John Ball, Sr.

Parents unknown.

https://www.newenglandballproject.com/index.htm

John Ball was born circa 1620 at England.1 He married first Elizabeth Pierce, daughter of John Pierce and Elizabeth (????).1 John Ball married second Elizabeth Fox, daughter of Thomas Fox, on 3 October 1665 at Watertown, Middlesex Co., MA; "3 of the 8 mo."2 John Ball died on 10 February 1676 at Lancaster, Worcester Co., MA

John, his second wife, and son Joseph (age 6) were slain in the attack upon the town (Lancaster) by Indians and two other children were taken into captivity (Esther, Abigail). The battle occurred on 20 Feb 1676 as part of King Philip's. war.

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===5/28/2020 Edits to match recent findings from the New England Ball Project===

https://www.newenglandballproject.com/g0/p1.htm#i2

His parents are UNKNOWN, and he was NOT the brother of Nathaniel of Concord. The DNA testing shows that those family groups are unrelated, which means that basically all the genealogies since the 1829 Farmer's work are wrong. He married 1st, Elizabeth Pierce and then 2nd, Elizabeth Fox.

• John Ball, of Concord & Joanna Ball were not the parents of John Ball, Sr.
• John Ball, of Concord & Joanna Ball were not the parents of Nathaniel Ball, Sr., who was not the brother of John Ball, Sr.

The text below was not changed 5/28/2020 and is left for informational purposes, but it may not may not be correct. See link to New England Ball Project above.

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He immigrated to America about 1650 with his father John Ball (1590-1665). The first evidence of them in America is when John Ball is admitted a freeman on 22 May 1650, but we can't verify if this refers to the father or the son. I assume it is the son, since the father appeared to have been an early settler of Concord, MA

From The Ancestry of Hattie E. J. Bruce: The John Ball Family:

http://webpages.charter.net/mroman/ballj.htm

John Ball was a tailor. He married Elizabeth Peirce, daughter of John and Elizabeth Peirce, and had four children by her. She was insane in 1660 and probably had been thus some time. In March of 1660-1 John Ball resigned his three children to his father and mother "Peirse" as their own and gave them two oxen and two cows as their own. He also yielded his wife to his inlaws and the use of his house and lands as long as she continued there, and if God took her before she returned to him, the said property to be his children's by his said wife, Elizabeth.[3/3:81] The deed wasn't recorded until 31 Oct 1664, which makes it likely that Elizabeth probably died shortly before that date. John's subsequent marriage a year later helps bear out this probability.

We don't know what the Ball's situation was exactly like, but from the selectmen's records we can see that John and Elizabeth were still together in 1657, as evidenced by Abigail's birth in 1658, but were unable to care for the children as seen in the following records. On 8 December 1656 it was "Ordered yt John Baall be warned to the next towne meeting to make known his condicion".[5/1:48] December 11th at a "meeting of the 7 men", i.e. selectmen, "John Baall appearing, it is ordered yt Capt Masan is to Joyne wth Brother Baall in putting forth two of his children to Brother Pearce, as allso one other child to such as may be thought fitt to take the same".[5/1:49] On 3 January 1656-7 "Richard Gale, have covenanted to take, the daughter of John Baall, Saraih Baall abought the age of 2 yeares, in consideration thearof, the sd Gale is to have the child for fower yeares, & the sd Ball is to find the sd Sarah necessary cloathing for 3 yeares of the sd 4 ...".[5/1:49]

Also on 3 January 1656-7 "These are to testifye, yt John Baall wth the consent of the selct men, hath putt two of his children as apprentices unto John pearce Senior untill ye come to the age as the law pvides, yt is to say, John the son of John Baall, untill he come, to the age of 21 yeares, in wch time the sd John pearce, is to find him sufficiency of meate drinke & cloathes, & the above named John Baall is to obey all those lawfull comands given by the sd John pearce & his wife, at the end of his tearme, John pearce is to give John Baall, a Loome fitted to fall to worke, and double apparrell, wth the trade of weaving, he is all to instruct him, & to learne him to read the English tongue, & to teach him & instruct him in the knowledge of God, & concerning the other child wch is a maide child of the age of 5 yeares, she is to be as an apprentice, untill she come to the age of eighteene yeares, except the sd John pearce & his wife dept this world before the time pfixed, that then the sd Marie shall be free, but if they all live then the sd Marie is to rece of the sd John pearce her granfather or grandmother, a bible & double apparrell, & in the time of her appentishipe she is to be brought up to reade the english tongue, & instructed in the knowleg of God".[5/1:50] Several years later at a selectmen's meeting on 20 September 1658 it was agreed that Joseph Morse would take the three year old child of John Ball for a term of two years. This would be Esther Ball, and Joseph Morse was her uncle, who had married Esther Peirce, the sister of John Ball's wife. John signed the agreement by mark, Joseph signed his name. At the same time another child, one half year of age, was placed with Anthony White for one year.[5/1:57] This child would have been Abigail, born five months earlier.

