William Ball I

Their family immigrated to America about 1650. He patented 240 acres on the northern side of the Rappahannock in May of 1651. In For Love of Family, Peter Baron describes William's contributions to the Northern Neck:

He was very prominent in early Northumberland & Lancaster County Courts. He served as Colonel of the Militia, Chief Justice of Northumberland County and was elected to the House of Burgesses from 1670 to 1680. He received numerous additional land grants. In 1663 300 acres on the narrow neck known as "Ball Point." He received an additional 1600 acres on the north side of the Rappahannock River on 17 April 1667. His Lancaster County Manor home was known as "Millenbeck." William was influential in the development of Northumberland County and Wicomico Parish. He would have 6 descendants serve as vestrymen of Wicomico Parish and 5 as Church Warden before 1800.

William never lived at Millenbeck and never saw the mansion built there. Part of the land William acquired in 1667 bordered the Millenbeck tract to the north, it was not until June 30th, 1680 that he purchased three separate pieces of land from William Wroughton totaling 280 acres that the area now known as Millenbeck came into the Ball family.

William wrote his will on October 5th, 1680 and it was recorded just over a month later on November 10th. William was buried at his plantation on Narrow-Neck Creek, near the western side of the mouth of the Corrotoman River. In 1754 his grandson, Joseph Ball II wrote a letter to his cousin Joseph Chinn asking Chinn to go to the plantation where his grandparents lived and have Hannah Dennis show him where they are buried. Joseph asked that the spot be marked with locust stakes because, "I think to find a stone to put over them." Apparently the spot was not found and the grave site of William and Hannah has been forgotten.

William was the great-grandfather of President George Washington. His son Joseph had a daughter named Mary Ball who would go on to marry Augustine Washington and become the mother of George Washington.

William is an ancestor of Mark Dameron through his daughter Hannah and an ancestor of Maida George through his son William.