According to his death record in Whitley County, Kentucky, in 1877 at age 89, William Ball was born in Russell County, Virginia, and was the son of Moses Ball of that same county.[1] Even though his age is off by 3 years or so there is little doubt that the record refers to this William Ball. Nonetheless, numerous genealogies claim he was a son of George Ball and Elizabeth Tunnell of Fairfax County, Virginia, who moved to Russell County. Given the Tunnell connection (see son William Tunnell Ball) it makes sense that he is George's son, but the death record naming Moses as his father can't be ignored. It turns out there were two men named Moses Ball who lived in the general area of Russell County. One of them had a son William but he was born in 1801.[2] The other did not have a son William.[3] We are left to conclude that William is indeed the son of George Ball and, as it happens, the grandson of Moses Ball. As additional evidence we note that William was one of three siblings who married into the May family of Russell County.
William married Charlotte May. They were the parents of:
William died in 1877. He and Charlotte are buried on land they owned at the time of their death. Their graves are on a hill above Clear Creek approximately one mile east of KY 92.[4]
1830 - He has not been located in the federal census. Daughter Mary Swain, born 1828, consistently gives Kentucky as her birthplace in the census so we'd expect to find him there. There are two William Balls in the census of Lee County, Virginia, (where Moses Ball moved) neither of whose profile appears to match this William.
1831 - William Ball first appears on the tax lists of Whitley County, Kentucky. Through 1850 he is taxed for land on Pigeon Roost Creek then Pleasant Run of Jellico and finally Marsh Creek in what is now McCreary County.[5]
1840 - Will Ball Sr. and family are found in the federal census of Whitley County, Kentucky. Four teenage children are at home.[6]
1850 - William and Charlotte comprise a household in the federal census of Whitley County.[7]
1860 - Federal census.[8]
William was born in 1791. He passed away in 1877. [9]
Thank you to Stiofan Perkins for creating WikiTree profile Ball-5391 through the import of SCPerkins.ged on Dec 15, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Stiofan and others.
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