acknowledged by the said testator as and for his last will and testament on the day of the date hereof, in the presence of John Salter, John Hayne and John Palmer.

Memorandum. That on or about the five and twentieth day of May Anno Domini one thousand six hundred and fortie Daniell Ballard of St. Clements Danes in the Countie of Midd. Drapir did on the said daie with an intent and purpose to have the same added to and be pte and pcell of his last will and testament beinge of pfecte mynd and memory make and declare this cidicill nuncupative in manner and forme following Vidl he the said Daniell Ballard in regard that he had made his last will and testament and therein had not provided a widdows chamber for Ruth Ballard his relict accordinge to the custome of the Cittie of London he the said Daniell did by his codicill give unto her in lieue of her said chamber and that shee should rest fully satisfied and contented with what by his last will he had formerly given her all his right and interest that he had in a tenement in Wood Street, or he uttered words to the like effect and in case shee should not rest satisfied therewith that then shee should have nothinge to do with it or words to that effect which words hee uttered and spake in the presence and hearinge of us whose names are hereunto subscribed Richard Lee. Theophilus Bayly.

Pr will and codicil, London 15 June 1640, juramento Adrian Ballard & John Ballard. The executors.

As previously seen, the wills of Jarvis Ballard’s mother and brother both referred to Jarvis’ sister as “Elizabeth Bayley.” Might this be the same person? Interestingly, Daniel Ballard, as his will showed, was from the Wymeswold (Leicester) line of Ballards, and, more specifically, from that branch that had lived in Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire.  Did Daniel’s will demonstrate that the Southwell and Wymeswold lines were closely related?

Daniel Ballard’s will also contained a reference that makes it especially interesting to those researchers looking for connections to America. One of Daniel’s bequests was to “John Winthrop Esquier and Mr: Humphreyes twentie marks in mony to be paied within twoe years after my death. And to be disposed of by them or one of them towarde the educatinge of native children of and in Newe England in America in a christian way to and for none other use whatsoever.” This reference to New England seemed to confirm that the Daniel Ballard who was the subject of this will was the same Daniel Ballard who was an investor in the Massachusetts Bay Company. See Frances Rose-Troup, The Massachusetts Bay Company and its Predecessors, pp.70, 134 (New York, 1930), where it is reported that Daniel Ballard attended a Company meeting on April 17, 1629, and that he was involved in Company business in 1645. The 1645 date, if accurate, would put into question the date listed above for Daniel Ballard’s will (or at least the date it was probated). (According to Paul, the transcript of the will included on his web site was found in Charles F. Farlow, Ballard Genealogy (1911).)

There are a number of other references in the will that help to place Daniel in context or that suggest additional contacts with America. The reference to Radcliffe-on-Trent shows that he was the son of William and Ann Ballard of that town. Sonya recently wrote to the Ballard List about her visits to Southwell and Radcliffe-on-Trent and about viewing the brass memorial to Ann Ballard, the mother of Daniel. Daniel’s will also mentioned his brother Adrian and made him the primary beneficiary.

II. The Wives of Daniel and Adrian Ballard

We are fortunate that the names of the wives of both Daniel and Adrian are mentioned in the Visitations. According to the Visitation of Buckinghamshire in 1634, Daniel had been married to Ann Mountague, the daughter of William Mountague of Boveney. One of her brothers, also named William, had attended Cambridge University, and her first cousin Richard Mountague was Bishop of Chichester. See The Visitations of Buckinghamshire in 1634, pp.92-93 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 58, 1909). Although Ann predeceased Daniel, she was nevertheless mentioned in his will — he asked to be buried as close to her as conveniently possible in the middle aisle of the church of St. Clement Danes in London. After Ann’s death, Daniel married a Ruth, who was alive at the time he wrote his will. According to the Visitations of Surrey, Adrian’s wife was Anne Lambert, the daughter of John Lambert of Banstead. Her brother, who was also named John Lambert, was reportedly the “Marshall of the Hall” to King James in 1623. See The Visitations of Surrey, 1530, 1572, and 1623, pp.149-50 (Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 43, 1899).

III. Connections to America

A. The Montagues of Virginia

One connection between Daniel Ballard of London and the American Ballards, although somewhat distant, is made through Daniel’s first wife Ann Mountague. According to the Visitation of Buckinghamshire of 1634 (see above), she had a nephew Peter Mountague, who was living in Virginia in that year. As we know from previous submissions to the Ballard List, James Ballard, a grandson of Bland Ballard (Senior) of Fredericksburg, Virginia, married Isabella Montague, the daughter of Clement Montague, in the late 1700’s. The published materials on the Montagues of Virginia, if accurate, confirm that Isabella was a direct descendant of Peter Mountague, the nephew of Daniel and Ann Ballard of London. See George W. Montague, History and Genealogy of Peter Montague of Nansemond and Lancaster Counties, Virginia, and his Descendants, 1621-1894, pp.9-63 (Amherst, Mass., 1894).

B. Daniel Ballard of Boston, Massachusetts

A second connection is suggested by the name “Daniel” Ballard and an entry in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) (that can be searched at http://www.familysearch.com). The IGI states that a son of Daniel Ballard and Sarah his wife was baptized at Banstead, Surrey on November 23, 1679. This Daniel Ballard would match perfectly with the Daniel Ballard who was a Constable of Boston, Massachusetts at about the same time that Jarvis Ballard was also a Constable there. The Boston Daniel was also married to a Sarah, and they were recorded as having children in Boston between the years 1684 and 1691. See the Sixth Subpart of my report on Jarvis Ballard. As seen above, Banstead was the home of Anne Lambert, the wife of Adrian Ballard (Daniel’s brother). The Boston Constable would be the right age to be Adrian’s grandson (and possibly a son of the John mentioned in Daniel’s will as the son of Adrian). This connection seemed to be sufficiently confirmed until it turned out that the published transcript of the Banstead parish registers did not contain the baptismal entry mentioned above. See The Registers of Banstead in the County Of Surrey: 1547-1789 (London, 1896) A second look at the IGI showed that the source for the information was not an original record, but rather a “Patron Sheet.” The exact date of the baptism nevertheless implies that some factual basis for the submission probably exists. Perhaps further research will confirm the relationship suggested above.

