The below passage is quoted from Ballard researcher Lynne Miller:
Immigrated direct from England in 1659 and
was an indentured servant of John Brian/Bryan of Isle of Wight/ Nansemond Co,
Va. Immigration record is found in the Peter Coldham's series of immigration
records that names a John Ballard coming to Virginia on Aug 15, 1659 [Ref 1
p. 432]. John Ballard comes with Lewes (Lewis) and Robert Brian to be
indentured to a John Brian. While there are other John Brians (spelling
changed to Bryan), the only one with land lives in Nansemond and Isle of
Wight Co. Lewes/Lewis, Robert and John Brian all show up in this area along
with John Ballard. To further support the linkage, the Bryans and Ballards
appear together in other documents about the Bryan and Smith families of the
area and apparently they or their kin moved to North Carolina together. [Ref
9 p. 9-10] To discount the Thomas Ballard connection, we find that in 1658,
William Thomas, father of Ann Thomas, the wife-to-be of Thomas pays him 600
acres to bring her from England [Ref. 3 p. 46A]. That means they did not get
married until 1658 [Ref 4]. Further in the will of Robert Baldrey of
Yorktown (1675) he gives his property first to Thomas, Jr, and then to John;
signifying that John was not the oldest son meaning he was not born until 1659
or 1660 at the earliest. Since my John is given a land patent in Nansemond Co
in 1673 [Ref 2], John, son of Thomas, would have been only 13-4 years old at
that time. Hardly, old enough to be married and had two children, moreless
be given any land. You usually had to be 21 to be eligible even in those
days. John's age was computed based on being at least 20 in 1659 = 1639 (all
of above being Lloyd Russel Ballard's research)
There are more children of John, his son Ralph, and his grandson Abraham
in Lynne Miller's works. However, since I am not yet totally convinced
that Reuben Ballard's wife named Absilla is the same person as Abraham's
daughter Apsilla, I haven't bothered to include all the details.
