A letter from William Ball in London, England to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina on suffering from a fever and cough, plans to travel to Madeira for warmer climate, his friend Micah Bryan, and the Mr. Lockey's loss from a fire.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing family matters, news of their father and stepmother having another baby, their brother Isaac's bachelor status, and an "affair" between the Chesapeake Frigate and the British ship Leopard.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina on attending a course of midwifery and "materia medica," William's concerns of being in the country during the political tensions, and the upcoming birth of a new sibling.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing John appearing on a jury, their brother Isaac's relationship with Miss Conny, dancing at the Club House, John's son, and William's plans after graduation.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing his friend Isaac Wilson's political views, plans to attend medical school in Paris to learn surgery and the upcoming birth of a new sibling.
A letter from financial agent George Lockey in London, England to John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing finances for William James Ball at the University of Edinburgh.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing a visit to the ruins, chapel, and landscape of "Roslin Castle," attending a graduation ceremony for future doctors and seeing "eighteen men receive licenses for killing their own species," and observations on the graduation process at the university.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing money, the winter in Scotland, yellow fever in Charleston and that "our medical men have never attempted the cure of it by the affusion of cold water." The letter goes on to state William's opinions on finding a cure for yellow fever, and the birth of a baby boy between John Ball Sr. and his second wife Martha Taveau.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing the birth of twin girls for John and his second wife Martha Taveau, attending a graduation ceremony at the university for doctors in medicine, and the landscape and cultivation of Edinburgh.
This is a Sandy Island plantation journal written inside of a South Carolina and Georgia almanac for the year 1798. The plantation journal documents the planting of crops (rice, corn and potatoes), runaway slaves (including women and children), business relations with Laurel Hill Plantation, the hiring of Mrs. Taylor's bricklayers, illness, the weather, calculations, and the receipt of cypress planks from Plowden Weston.