Gravestone and death record may have his age wrong. We strongly suspect he was the Jesse Ball who (according to Warren's Ball genealogy book) was born in May 1777 to Moses Ball and Vashti Oak of Rutland, Mass. Census data on his birth varies, which suggests that he and/or his kin were unsure when and where he was born (not an uncommon scenario in those days), but the 1810 through 1840 censuses collectively indicate that this Jesse was born between 1776 and 1780, which would fit the Jesse Ball born in 1777 to Moses and Vashti. It's unclear where Warren's assertion of the 1777 birth comes from -- it's not recorded in Rutland VR. Warren doesn't state a birthplace for Jesse, just the date.
Warren states of Moses that "He was in the Revolutionary War" without any details of that service. No record has been found of Moses having served in any Provincial unit, either in Mass. Soldiers and Sailors or any other source. So it's *possible* Moses served as a Tory. This hypothesis would help would explain why he apparently disappears from Rutland in 1777, and why records for Jesse's origin are nebulous. Moses could have fled to Canada, as many Tories did, and then resettled in northern Vermont. It's also possible that Warren was mistakenly referencing a different Moses Ball's service (the one who's buried in Athol).
The VR of Holden, Mass. (adjacent to Rutland) report Moses and Vashti marrying on March 6, 1777, with intentions published the preceding December. That marriage date is only 2 months before the date Warren gives for the birth of their son Jesse -- possibly offering an alternative explanation for their departure from the Rutland, Mass., area.
Moses is sometimes conflated on the Internet with a Moses Ball who died in Athol, Mass. That is definitively a different man.
See the New England Ball Project website for latest research on this line.
A more definitive unraveling of Jesse's ancestry may require a yDNA test from a male-line descendant and/or a willingness to re-evaluate the assumption that he was a biological brother of Alvin and John Ball.
GAR flag holder is either an erroneous Civil War service reference (Jesse died in 1847) or actually a marker for War of 1812 service (Jesse did serve in that war). Can't tell from photo.
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Alt. theory on parentage:
Possibly he is actually Vashti Oak(s)'s brother Jesse (born 1771, per VR) and was raised by her and Moses as a son. A yDNA test from a male-line descendant would help solve the mystery.
If anyone has additional information about these Balls, please contact:
scoville(dot)fisk(at)gmail(dot)com
************************************
Warren states of Moses that "He was in the Revolutionary War" without any details of that service. No record has been found of Moses having served in any Provincial unit, either in Mass. Soldiers and Sailors or any other source. So it's *possible* Moses served as a Tory. This hypothesis would help would explain why he apparently disappears from Rutland in 1777, and why records for Jesse's origin are nebulous. Moses could have fled to Canada, as many Tories did, and then resettled in northern Vermont. It's also possible that Warren was mistakenly referencing a different Moses Ball's service (the one who's buried in Athol).
The VR of Holden, Mass. (adjacent to Rutland) report Moses and Vashti marrying on March 6, 1777, with intentions published the preceding December. That marriage date is only 2 months before the date Warren gives for the birth of their son Jesse -- possibly offering an alternative explanation for their departure from the Rutland, Mass., area.
Moses is sometimes conflated on the Internet with a Moses Ball who died in Athol, Mass. That is definitively a different man.
See the New England Ball Project website for latest research on this line.
A more definitive unraveling of Jesse's ancestry may require a yDNA test from a male-line descendant and/or a willingness to re-evaluate the assumption that he was a biological brother of Alvin and John Ball.
GAR flag holder is either an erroneous Civil War service reference (Jesse died in 1847) or actually a marker for War of 1812 service (Jesse did serve in that war). Can't tell from photo.
************************************
Alt. theory on parentage:
Possibly he is actually Vashti Oak(s)'s brother Jesse (born 1771, per VR) and was raised by her and Moses as a son. A yDNA test from a male-line descendant would help solve the mystery.
