The John Ball Family Papers consist of legal and financial records, correspondence, essays, ephemera, and diaries, largely but not entirely dated after John Ball moved to Michigan. The topically grouped material is arranged alphabetically. The legal and financial records contain certificates allowing John Ball to practice law in New York. A large portion of the correspondence is between John, his wife, Mary, and their daughter, Lucy, which consists mainly of family affairs and travel to Europe, especially Switzerland and France (1869-1894). Earlier letters cover family matters and Michigan social conditions (after 1836). A letter of 1 March 1883 describes travel conditions and Indians at Fort Vancouver and a letter of 29 November 1838 expresses John Ball’s anti-abolitionists sentiments. The diaries written by John Ball tell about a trip to Lansingburgh (New York), 1878, and a trip to New York and New Hampshire, 1883. Mary Ball’s diaries describe traveling abroad, 1872, and her daily life in 1874.
Copies of several books on Ball are in Clarke, as are the papers of Ball and McKee. McKee’s diary of his student years in Massachusetts and Vermont are in the Bentley Historical Library.
A portrait of John Ball is housed in the Clarke as well. The note on the back reads as follows: “John Ball. Portrait painted while he was a student at Dartmouth. Ball became one of Michigan’s most famous pioneers. He was the first to teach west of the Mississippi.” The portrait is in a small, oval frame.
Biography:
John Ball (1794-1884) was the son of Nathaniel and Deborah Ball, who were early New England pioneers. John traveled extensively throughout his life after being educated at Dartmouth College. He farmed in New Hampshire. Later, John traveled to New York, was shipwrecked on the coast of Georgia, and voyaged on a whaling ship to Rio de Janeiro. In 1832, he went to Oregon with Captain Nathaniel Wyeth. Afterwards, he settled in Vancouver where he taught children who lived in that settlement.
In 1836, John settled in Michigan Territory and for the next 48 years he called the Grand River Valley his home. With James H. McKee (born 1823), Ball was a partner in the law firm of Ball and McKee, 1849-1884. Ball was highly active in his community, operated a law office, served in the Legislature, and served on the school board for 37 years.
Ball married Mary Ball, with whom he had three daughters: Lucy, Flora Ball Hopkins, and Kate Ball Powers. (This information is from the collection.)