C. William Ballard of Lynn, Massachusetts

A potential third connection relates to the Theophilus Bayley mentioned above as the cousin of Daniel Bayley (and the possible brother-in-law of Jarvis Ballard). A quick look at the IGI showed that it had no information about the marriage of Theophilus to Elizabeth, but, surprisingly, it did mention a Theophilus Bayley (“Bailey”) in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1649. Could this Theophilus be connected to William Ballard of Lynn, Massachusetts (who came on the James in 1635)? Maybe. Some familiarity (and possible relationship) is suggested by the information contained in the article on William Ballard, talking about his son Deacon John Ballard: “On 14 Oct 1702, John and Rebecca Ballard acknowledged a deed (witnessed by John Jr 20 July 1699), in which he sold for 50 pounds to Thomas Burrage of Lynn, one and one-fourth acres of land with house and orchard bounded on the town common, by Thomas Burrage and Capt. Ezekiel Rogers, formerly possessed by Theophilus Bayley, deceased; Ballard having the right to remove the barn; recorded, February 1714 (ibid., 28:184).” See “William Ballard of Lynn,” in The Essex Genealogist, Vol. 16, pp.71, 73 (adapted from Charles Frederick Farlow’s Ballard Genealogy of 1911) (1996). What is not stated in the article is how the land of Theophilus Bayley came into the possession of the family of William Ballard. Is there anything in the records at Lynn that would show the land transfer or would confirm a close relationship between Theophilus Bayley and William Ballard? Someone on the Ballard List with access to the Lynn records can hopefully help out here.

The generally available publications on early Massachusetts do furnish us with some information on the Theophilus Bayley of Lynn. It appears from these publications that he was in Massachusetts by 1645, that he was 31 years old in 1653 (therefore born c1622), that he married Ruth, the daughter of Thomas Ivory of Lynn, on 9/11/1649, that he was on the List of Freemen in 1691 and that he died in 1694. See A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Vol. 1, pp.94-95 (Boston, 1862); New-England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol.6, p.208 (1852) (which notes that the name “Theodore” might sometimes be used as a substitute for “Theophilus”); IGI for Theophilus Bailey; Genealogical Register, supra, at Vol. 3, p.352 (1849). Unfortunately, there is no mention that Theophilus was married to an Elizabeth (which would confirm that he was the same Theophilus mentioned in Daniel Ballard’s will), but she could have died before he arrived in Massachusetts.

If Theophilus did marry Ruth Ivory in 1649, then we would know that he could not have been married to the Elizabeth Bayley who was the sister of Jarvis (and whose husband’s first name was not mentioned), since she was still alive in 1656 and 1659, when the wills of Ellen and Thomas Ballard were written. He could still be the Theophilus of Daniel Ballard’s will if the Elizabeth Bayley who was the cousin of Daniel was not also the Elizabeth Bayley who was the sister of Jarvis (which would have been difficult anyway, but not impossible, with respect to ages). Of course, the Theophilus Bayley of Lynn could also be a son or other close relative of the Theophilus mentioned in Daniel Ballard’s will. Or he could be totally unrelated, and his connection to Deacon John Ballard could be just a coincidence. Someone with access to the Massachusetts records could certainly be helpful in sorting out the clues and relationships. Does anyone on the Ballard List already have relevant information in this regard?

D. Colonel Thomas Ballard of Virginia

The John Winthrop, Esq. mentioned in the will is, most likely, the first Governor of Massachusetts (although it could be his son John Winthrop, Jr., who was the Governor of Connecticut). It may be worth mentioning here that the second wife of the Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop was Thomasine Clopton, with whom he was married only about one year (from 1615 to 1616) before she died. She was also the great aunt of William Clopton of Virginia. See Lucy L. Erwin (compiler), The Ancestry of William Clopton of York County, Virginia, pp.12-17 (Rutland, Vermont, 1939). This William Clopton was evidently a close friend of Thomas Ballard, Jr. of York County, and two of his great-grandchildren served as witnesses to the will of Thomas Ballard of Albemarle County (probated 1782). See my report on Henry Bullard/Ballard, submitted to the Ballard List on October 4-6, 1999.

Another interesting name in Daniel Ballard’s will is Mr. Henry Dormer of Ludgate Hill, London, who was appointed to be an overseer of the will. It is interesting because one of Colonel Ballard’s daughters may have been married to a Dormer. John Dormer of James City County was, like Colonel Thomas Ballard, a member of the Vestry of Bruton Parish at Middle Plantation. He may have been married to a Ballard, since he had a son by the name of Ballard Dormer, who was attending the College of William and Mary in 1701. See William and Mary Quarterly, First Series, Vol.16, p.192 (1908).

IV. Future Work

Since the will of Daniel Ballard contains so many interesting references, both Paul and I wanted to devote some time to tracking down further information on the Wymeswold Ballards and their possible connections to America. As mentioned in his recent reply to Sonya, Paul hopes to post additional information on that Ballard line soon. I intend on helping out on the English side if there are parish registers to be reviewed (assuming they are available in the U.S. through the Family Research Centers), and on the American side by working on the Virginia connections. As mentioned above, we could certainly use some help when it comes to the Massachusetts records. For that reason and to show that there are promising leads out there, we decided it would be a good idea to submit this Preliminary Report.