William Ballard, l, of Southwell

WILLIAM BALLARD

• Birth: 1540 in of, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England
• Death: 14 Dept 1605 in Southwell, Notingham, England
• Father: Philip BALLARD b: 1517, d abt 1552 “of” Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England
• Mother: Joanna FITSWILLIAM b: abt 1520
• Marriage 1 Anne LUNN b: ABT 1540 in of, Welby, Nottingham, England Married: 1579 in of, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England

Children

• 1. William BALLARD b: abt 1580 in Evesham, Worcestershire, , England (???)
• 2. George BALLARD b: abt 1590 in Southwell Nottingham England
• 3. Philip BALLARD b: 1580 in of, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England
• 4. HENRY BALLARD b: abt 1575 in St. Mary, Southwall, Nottingham, England

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ballard-300

There is a body of evidence relating to William Ballard but it does not always agree with the pedigree in the Heralds' Visitation of Nottinghamshire taken in 1614. It is unclear why his son Henry, who submitted the pedigree, gave his mother as Ann Lunn when the parish register shows it to have been Agnes Robinson, for example. It is also unclear why he would not mention his siblings, William, Anne & John, unless questioning them would have raised doubts about the family history and status that Henry was presenting.

There is no evidence of William's birth or who his parents were. He had already been dead for 9 years when the evidence of this family was submitted by his son Henry in 1614. If Henry cannot recall where and when his father was born then what chance that he accurately recalled, or wanted to recall, that his grandfather was Philip and his grandmother Joane Fitzwilliams?

From available evidence we can deduce that William was born around 1540 and thus when the first Visitation of Nottingham took place in 1589 he would have been well placed to make his claim to the arms of his father Philip Ballard - if indeed Philip was his father. Why then did he not do so? The obvious answer is that whilst he was a wealthy yeoman he would not have qualified as being a gentleman and couldn't prove three generations of gentlemanly status. There is also some evidence in the case of Forrest v Ballard in the Chancery Court that William was well known as a money lender - not considered to be a gentlemanly profession at all!

Notes

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ballard-301

William Ballard left his property in Southwell to his nephew William Ballard, so he must therefore have had a brother. (At present there is no evidence that this was Benjamin or that Benjamin had a son William but it serves to hold this information together for the moment. Ballard-380 06:01, 10 May 2012 (EDT))

What we do know is that both Henry Ballard, William's son, and a Benjamin Ballard were each owed £2,200 by John Bassett of Fledborough, at the Purification 35 Elizabeth I, and this was secured on his Manor and lands. This is over £400,000 at today's values.

Holden Family Paper of Nuthall Temple, Nottinnghamshire (Hn D 3/2/6/2)

That this is Benjamin Ballard is very speculative.

The Visitation of the County of Nottingham in 1569 & 1614 (Ballard pedigree)

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ballard-57
   1. Biography Prepared on 4 May 2013 by Paul J Ballard FBCS who asserts his right to be identified as researcher and author
2. The visitations of the county of Nottingham in the years 1569 and 1614. Page 104. “Ballard.” < Archive.Org >