There is also a record from 3 February 1656-7 at which "It is ordered yt Capt. Masan wth our Brother Bearsto doe goe to Sister Baall, and there to acquaint her yt it is the mind of the Select men, yt she sett her selfe to the Carding of two Skaines of Cotton or sheeps wooll & her daughter to spin it, wth other Business of the family & this to be her daily taske, the wch is she refuse, she must expect, to be sent to the howse of corection".[5/1:50] There is no explanation of the order or what is to become of the wool, but it seems a bit harsh to send her to jail if she ignored the order. While this "Sister Baall" could be John's mother, I presume it to be his wife and to have something to do with her circumstances. Perhaps the work was to be done to help pay for the care of her children placed in other families.

John Ball's second marriage was on 3 October 1665 to Elizabeth Fox, possibly the daughter of Thomas Fox of Concord. On 21 Oct. 1665 John sold to William Perry his farm in Watertown, which he had purchased from John Lawrence, and went to Lancaster. It is not known if the children lived with their father after his second marriage or not. Their grandfather John Peirce had died in 1661 and thier grandmother would die shortly. In any event, they luckily were not at John's house in Lancaster in 1676.

The town of Lancaster was destroyed by Indian attack on 10 February 1675-6 at the height of King Phillip's War. Sholan had invited the English to the area and was their staunch friend. After his death, his nephew Matthew continued the friendship, but Matthew's successor Shosanin apparently saw things a little differnetly. He was enlisted in Phillip's cause to exterminate the colonists.

As a frontier town, Lancaster had no settlement between it and the Connecticut River. Groton was 15 miles to the north and Stow and Marlborough were on the east and south, respectively. It was thus a good candidate for attack. The townspeople had made some preparations for trouble during the Indian War. Four or five of the houses had been designated as garrisons. These were centrally located buildings that had been fortified. One of these garrisons was the house of Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, the minister of the town. The town was clearly fearful of the Indians as on the 10th of February, Rev. Rowlandson and two others were in Boston trying to get the General Court to send soldiers for the defense of the town.

On the morning of February 10th, 1500 Indians are said to have attacked the town in five different places at once. The Rowlandson garrison came under strong attack and was the only garrison overrun. Mary Rowlandson, wife of the minister, was taken prisoner and some weeks later ransomed back to her family. She wrote a fascinating account of this period in The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In it she writes, "Quickly it was the dolefullest day that ever mine eyes saw." After some hours and several attempts, the garrison was finally set on fire. Forty-two people were in the building. Many were shot or tomahawked as they tried to escape the flames. Those women and children who got out alive were herded off into the woods to be later sold for ransom if they did not die from their wounds or were killed for traveling too slowly (see below).

Very early in the attack a house was overrun by the Indians before the inhabitants could escape to the garrison. "There were five persons taken in one house. The father and the mother and a sucking child they knocked on the head; the other two they took and carried away alive." This was the family of a tailor named John Ball.[2/3,65] John Ball's estate was administered by his son John of Watertown 1 Feb. 1677-8.[4] The Ball homestead and the Rowlandson garrison were in the south part of Lancaster.[6/105] John's lands were never described in the town's Book of Lands although he was one of the first inhabitants. His lands were sold in 1682 to Thomas Harris.[6/288]

