Individual Details
William Ballard
(Ca 1617 - 10 Jul 1689)
William Ballard’s origins are unknown. A William Ballard took the oath of supremacy on 26 March 1634 to pass to New England on the Mary and John.1 Although Anderson contends there is no reason to connect this William Ballard to William Ballard of Andover,2 Rev. John Woodbridge, who led the original settlers of Andover from Newbury, was a passenger on that voyage of the Mary and John. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the 1634 passenger was William Ballard of Andover.3
Passengers from the Mary and John spent their first winter in Ipswich and many of them were later in Newbury.4 William Ballard is found early in Newbury. Around 1643, Rev. John Woodbridge led a group of settlers from Newbury to the newly incorporated town of Cochichwicke (later named Andover) in Essex County which was formed 10 May 1643. The exact date of arrival of the Woodbridge settlers in Cochichwicke is not certain as negotiations for this new settlement had begun by 1640 with final arrangements made by 1642. William Ballard was one of those who went from Newbury to Andover, although the date of his removal may have been a few years later.5
On 12 September 1645, William Ballard was of Newbury when granted seven and one-half acres and five rods in the “great field beyond the new towne called by the name of dividend (divided) land to enjoy to him and his heirs forever.”6 William Ballard was in Andover prior to 1651 as he was of Andover when made freeman on 25 March 1651.7 William Ballard was number 16 on the list, directly above John Lovejoy at number 17, of the first 23 freeholders of Cochichawick Plantation.8
William Ballard married Grace about 1744. Grace’s surname is unknown, and research efforts to resolve whether she may have been Grace Lovejoy, sister of John Lovejoy of Andover, or Grace Berwick have been inconclusive. Grace’s identity may remain a mystery. Henderson’s article “English Origins of John Lovejoy” suggests circumstantial evidence that Grace is more likely Grace Lovejoy. William Ballard and John Lovejoy were in immediate succession in the time they came to Andover, and they had partially adjoining properties. William Ballard and John Lovejoy both provided court depositions at two of the same court cases.9 The other possibility is Grace Berwick the daughter of Thomas and Anne (Blount) Berwick. The rationale for that identification supposes that the nephew of Anne Blount, William Blount, married William Ballard’s daughter Elizabeth.10
The original site of the William Ballard house was at what became 96 Central Street in Andover and is currently known as 2 Abbott Bridge Road.11 According to a 1692 map of Andover,12 the Ballard property was in what became South parish east of the Shawsheen River and along the road to Boston. Near neighbors were William Chandler, William Blount, and Timothy Abbot. Ballard Pond was east of the Shawsheen River, later renamed as Pomp’s Pond for Pompey Lovejoy, a freed slave who had a cabin near the pond. This area later became known as Ballardvale, an important industrial area in Andover with mills located on the Shawsheen River.13
William Ballard received a 5-acre house lot in Andover prior to 1662.14 On 12 May 1663, William Ballard husbandman of Andover with the consent of his wife Grace, for diverse good causes and considerations especially for a certain parcel of land exchanged or received from William Chandler and certain sums of money, conveyed a portion of his property in Andover to William Chandler. In this exchange of property, William Ballard conveyed to William Chandler his house and barn with four acres which was bounded by property of Nathan Parker, John Lovejoy, and Andrew Foster. William Chandler also receives Ballard’s 5-acre house lot in Andover. The property that William Ballard receives in the exchanged was not specified in the deed.15
In June 1662, William Ballard of Andover aged about 45 years gave a deposition at the Essex County Quarterly Court related to Job Tyler’s cattle that were kept at Ballard’s place.16 In 1674, William Ballard and William Chandler were named “surveyors for ye south end of ye town.”17 William Ballard, Sr. was among those at Andover who took the oath of allegiance to the king on 11 February 1678, this being ordered for all the male citizens of each town.18
