Burgess Ball (1749 - 1800)

Born 28 Jul 1749 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Chichester) Ball — married 2 Jul 1770 in St. James Northam, Goochland County, Virginia

Husband of Frances Ann Thornton (Washington) Peyton — married 7 Apr 1781 in Loudoun County, Virginia

Descendants

Died 7 Mar 1800 at age 50 in Leesburg, Loudoun, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Revolutionary War Patriot

Colonel Burgess Ball served with 5th Virginia Regiment (1776), Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Burgess Ball is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 107803
Rank: LT Colonel/Patriotic Service

Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/), "Record of Burgess Ball", Ancestor # A005389.

Col Burgess Ball

Col. Burgess Ball was born on 28 July 1749 at "Bewdley" in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Virginia, son of Jeduthan Ball and Elizabeth Burgess. He was only six months old when his father died. His grandfather, Major James Ball, provided for Burgess by devising land, in King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties in northern Virginia to Burgess, when he came of age. The Ball estate was known as "Travellers' Rest" near Fredericksburg.

Marriage

Burgess married Mary Chichester on 2 July 1770 in St. James Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia.

Children of Col. Burgess BALL and Mary

1. Elizabeth Burgess BALL
2. Burgess BALL Jr.8 b. 26 Oct 1773

Col. Burgess BALL married secondly Frances Ann WASHINGTON, daughter of Charles WASHINGTON and Mildred THORNTON, on 7 April 1781 in Stafford County, Virginia.

Children of Col. Burgess BALL and Frances Ann WASHINGTON

1. Mary Washington BALL b. 17 Feb 1783, d. 27 Feb 1784
2. George Washington BALL b. 20 Mar 1784, d. 1815
3. Mildred Thornton BALL b. 22 Oct 1785, d. 5 May 1854
4. Fayette BALL b. 20 Apr 1791, d. 8 May 1837
5. Charles Burgess BALL
6. Frances Washington BALL b. 20 Apr 1798
7. Martha Dandridge BALL+ b. 9 Oct 1799, d. 20 Apr 1822

Military

At the start of the American Revolution, Ball was a volunteer Aide de Camp on the staff of his kinsman, life long friend and correspondent, Gen. George Washington. On 10th February 1776, he was recorded as captain in the 5th Virginia Continental Line. He raised, clothed and equipped the company from Lancaster county at his own expense. He was court martialed in Williamsburg, for failing to prevent a stranded brig at Willoughby's Point being retaken by the British, but was unanimously acquitted of all charges. The regiment was at Washington's crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton on 26th Dec 1776 and at Princeton in January 1777. On 10th Feb 1777, Burgess was promoted to major of the 5th and participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in late 1777.

The 9th Regiment was formed in February and March of 1776 on the Eastern Shore. Companies recruited men from Accomack, Northampton, Goochland, Albemarle and Augusta counties. Burgess became lieutenant colonel in command of the 9th Virginia on 17th Dec 1777. They spent the winter of 19th December 1777 to 19th June 1778 at Valley Forge as part of Brigadier Gen. Peter Muhlenberg's 1st Virginia Brigade in Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene's Division. They fought at the Battle of Monmouth on 28th Jun 1778. The remnants of the 5th and 9th were then transferred to the 1st Virginia regiment of foot 14th September 1778.^[1], and Major John Fitzgerald. ^[2]

They were sent South in December 1779 and captured at Charleston, South Carolina 12th May 1780. He was paroled on 12th Feb 1781 when he retired.

Later Life

After the war he lived for a time in Spotsylvania County, moving in 1791 to Loudoun County. He was awarded 7,777 acres of land for seven years service in the Virginia Continental Line.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Ball returned to Travellers' Rest, where he continued to offer hospitality to those who visited. The government refused to reimburse Ball for his financial and personal investment in the war efforts, and soon his remaining finances vanished. His health and fortune destroyed, Ball sold Travellers' Rest to Thomas Garnett and retired to Springwood, a rustic farm in Loudoun County. ^[3] Col. Ball, deaf from his service in the Revolutionary War, moved with his family to Big Springs soon after the conclusion of the war. Less than ten years later, he died.

Col. Burgess BALL died on 7 March 1800 in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, at age 50. He was buried in "Springwood," in the Ball Family Cemetery.

Fifteen Hundred Acres was granted to him, via his Administratrix, Francis Ball, and Thomas L. Lee, his Administrator. This was signed and dated on 19 Oct 1810. With his Service Confirmed by W. Eustis of the War Office. There is a note at the top of the Land Patent stating "20 Oct 1810 transmitted by mail to George Washington Ball of Leesburg, Loudon County, Virginia." An additional 300 acres was awarded on 31 May 1811.

Traveller's Rest

The land upon which Travellers' Rest sat was owned by Col. James Ball of Bewdley in Virginia in 1700. This tract was originally a portion of the massive Sherwood Forest property granted to William Ball and Thomas Chitwood in 1667. on 15 Jul 1754, Ball willed the Travellers' Rest property to his grandson, Col. Burgess Ball. Burgess Ball built a two-story brick home with dormer windows in a style popular at the time. The chimneys of this structure were unique in that they were situated so that the fireplaces were in the corners of each room instead of in the center of the wall, as was the usual design. In its prime, the house was the center of hospitality. Legend is that there was prominently displayed the sentiment "Enter ye weary, no matter whence you came and whither you go, and have rest." Today, the site, about five miles from the Chatham Bridge near Sherwood Forest, sits deserted and radically changed due to years of excavation, its only remaining feature an overgrown and hidden old cemetery.

Travellers' Rest evolved throughout the years from a somewhat small Colonial home to a grand mansion with beautiful gardens laid out in formal patterns by an English landscape gardener.

Birth

Birth Date: 28 Jul 1749^[4]

Birth Place: Lancaster, Lancaster County, Virginia, USA

Death

Death Date: 7 Mar 1800 (aged 50)^[4]

Death Place: Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA

Burial

Ball Burial Ground^[4]

Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA

Sources

1. ↑ Lt. Col. Ball came from Lancaster County, Virginia. See "A Guide to the Ball Family Papers, 1650-1864," Library of Virginia, Accession No. 18770A, http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi01103.xml;query=;brand=default, accessed 23 January 2012.
2. ↑ 9th Virginia Regiment (Revolutionary War)
3. ↑ Donna Chassen, "Lost Fredericksburg: Grand Mansion is Lost to Time."
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} FIndAGrave: Burgess Ball: Memorial ID: 58072966

• 25 Aug 1789 Letter from Burgess to George Washington informing his mother had passed. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-03-02-0312
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 June 2018), memorial page for Col Burgess Ball (28 Jul 1749–7 Mar 1800), Find A Grave Memorial no. 58072966, citing Ball Burial Ground, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by SheWalksTheseHills (contributor 46847797) .
• 1500 Acres Patent to Burgess Ball US Department-Bureau of Land Management.-GLO Records