BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Daniel Ball and Catherine Byre
Daniel Ball was born April 29, 1757. His place of birth has been variously reported as Maryland, Virginia or England.
Catherine Byre was born October 20, 1768. According to an Erie County, Pennsylvania history, she was born in Holland although her birthplace has been noted as Maryland by other sources.
One source, citing the National Archives in Washington D.C., credits Daniel with Revolutionary War service n the 8th Virginia Regiment.
Daniel and Catherine were married March 31, 1779 in Frederick County, Maryland. They later moved to Erie County, Pennsylvania where Daniel was a farmer. They had 14 children:
Daniel outlived Catherine by nine years. She died on July 20, 1822 and he on August 25, 1831, both in Erie County. They were buried in Ball Cemetery, a small burial ground on Lexington Road in Erie County.
The route of Lexington Road was later altered slightly with the construction of a highway overpass. The burial ground now sits between the old and new routes just south of interstate 90 but, for all practical purposes, it has disappeared. By 1999, there was a small wooded area, dominated by what appeared to be abandoned farm machinery. There were five uprooted headstones, only two of which were partially legible and neither of those was for Daniel or Catherine.
Sources & Related Information
The remains of Ball Cemetery in August 1999