The following excerpt is taken from Mrs. Rowlandson's book and is included to portray some of what the people of the time had to live with. While a captive of the Indians, she had been traveling with nine English captives, eight children and Goodwife Joslin. This woman was Mrs. Ann Joslin, aged 26, the widow of Abraham Joslin who was killed in the Rowlandson garrison. The Indians were on the run and were preparing to split up when the two women got a chance to talk. Mrs. Rowlandson being taken with one group, the other captives with another. Mrs. Joslin "told me she should never see me again, and that she could find in her heart to run away. I wished her not to run away by any means, for we were near thirty miles from any English town and she very big with child and had but one week to reckon, and another child in her arms, two years old, and bad rivers there were to go over, and we were feeble with our poor and coarse entertainment. ... And now must I part with that little company that I had. Here I parted from my daughter Mary (whom I never saw again till I saw her in Dorchester, returned from captivity) and from four little cousins and neighbors, some of which I never saw afterward - the Lord only knows the end of them. Amongst them also was that poor woman before mentioned, who came to a sad end, as some of the company told me in my travel. She having much grief upon her spirit about her miserable condition, being so near her time, she would be often asking the Indians to let her go home. They, not being willing to that and yet vexed with her importunity, gathered a great company together about her and stripped her naked, and set her in the midst of them. And when they had sung and danced about her (in their hellish manner) as long as they pleased, they knocked her on the head, and the child in her arms with her. When they had done that, they made a fire and put them both into it, and told the other children that were with them that if they attempted to go home, they would serve them in like manner. The children said she did not shed one tear, but prayed all the while".[2/1415]

REF: [1] History of Watertown - Henry Bond, 1860

    [2] The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary

Rowlandson - Lancaster Bicentennial Commission, 1975
[3] Middlesex County Deeds
[4] Middlesex County Probate
[5] Watertown Records, 1894
[6] The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts - Henry S.
Nourse, 1884
[7] Records of Births Marriages and Deaths, First Book - Watertown
Records, Vol. 1, 1894

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• Pierce genealogy : being the record of the posterity of Thomas Pierce, an early inhabitant of Charlestown, and afterwards Charlestown village (Woburn), in New England, with wills, inventories, biographical sketches, etc. (1882)
• http://www.archive.org/details/piercegenealogyb00pier
  • A GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n21/mode/1up
• John, Watertown, freeman, March, 1638, a man of good estate, projected settlement at Sudbury and Lancaster, d. May 9, 1661 ; and his will of March 4, 1658, was pro. the Oct. 1, following. In it he provides for wf. Elizabeth, eldest s. Anthony, and other ch. which he does not name ; but his wid. in her will of March 15, 1666-7, pro. April 2, supplies the deficiency, naming ch. Anthony, John, Robert, Esther Morse, wf. of Joseph, Mary Coldam prob. res. in Lynn, besides gr. chil. Mary Ball, and ano. Ball, Esther Morse, and the chil. of Anthony and Robert ; he also had ch. Judith, who m. Francis Wyman ; and Elizabeth, who m. John Ball, Jr. ; the two latter d. bef. their father. See Peirce Gen. by F. C. Peirce, Esq.
• _________

John's son John Ball later removed to Lancaster, a town on the western frontier at the time of King Phillip's War. It was originally called Nashaway Plantation when Sholan, sachem of the Nashaway Indians, deeded an 8 by 10 mile tract to Henry Symonds and Thomas King. Sholan offered to sell this tract, which is 35 to 40 miles west northwest of Boston, if King and Symonds would build a trucking house on the land and trade with the Indians. The General Court confirmed the deed, and the trucking house was built in 1642 on the southeast side of George Hill.

       Three men were sent out to occupy the land and take care of the trucking house. These men were Lawrence Waters, Richard Linton, and John Ball. The first two built houses and settled with their families, but John Ball disappeared from the records. He evidently moved back to Watertown and was possibly the John Ball who died in Concord in 1655, although it was more likely his father John. 

John Ball, born about 1620 in England, died in Lancaster, Massachusetts, 10 February 1675/1676; married first Elizabeth Peirce, born in England, died probably about 1664; married second on 3 October 1665 in Watertown, Middlesex Co,, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Fox, died 10 February 1675/1676 in Lancaster, Massachusetts.
John Ball was a tailor. His first wife, Elizabeth Peirce, by whom he had four children, was insane in 1660 and probably had been for some time. In March of 1660/1661 John Ball resigned his three children to his father and mother "Peirse" as their own and gave them two oxen and two cows. He also yielded his wife to his in-laws and the use of his house and lands as long as she continued there, and if God took her before she returned to him, the said was property to be his children's by his said wife, Elizabeth. The deed wasn't recorded until 31 October 1664, which makes it likely that Elizabeth probably died shortly before that date.
Selectmen's records show that John and Elizabeth were still together in 1657, as evidenced by Abigail's birth in 1658, but were unable to care for the children:
8 December 1656 --

"Ordered yt John Baall be warned to the next towne meeting to make known his condicion".