William Ballard did not leave a will and his estate was administered by Joseph Ballard. Inventory of his estate was made 23 October 1689 with total value of real estate with buildings of £163.10. This included property occupied at that time by Joseph Ballard, William Ballard, and John Ballard, with each of those three portions valued at £50. Among the personal estate items were neat cattle, £14; sheep, £1.16.0; mare, colt and swine, £6.8.0; household implements, £2.18.6; and Indian corn and rye, £6.10.0. Total estate value was £206.18.6. The inventory and the agreement made among the children for the division of the property was presented to the court on 28 September 1691. In the document dated 23 October 1689, sons John, William, and Joseph entered an agreement for the care of their honored mother Grace Ballard. Grace’s support included her “liberty in dwelling in the house that was our father’s,” while a widow, bed and bedding, cloths, all other necessary house implements, and other provisions for her support including two good cows kept for her. The list of provisions specifies the amounts of wood, rye, flax, etc. that are to be provided. The real property was divided among the three sons with the sons to make payment to their sisters. Joseph’s portion of the real property was twenty acres of upland where his house now stands, fifty acres of the great division, fourteen acres by the Shawsheen River, two acres lying near James Frye’s, and six and one-half acres from the last division of meadow, five acres of that at beaver dam meadow and one and one-half acres at Redding meadow. William receives twenty-seven acres where his house now stands, forty acres of the great division of a tract in Shawsheen fields, two acres near James Frye’s, four and one-half acres of meadow lying upon the Shawsheen River, and half the meadow and swamp joining Joseph Ballard’s. John’s portion is the housing and land his father lived upon except the low meadow his father gave William Blunt upon the marriage with his daughter (Elizabeth) which is south of the land before named, half of the pound meadow to which John is to have a way through William Blunt’s land, and half of the meadow and swamp with his brother William. Joseph, William, and John agreed with Henry Holt, Samuel Butterfield, Joseph Butterfield, John Spalden, and Abigail Ballard to pay them ten pounds apiece with what they already had, to be made in some merchantable pay before the 29th September next. The widow Ballard desired that John Abbott be made her overseer to take care that her sons pay her what they have engaged to do. The heirs signing agreement to the settlement were Grace Ballard widow, Joseph Ballard, William Ballard, John Ballard, William Blunt, Henry Holt, Samuel Butterfield, Joseph Butterfield, Abigail Ballard, and John Spalden.19
Daughter Abigail married twice but late in life and did not have children. In her will written 12 January 1724/25 (probate 5 September 1726), Abigail Brown of Concord bequeathed to her sister Sarah Holt, sister Lydia Butterfield, cousin Uriah Ballard (who was son of Joseph Ballard), cousin Rebeckah Hunt daughter of brother John Ballard deceased, cousin Hannah Davis daughter of sister Mary Butterfield, cousin Samuel Spaulding son of sister Hannah Spaulding, cousin Hepsabah Ballard (who was daughter of William Ballard), and cousin Barsheba Lovejoy daughter of sister Elizabeth Blunt all her movable goods to be equally divided. If sister Sarah pre-deceases Abigail, her portion is to go to Sarah’s daughter Keturah, and if sister Lydia pre-deceases Abigail, her portion is to go to Lydia’s daughter Tabatha. Her real estate is to be divided among the heirs of Joshua Wheatt and Isaac Hill. Friends John Mariam of Concord and Deacon Nehemiah Abbott of Andover were named executors. Estate value was £159.19.7.20
William and Grace Ballard were parents of nine children, the older children perhaps born at Newbury and the younger children at Andover.
1 Drake, Result of Some Researches, p 70
2 Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, Volume I, p 151
3 William Ballard of Lynn came on the 1635 voyage of the James; Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, Volume I, p 148
4 Currier, History of Newbury, pp 28-29
5 Currier, History of Newbury, pp 74-75
6 Coffin, A Sketch of the History of Newbury, p 43
7 Essex Institute, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts, 1:218
8 North Andover Historical Society, “Founding Families of ‘Cochichawick Plantation’”, https://www.northandoverhistoricalsociety.org/new-page-3; Andover Town Meetings & Land Grants, 1660-1708, p. 0322. NAHS ID: 1994.005.031
9 Henderson, “English Origins of John Lovejoy”, NEHGR, Volume 163, p 32
10 Brewster, Rambles About Portsmouth, p 90 reports that William Blunt who married Elizabeth Ballard was the son of William Blunt who came from England in 1634.