If anyone has additional information about these Balls, please contact:
scoville(dot)fisk(at)gmail(dot)com
************************************
Gravestone and death record may have his age wrong. We strongly suspect he was the Jesse Ball who (according to Warren's Ball genealogy book) was born in May 1777 to Moses Ball and Vashti Oak of Rutland, Mass. Census data on his birth varies, which suggests that he and/or his kin were unsure when and where he was born (not an uncommon scenario in those days), but the 1810 through 1840 censuses collectively indicate that this Jesse was born between 1776 and 1780, which would fit the Jesse Ball born in 1777 to Moses and Vashti. It's unclear where Warren's assertion of the 1777 birth comes from -- it's not recorded in Rutland VR. Warren doesn't state a birthplace for Jesse, just the date.
Warren states of Moses that "He was in the Revolutionary War" without any details of that service. No record has been found of Moses having served in any Provincial unit, either in Mass. Soldiers and Sailors or any other source. So it's *possible* Moses served as a Tory. This hypothesis would help would explain why he apparently disappears from Rutland in 1777, and why records for Jesse's origin are nebulous. Moses could have fled to Canada, as many Tories did, and then resettled in northern Vermont. It's also possible that Warren was mistakenly referencing a different Moses Ball's service (the one who's buried in Athol).
The VR of Holden, Mass. (adjacent to Rutland) report Moses and Vashti marrying on March 6, 1777, with intentions published the preceding December. That marriage date is only 2 months before the date Warren gives for the birth of their son Jesse -- possibly offering an alternative explanation for their departure from the Rutland, Mass., area.
Moses is sometimes conflated on the Internet with a Moses Ball who died in Athol, Mass. That is definitively a different man.
See the New England Ball Project website for latest research on this line.
A more definitive unraveling of Jesse's ancestry may require a yDNA test from a male-line descendant and/or a willingness to re-evaluate the assumption that he was a biological brother of Alvin and John Ball.
GAR flag holder is either an erroneous Civil War service reference (Jesse died in 1847) or actually a marker for War of 1812 service (Jesse did serve in that war). Can't tell from photo.
************************************
Alt. theory on parentage:
Possibly he is actually Vashti Oak(s)'s brother Jesse (born 1771, per VR) and was raised by her and Moses as a son. A yDNA test from a male-line descendant would help solve the mystery.
If anyone has additional information about these Balls, please contact:
scoville(dot)fisk(at)gmail(dot)com
************************************
Warren states of Moses that "He was in the Revolutionary War" without any details of that service. No record has been found of Moses having served in any Provincial unit, either in Mass. Soldiers and Sailors or any other source. So it's *possible* Moses served as a Tory. This hypothesis would help would explain why he apparently disappears from Rutland in 1777, and why records for Jesse's origin are nebulous. Moses could have fled to Canada, as many Tories did, and then resettled in northern Vermont. It's also possible that Warren was mistakenly referencing a different Moses Ball's service (the one who's buried in Athol).
The VR of Holden, Mass. (adjacent to Rutland) report Moses and Vashti marrying on March 6, 1777, with intentions published the preceding December. That marriage date is only 2 months before the date Warren gives for the birth of their son Jesse -- possibly offering an alternative explanation for their departure from the Rutland, Mass., area.
Moses is sometimes conflated on the Internet with a Moses Ball who died in Athol, Mass. That is definitively a different man.
See the New England Ball Project website for latest research on this line.
A more definitive unraveling of Jesse's ancestry may require a yDNA test from a male-line descendant and/or a willingness to re-evaluate the assumption that he was a biological brother of Alvin and John Ball.
GAR flag holder is either an erroneous Civil War service reference (Jesse died in 1847) or actually a marker for War of 1812 service (Jesse did serve in that war). Can't tell from photo.
************************************
Alt. theory on parentage:
Possibly he is actually Vashti Oak(s)'s brother Jesse (born 1771, per VR) and was raised by her and Moses as a son. A yDNA test from a male-line descendant would help solve the mystery.
If anyone has additional information about these Balls, please contact:
scoville(dot)fisk(at)gmail(dot)com
************************************
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