Ruth (Ball) Richardson (1677 - 1728)

Born 25 Feb 1677 in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Leeds — married 1704 (to 1708) in Talbot County, Maryland

Wife of Daniel Richardson — married 1712 in Talbot County, Maryland

Descendants

Died Jun 1728 at age 51 in Talbot County, Province of Maryland

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Biography

Ruth Ball was born on 25 February 1677 in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, Ireland.^[1] She was the daughter of John Ball of Mamhead House, Devonshire, England, and his wife, Mary (Nehemid) Ball, also English. Ruth had two brothers: Thomas and Benjamin Ball. In April 1686, John Ball and his family, including Ruth, emigrated from Northern Ireland to Talbot County, Maryland.

John Ball and his family were Quakers. Ruth married Edward Leeds, son of Captain William Leeds and grandson of Timothy Leeds, Esq., of Jamestown, Virginia, in a Quaker ceremony in 1697. They had one son, John Leeds, b: 1705 in Talbot County, Maryland. Unfortunately, Edward Leeds died in 1711. Their son, John Leeds, who was his father's heir, became a noted mathematician, surveyor-general of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and a Judge in the Provincial Court. He married Rachel Harrison, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dickinson) Harrison. He was the grandfather of the Honorable John Leeds Bozman (1757-1823), Maryland's first academic historian.^[2]

In 1712 Ruth re-married, this time to recent widower, Daniel Richardson, b: 13 Mar 1670 in Maryland. Her brother, Benjamin Ball married Elizabeth Richardson in July 1714. She was Daniel's niece (b: 1692). Ruth and Daniel Richardson had two sons together:

1. Benjamin Richardson, b: ca. 1713; m. 1746 to Mary Ringold
2. Daniel Richardson, b: ca. 1720; d: after 1728 but "young"

Daniel Richardson passed away shortly before 17 July 1722 when his Will was proven in Talbot County, Maryland.^[3] Five years later, on 6 October 1727, feeling ill, Ruth (Ball) Richardson wrote her will, naming her brother, Benjamin Ball, as Executor. She died in June 1728 in Talbot County, Province of Maryland. Her 2 teenage sons by Daniel Richardson were her heirs, according to her will that was proven on 3 July 1728. Apparently her oldest son, John Leeds, had been provided for by his father who'd passed in 1711. He was one of Ruth's will's executors.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ An old family text stated her birth:
   "born of English family at Dungannon, Tyrone, Ireland, 25th, 12th month, 1677."
   Quakers numbered their months #1 to #12; until 1752, in England & Ireland, their calendar began with March as the 1st month, so February was their 12th month.
2. ↑ Ball Family of Talbot County," in The Patriotic Marylander, Volume 2, pg. 58
3. ↑ Ball families of Maryland, by Claudette Maerz, pg. 21. Can be downloaded via Family Search.
4. ↑ [Ball families of Maryland, by Claudette Maerz, pg. 11. Can be downloaded via Family Search.

• Our Research on RootsWeb: Ruth Ball

• Ball families of Maryland, by Claudette Maerz, pg. 10, downloaded 6/10/2018 from: Ball families of Maryland, by Claudette Maerz. Can be downloaded via Family Search.