11 December 1656 Selectmen's meeting --

"John Baall appearing, it is ordered yt Capt Masan is to Joyne wth Brother Baall in putting forth two of his children to Brother Pearce, as allso one other child to such as may be thought fitt to take the same".

3 January 1656/1657 --

"Richard Gale, have covenanted to take, the daughter of John Baall, Saraih Baall abought the age of 2 yeares, in consideration thearof, the sd Gale is to have the child for fower yeares, & the sd Ball is to find the sd Sarah necessary cloathing for 3 yeares of the sd 4 ...".

3 January 1656/1657 --

"These are to testifye, yt John Baall wth the consent of the selct men, hath putt two of his children as apprentices unto John pearce Senior untill ye come to the age as the law pvides, yt is to say, John the son of John Baall, untill he come, to the age of 21 yeares, in wch time the sd John pearce, is to find him sufficiency of meate drinke & cloathes, & the above named John Baall is to obey all those lawfull comands given by the sd John pearce & his wife, at the end of his tearme, John pearce is to give John Baall, a Loome fitted to fall to worke, and double apparrell, wth the trade of weaving, he is all to instruct him, & to learne him to read the English tongue, & to teach him & instruct him in the knowledge of God, & concerning the other child wch is a maide child of the age of 5 yeares, she is to be as an apprentice, untill she come to the age of eighteene yeares, except the sd John pearce & his wife dept this world before the time pfixed, that then the sd Marie shall be free, but if they all live then the sd Marie is to rece of the sd John pearce her granfather or grandmother, a bible & double apparrell, & in the time of her appentishipe she is to be brought up to reade the english tongue, & instructed in the knowleg of God".

3 February 1656/1657 --

"It is ordered yt Capt. Masan wth our Brother Bearsto doe goe to Sister Baall, and there to acquaint her yt it is the mind of the Select men, yt she sett her selfe to the Carding of two Skaines of Cotton or sheeps wooll & her daughter to spin it, wth other Business of the family & this to be her daily taske, the wch is she refuse, she must expect, to be sent to the howse of corection". There is no explanation of the order or what is to become of the wool, but it seems a bit harsh to send her to jail if she ignored the order. While this "Sister Baall" could be John's mother, it was probably his wife. Perhaps the work was to be done to help pay for the care of her children placed in other families.

20 September 1658 --

It was agreed that Joseph Morse would take the three year old child of John Ball for a term of two years, Esther Ball, neice of Joseph Morse who had married Esther Peirce, the sister of John Ball's wife. John signed the agreement by mark and Joseph signed his name. At the same time another child, Abigail, one half year of age, was placed with Anthony White for one year.

       John Ball's second marriage was on 3 October 1665 to Elizabeth Fox, possibly the daughter of Thomas Fox of Concord. On 21 October 1665 John sold to William Perry his farm in Watertown, which he had purchased from John Lawrence, and went to Lancaster. It is not known if the children lived with their father after his second marriage or not. Their grandfather John Peirce had died in 1661 and thier grandmother died shortly after. In any event, they luckily were not at John's house in Lancaster in 1676. 