11 Andover Historic Preservation, “96 Central Street”, https://preservation.mhl.org/96-central-st; “2 Abbott Bridge Road”, https://preservation.mhl.org/2-abbott-bridge-rd
12 Available through the North Andover Historical Society
13 Pomp’s Pond/Foster Island, andovertrails.org, https://www.andovertrails.org/pomps-pondfosters-island.html
14 Greven, Four Generations, p 46
15 Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, 2:81
16 Essex Institute, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts, 2:412
17 Bailey, Historical Sketches of Andover, p 138
18 Bailey, Historical Sketches of Andover, p 107
19 Massachusetts Probate, Essex County, 304:387-390
20 Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 2931
Passengers from the Mary and John spent their first winter in Ipswich and many of them were later in Newbury.4 William Ballard is found early in Newbury. Around 1643, Rev. John Woodbridge led a group of settlers from Newbury to the newly incorporated town of Cochichwicke (later named Andover) in Essex County which was formed 10 May 1643. The exact date of arrival of the Woodbridge settlers in Cochichwicke is not certain as negotiations for this new settlement had begun by 1640 with final arrangements made by 1642. William Ballard was one of those who went from Newbury to Andover, although the date of his removal may have been a few years later.5
On 12 September 1645, William Ballard was of Newbury when granted seven and one-half acres and five rods in the “great field beyond the new towne called by the name of dividend (divided) land to enjoy to him and his heirs forever.”6 William Ballard was in Andover prior to 1651 as he was of Andover when made freeman on 25 March 1651.7 William Ballard was number 16 on the list, directly above John Lovejoy at number 17, of the first 23 freeholders of Cochichawick Plantation.8
William Ballard married Grace about 1744. Grace’s surname is unknown, and research efforts to resolve whether she may have been Grace Lovejoy, sister of John Lovejoy of Andover, or Grace Berwick have been inconclusive. Grace’s identity may remain a mystery. Henderson’s article “English Origins of John Lovejoy” suggests circumstantial evidence that Grace is more likely Grace Lovejoy. William Ballard and John Lovejoy were in immediate succession in the time they came to Andover, and they had partially adjoining properties. William Ballard and John Lovejoy both provided court depositions at two of the same court cases.9 The other possibility is Grace Berwick the daughter of Thomas and Anne (Blount) Berwick. The rationale for that identification supposes that the nephew of Anne Blount, William Blount, married William Ballard’s daughter Elizabeth.10
The original site of the William Ballard house was at what became 96 Central Street in Andover and is currently known as 2 Abbott Bridge Road.11 According to a 1692 map of Andover,12 the Ballard property was in what became South parish east of the Shawsheen River and along the road to Boston. Near neighbors were William Chandler, William Blount, and Timothy Abbot. Ballard Pond was east of the Shawsheen River, later renamed as Pomp’s Pond for Pompey Lovejoy, a freed slave who had a cabin near the pond. This area later became known as Ballardvale, an important industrial area in Andover with mills located on the Shawsheen River.13
William Ballard received a 5-acre house lot in Andover prior to 1662.14 On 12 May 1663, William Ballard husbandman of Andover with the consent of his wife Grace, for diverse good causes and considerations especially for a certain parcel of land exchanged or received from William Chandler and certain sums of money, conveyed a portion of his property in Andover to William Chandler. In this exchange of property, William Ballard conveyed to William Chandler his house and barn with four acres which was bounded by property of Nathan Parker, John Lovejoy, and Andrew Foster. William Chandler also receives Ballard’s 5-acre house lot in Andover. The property that William Ballard receives in the exchanged was not specified in the deed.15
In June 1662, William Ballard of Andover aged about 45 years gave a deposition at the Essex County Quarterly Court related to Job Tyler’s cattle that were kept at Ballard’s place.16 In 1674, William Ballard and William Chandler were named “surveyors for ye south end of ye town.”17 William Ballard, Sr. was among those at Andover who took the oath of allegiance to the king on 11 February 1678, this being ordered for all the male citizens of each town.18
William Ballard did not leave a will and his estate was administered by Joseph Ballard. Inventory of his estate was made 23 October 1689 with total value of real estate with buildings of £163.10. This included property occupied at that time by Joseph Ballard, William Ballard, and John Ballard, with each of those three portions valued at £50. Among the personal estate items were neat cattle, £14; sheep, £1.16.0; mare, colt and swine, £6.8.0; household implements, £2.18.6; and Indian corn and rye, £6.10.0. Total estate value was £206.18.6. The inventory and the agreement made among the children for the division of the property was presented to the court on 28 September 1691. In the document dated 23 October 1689, sons John, William, and Joseph entered an agreement for the care of their honored mother Grace Ballard. Grace’s support included her “liberty in dwelling in the house that