Col. Burgess BALL

     
     Col. Burgess BALL was born on 28 July 1749 in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, son of Jeduthan BALL and Elizabeth BURGESS. He was a planter and his ancestral plantation near Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia was called "Springwood".
     The Ball estate was known as "Travellers' Rest." The land upon which Travellers' Rest sat was owned by Col. James Ball of Bewdley in Virginia in 1700. This tract was originally a portion of the massive Sherwood Forest property granted to William Ball and Thomas Chitwood in 1667. In 1754, Ball willed the Travellers' Rest property to his grandson, Col. Burgess Ball. Burgess Ball built a two-story brick home with dormer windows in a style popular at the time. The chimneys of this structure were unique in that they were situated so that the fireplaces were in the corners of each room instead of in the center of the wall, as was the usual design.
     In its prime, the house was the center of hospitality. Legend is that there was prominently displayed the sentiment "Enter ye weary, no matter whence you came and whither you go, and have rest." Today, the site, about five miles from the Chatham Bridge near Sherwood Forest, sits deserted and radically changed due to years of excavation, its only remaining feature an overgrown and hidden old cemetery.
     Travellers' Rest evolved throughout the years from a somewhat small Colonial home to a grand mansion with beautiful gardens laid out in formal patterns by an English landscape gardener.
     At the end of the Revolutionary War, Ball returned to Travellers' Rest, where he continued to offer hospitality to those who visited. The government refused to reimburse Ball for his financial and personal investment in the war efforts, and soon his remaining finances vanished. His health and fortune destroyed, Ball sold Travellers' Rest to Thomas Garnett and retired to Springwood, his rustic farm in Loudoun County.¹
     Burgess married Mary Chichester on 2 July 1770 in St. James Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia.²
     Burgess saw military service during the American Revolution beginning on 10 February 1776 in Virginia when he was recorded as captain in the 5th Virginia Continental Line. Within the year he was major of the 5th and then became lieutenant colonel in command of the 9th Virginia 17 Dec 1777. They spent the winter of 19 December 1777 to 19 June 1778 at Valley Forge as part of Brigadier Gen. Peter Muhlenberg's 1st Virginia Brigade in Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene's Division. The remnants of the 5th and 9th were transferred to the 1st Virginia regiment of foot 14 September 1778. They were sent South in December 1779 and captured at Charleston, South Carolina 12 May 1780. He was paroled on 12 Feb 1781. He may have later served on Gen. Washington's staff. After the war he was awarded 7,777 acres of land for seven years service in the Virginia Continental Line. An additional 300 acres was awarded on 31 May 1811.^3,4,2
     Col. Burgess BALL married secondly Frances Ann WASHINGTON, daughter of Charles WASHINGTON and Mildred THORNTON, on 7 April 1781 in Virginia.⁵
     In 1795, the American portrait miniaturist, Raphaelle Peale, traveled through Virginia on his way from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was engaged to paint miniatures of the gentry elite. It is thought that Peale painted a miniature of Colonel Ball at that time, probably to be presented to Frances. Gentry women are often depicted wearing such miniatures on ribbons or cords around the neck and frequently requested loved ones to sit for their portraits.⁶
     Col. Burgess BALL died on 7 March 1800 in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, at age 50. He was buried in "Springwood," in the Ball Family Cemetery.