The town of Lancaster was destroyed by Indian attack on 10 February 1675/1676 at the height of King Phillip's War. Sholan had invited the English to the area and was their staunch friend. After his death, his nephew Matthew continued the friendship, but Matthew's successor Shosanin apparently saw things a little differnetly. He was enlisted in Phillip's cause to exterminate the colonists.
As a frontier town, Lancaster had no settlement between it and the Connecticut River. Groton was 15 miles to the north and Stow and Marlborough were on the east and south, respectively, making it a good candidate for attack. The townspeople had made some preparations for trouble during the Indian War. Four or five of the houses had been designated as garrisons. These were centrally located buildings that had been fortified. One of these garrisons was the house of Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, the minister of the town. The town was clearly fearful of the Indians and on the 10th of February, Rev. Rowlandson and two others were in Boston trying to get the General Court to send soldiers for the defense of the town.
On the morning of February 10th, 1500 Indians are said to have attacked the town in five different places at once. The Rowlandson garrison came under strong attack and was the only garrison overrun. Mary Rowlandson, wife of the minister, was taken prisoner and some weeks later ransomed back to her family. She wrote a fascinating account of this period in The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In it she writes, "Quickly it was the dolefullest day that ever mine eyes saw." After some hours and several attempts, the garrison was finally set on fire with forty-two people inside. Many were shot or tomahawked as they tried to escape the flames. Those women and children who got out alive were herded off into the woods to be later sold for ransom if they did not die from their wounds or were killed for traveling too slowly.
Very early in the attack a house was overrun by the Indians before the inhabitants could escape to the garrison. "There were five persons taken in one house. The father and the mother and a sucking child they knocked on the head; the other two they took and carried away alive." This was the family of a tailor named John Ball. John Ball's estate was administered by his son John of Watertown 1 February 1677/1678. The Ball homestead and the Rowlandson garrison were in the south part of Lancaster. John's lands were never described in the town's Book of Lands although he was one of the first inhabitants. His lands were sold in 1682 to Thomas Harris.

About the year 1655-6, his wife became violently insane, which fact doubtless accounts for the apprenticing of the children. He sold his farm in Watertown 21 October 1665 and moved to Lancaster, Worcester Co., MA, where he was one of the three earliest settlers. John Ball, his wife, and son Joseph were slain in the attack upon the town (Lancaster) by Indians and two other children were taken into captivity (Esther, Abigail).

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via father John Ball by SmartCopy: Nov 13 2014, 16:17:05 UTC

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John Ball Was Born In Shalluck, Wiltshire, England And Was 23 Years Old, And Elizabeth Pierce Was 19 Years Old When They Got Married In 1643 In Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Elizabeth [Pierce] Ball Was Violently Insane And Died In 1680 When She Was 40 Years Old.

Wife #1. Elizabeth Pierce And John Ball Had 5 Girls And 1 Boy: John Ball - 1644 - May 8th 1772. Mary Ball - 1651. Sarah Ball - 1654. Esther Ball - 1655. Abigail Ball - April 20th 1658.

Wife #2. Elizabeth Fox Was 23 Years, 2 Months And 15 Days Old When Her And John Ball Were Married In 1662 In Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

John Ball And Elizabeth Ball Had 1 Girl And 2 Boys Joseph Ball - March 12th 1663 - Feb 10th 1675/1676. Boy Ball - 1669 - Feb 10th 1675/1676. Girl - 1672 - Feb. 10th 1675/1676.

Elizabeth [Fox] Ball And John Ball And Their Three Children, Joseph Ball, Boy Ball And Girl Ball Were Captured And Slain During A Raid By Wampanoag Indians At The Rowlandson Garrisson On Feb. 10th 1675/1676.

Elizabeth [Fox] Ball Was 33 Years, 6 Months And 23 Days Old When She Died.

John Ball Was A Farmer And Was Abt. 75 Years Old When He Died.

John Ball Was Co-Founder Of Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

References

• Hatcher, Patricia Law. The Peirce Family of Norwich, England and Watertown, Massachusetts in: The American Genealogist, Volume 84, New Haven, Connecticut, 2010 p. 177-184 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/33907/181/56271241
• http://www.newenglandballproject.com/g0/p1.htm#i2
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_raid The Lancaster Raid was the first in a series of five planned raids on English colonist towns during the winter of 1675 as part of King Philip's War. Metacom, known by English colonists as King Philip, was a Wampanoag sachem involved in leading and organizing Wampanoag warriors during the war. Teaming up with Nipmucs and Narragansetts, Wampanoag warriors were able to successfully raid the town of Lancaster, securing provisions and prisoners to help them carry onward into their winter offensive.[1] According to one estimate, at least fourteen Lancaster inhabitants died and twenty-three were captured and taken as prisoners.[2] Eventually, Marlborough troops arrived, forcing the Indians to withdraw with their new captives. … Mary Rowlandson, the village minister's wife, survived the fire and was taken prisoner for three months. In 1682, she wrote a best-selling captivity narrative describing her time as a prisoner, in which she described herself as a servant to Quinnapin, a Narragansett sachem