was our father’s,” while a widow, bed and bedding, cloths, all other necessary house implements, and other provisions for her support including two good cows kept for her. The list of provisions specifies the amounts of wood, rye, flax, etc. that are to be provided. The real property was divided among the three sons with the sons to make payment to their sisters. Joseph’s portion of the real property was twenty acres of upland where his house now stands, fifty acres of the great division, fourteen acres by the Shawsheen River, two acres lying near James Frye’s, and six and one-half acres from the last division of meadow, five acres of that at beaver dam meadow and one and one-half acres at Redding meadow. William receives twenty-seven acres where his house now stands, forty acres of the great division of a tract in Shawsheen fields, two acres near James Frye’s, four and one-half acres of meadow lying upon the Shawsheen River, and half the meadow and swamp joining Joseph Ballard’s. John’s portion is the housing and land his father lived upon except the low meadow his father gave William Blunt upon the marriage with his daughter (Elizabeth) which is south of the land before named, half of the pound meadow to which John is to have a way through William Blunt’s land, and half of the meadow and swamp with his brother William. Joseph, William, and John agreed with Henry Holt, Samuel Butterfield, Joseph Butterfield, John Spalden, and Abigail Ballard to pay them ten pounds apiece with what they already had, to be made in some merchantable pay before the 29th September next. The widow Ballard desired that John Abbott be made her overseer to take care that her sons pay her what they have engaged to do. The heirs signing agreement to the settlement were Grace Ballard widow, Joseph Ballard, William Ballard, John Ballard, William Blunt, Henry Holt, Samuel Butterfield, Joseph Butterfield, Abigail Ballard, and John Spalden.19
Daughter Abigail married twice but late in life and did not have children. In her will written 12 January 1724/25 (probate 5 September 1726), Abigail Brown of Concord bequeathed to her sister Sarah Holt, sister Lydia Butterfield, cousin Uriah Ballard (who was son of Joseph Ballard), cousin Rebeckah Hunt daughter of brother John Ballard deceased, cousin Hannah Davis daughter of sister Mary Butterfield, cousin Samuel Spaulding son of sister Hannah Spaulding, cousin Hepsabah Ballard (who was daughter of William Ballard), and cousin Barsheba Lovejoy daughter of sister Elizabeth Blunt all her movable goods to be equally divided. If sister Sarah pre-deceases Abigail, her portion is to go to Sarah’s daughter Keturah, and if sister Lydia pre-deceases Abigail, her portion is to go to Lydia’s daughter Tabatha. Her real estate is to be divided among the heirs of Joshua Wheatt and Isaac Hill. Friends John Mariam of Concord and Deacon Nehemiah Abbott of Andover were named executors. Estate value was £159.19.7.20
William and Grace Ballard were parents of nine children, the older children perhaps born at Newbury and the younger children at Andover.
1 Drake, Result of Some Researches, p 70
2 Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, Volume I, p 151
3 William Ballard of Lynn came on the 1635 voyage of the James; Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, Volume I, p 148
4 Currier, History of Newbury, pp 28-29
5 Currier, History of Newbury, pp 74-75
6 Coffin, A Sketch of the History of Newbury, p 43
7 Essex Institute, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts, 1:218
8 North Andover Historical Society, “Founding Families of ‘Cochichawick Plantation’”, https://www.northandoverhistoricalsociety.org/new-page-3; Andover Town Meetings & Land Grants, 1660-1708, p. 0322. NAHS ID: 1994.005.031
9 Henderson, “English Origins of John Lovejoy”, NEHGR, Volume 163, p 32
10 Brewster, Rambles About Portsmouth, p 90 reports that William Blunt who married Elizabeth Ballard was the son of William Blunt who came from England in 1634.
11 Andover Historic Preservation, “96 Central Street”, https://preservation.mhl.org/96-central-st; “2 Abbott Bridge Road”, https://preservation.mhl.org/2-abbott-bridge-rd
12 Available through the North Andover Historical Society
13 Pomp’s Pond/Foster Island, andovertrails.org, https://www.andovertrails.org/pomps-pondfosters-island.html
14 Greven, Four Generations, p 46
15 Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, 2:81
16 Essex Institute, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts, 2:412
17 Bailey, Historical Sketches of Andover, p 138
18 Bailey, Historical Sketches of Andover, p 107
19 Massachusetts Probate, Essex County, 304:387-390
20 Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 2931
Events
| Birth | Ca 1617 | England | |||
| Immigration | By 1641 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts | |||
| Probate | 1689 |  | |||
| Death | 10 Jul 1689 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts | |||
| Biography | | ||||
| Property | |
Families
| Spouse | Grace Lovejoy (1620 - 1694) |
| Child | Joseph Ballard (1645 - 1722) |
| Child | Elizabeth Ballard (1646 - 1689) |
| Child | William Ballard (1648 - 1723) |
| Child | Mary Ballard (1650 - 1702) |
| Child | Sarah Ballard (1652 - 1733) |
| Child | John Ballard (1653 - 1715) |
| Child | Annah/Hannah Ballard (1655 - 1710) |
| Child | Lydia Ballard (1657 - 1728) |
| Child | Abigail Ballard (1659 - 1726) |