BFHA-RC-000049
EDITOR’S NOTES
Jeff Ball Perfect is the enemy of good is a proverb which is commonly attributed to Voltaire whose moral poem, La Bégueule, starts[1] Dans ses écrits, un sàge Italien Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. (In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of the good) ” Following this quote, this is where the current family research finds itself. It is not perfect I am sure. There are going to be transcription errors and as we will find them will make them right. R.C.
Ball and Thomas I Ball wanted the truth be known. Three (3) years ago (2008), I moved to Warner Robins, GA, with my Air Force wife, (Col Susan F Ball and our Daughters Chandler and Abbie). Soon after our arrival in Warner Robins, Alpha Turner Stanford, our cousin from Gautier, MS, who owns the Alex Monroe Ball Place in Unity, Greene County, MS, called me. She said a lady from Warner Robins was doing research at Jackson County Library, MS, on a Ball family from Houston County, GA. The lady wanted a copy of the William Bartholomew Ball Bible record. I had heard of the William Bartholomew Ball Family Bible, but I had never seen it. I thought it died with my Uncle Paul Ball. Alpha had been given a trunk by the heirs of Uncle Paul. In this trunk were located all of Uncle Paul’s and R. C. Ball’s work on our family Alpha gave the lady what she asked for and sent me copies of the whole thing.
All of RC Ball's work and his manuscripts were stored there. It had been stored, waiting to be found at the right moment in time. Well, in that trunks were all kinds of Ball family historical records, and we have pored over all these documents for the last two to three (2-3) years. I have spent the last three (3) years proving RC was wrong, only in the end coming to the conclusion that R. C. was right. Again, all this time, this information was all stored in an old trunk in a barn at Uncle Paul’s house. Well, sure enough there is a Ball Street in Perry, Houston County, GA, and it’s named after a William F. Ball, nephew of William Bartholomew Ball.
My wife is from South Carolina. Her ancestor and my ancestors lived on the Great Pee Dee River during the 1730s. She descends from the Ellerbe’s and Godbold's. Myself from the Balls, Courtney's, Havard's and Byrd's, Brelands, Hillman and Monk. The town of Gilesboro (later renamed “Marion”), SC, was given the name “Gilesboro” by my wife's Godbold ancestors in honor of Sarah Ball Giles’ husband, General Hugh Giles. Gilesboro was surveyed by another son-in-law of Bartholomew (Ball): James Thompson. You would not believe that I married a descendent of the Godbold’s 200 years later.
Cheraw, SC, was founded by some of her other ancestors, the Ellerbe's. Saint David's Church is located in Cheraw SC. Saint Mark Parish was first and that gave rise to Saint David’s Parish this is the area of Craven where Bartholomew fought the Indians in the Colonial Wars, war of the regulators and his Sons and Son in Laws, fought the British (in the Revolutionary War) alongside the Courtney’s, Duboses, Warrens, and many other kinsmen.190 Well, I have spent the last three (3) years in and out of South Carolina talking to the Goldbold family about all these places like: Lynches Creek, Black Mingo, Berkley, St John’s Parish, Cheraw, and Society Hill. . I also reached out to Thomas I Ball family and they shared what information they had. Tom believed the Brown story but thought at one point that Edward was first married to Sarah Brown.
He also believed that William Ball in Edwards will was a revolutionary Soldier he was correct it was William Bartholomew Ball. We also joined the Ball Family YDNA study William Bartholomew Ball DNA is a match to Sampson Edward Ball family. I am grateful to my father Lamar O Ball who taught me the love of God, Country and Family. I have too many cousins to thank, but I will name a few: Alpha Turner Stanford, of Gautier MS Frances Ball J.D., of Baton Rouge, LA, and President of our William Ball Family Association Mary Helms of Chattanooga, TN Ruth Cattles Cottrell of the Dallas - Ft-Worth, TX, area Stephanie Lyle of Nashville, TN Edvardas "Ed" Missavage, M. D.
Dr. Carroll R. Ball, Past Governor First Families of Mississippi DR. H. Brooks Ball, my co-editor The Family will always be grateful to DR. Robert Scott Davis Jr., for the family use of, The True and Interesting Travels of William Lee, his work answered a lot of questions on the Journey. A new star that is shining on our Family is Susan Sloan, Susan holds a B.S. in Psychology and a M. Ed. degree, both from Georgia State University. She is a member of the Georgia Professional Genealogists, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and several state and local genealogical societies and lineage societies. She serves on the Board of the Georgia Genealogical Society and on the Advisory Committee for the R. J. Taylor Foundation that provides funding for books useful to Georgia genealogists.