About the Collection
The Ball family was established in South Carolina in 1698 with the arrival of the English emigrant Elias Ball (1675-1751), often referred to as Elias “Red Cap” Ball in family histories. His first wife was Elizabeth Harleston (d.1720) and his second wife was Mary Delamare. His son, Elias Ball II (1709-1786), married Lydia Chicken (1721-1765), the widow of Capt. George Chicken (d.1746), who was the son of George Chicken (d. 1727). Members of the Ball family owned numerous plantations in the Berkeley County area. John Ball (1760-1817), son of Elias Ball II (1709-1786), owned Kensington, Comingtee, Strawberry, and other properties; among his children were: Isaac Ball (1785-1825);William James Ball (1787-1808); and John Ball (1782-1834), who married first Elizabeth Bryan (1784-1812), and secondly, Ann Simons (1776-1840). William James Ball (1821-1891) was the son of Isaac Ball (1785-1825). The Ball family was related to the Harleston family through several intermarriages; the Bond family was related to the Harlestons and Balls through the marriage of Sarah Harleston and Dr. William Read (1754-1845), who was the son of James Read and Rebecca Bond (1730-ca.1786).
The Ball Family Papers, 1631-1895 collection consists of bound volumes, newspaper clippings, and other loose papers. These documents cover numerous topics including plantation and finances, yellow fever outbreaks, real estate, flora and fauna found on the Ball Family’s plantations, standard plantation practices, daily life, legal documents and discussions of various laws—including trade regulations with the Catawba people—and military activity—including orders and accounts from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
The collection also contains a breadth of information about enslaved people the Ball family owned. This includes lists of hundreds of enslaved people, births, and deaths of enslaved people between the 18th and 19th centuries, divisions of enslaved persons by family, registers of enslaved children and their parents, punishments on enslaved persons, and a discussion of missing runaway enslaved persons. There are also records relating to enslaved persons’ health, including medical bills for their treatment, discussions of smallpox and measles outbreaks among enslaved people, and the account of a Black woman who saved soldiers from dysentery.
There are also several accounts of freedmen in the collection, including a financial account for a freedman named Robin, the emancipation of numerous enslaved persons by the Ball family, a financial account with “Free Nancy” from Limerick Plantation, and indentures for two freed boys to learn carpentry and bricklaying.