The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Photos provided with permission of Compatriot William Schwetke, VASSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From Dulles International Airport Washington: Enter VA 28 South from the airport. Follow VA-28 S/Sully Road, I-66 W and US-29 S to Marshall. You will come to the creek Licking Run. GPS coordinates may best be served for finding this location, Latitude: 38.66382, Longitude: -77.79851. If you get to Old Culpepper Road, Route 800, you have gone to far. The cemetery is on a knoll west of Route 29 on Licking run. Cemetery is actually three different burial groupings with the Shumate portion wihin the fence, and the Ball cemetery out on top of the hill
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Author: D Homer Wright
John Ball was born 2 October 1742 at Fauquier County, Virginia, a son of William Ball, and Martha Brumfield Ball. He married Sara Ellen Payne, 6 November 1767, at Stafford, Virginia.
John and Sara may have had up to eight children, including John Jr., William, and Mary.
John Ball was originally an Ensign in 1776 in Captain Francis Atwell’s Company of the 6th Virginia Militia, Fauquier County. He was recommended for Captain, by the Fauquier County Court, 25 October 1779. The biography of John Ball provided on the web page of the Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution states he was wounded, 11 September 1777 at Brandywine. The Battle of Brandywine took place at and around Brandywine Creek, near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The confrontation was an attempt to prevent the British, led by Howe and Cornwallis, from taking Philadelphia. The superior British force caused Washington to retreat, and the British occupied Philadelphia. That John Ball was wounded at Brandywine is not surprising, as nearly 1,000 Americans were either killed or captured that day.
In July 1781, John Ball marched to Virginia, to respond to the arrival of Cornwallis. Yorktown, Virginia, was perhaps the last major battle of the American Revolution. A superior American force with its allies battled Lord General Cornwallis, surrounding him and his army. This win would cause the British government to reconsider negotiating an end to the American conflict. It would also cause Lord Cornwallis, who received criticism for the loss, to be reassigned to Governor of Ireland and later reassignment to India.
John Ball is mentioned in the Diary of George Washington. It is stated John Ball, from Licking Run, was a millwright who had been employed by George Washington. Licking Run is a stream located at Fauquier County, Virginia. This location is about 53 miles east of Washington, District of Columbia. Washington wished to upgrade a mill which could produce a superior grade of flour to the colonies and perhaps export it out of America. The millwright he chose for this process is believed to have been John Ball, a second cousin of George Washington, and qualified for the job, was also an iron worker and had used this trade to support the war effort.
John Ball died in 1806 at Culpeper County, Virginia. In 2018, a massive restoration project of the Ball-Shumate Cemetery was directed by the Virginia Society SAR, the local property owner, and with assistance from the DAR. What was at one time, a hidden and perhaps nearly lost historical burial location, is now a beautiful and peaceful resting spot for the Patriot John Ball and others. Sara Ellen Payne Ball died in 1806 at Fauquier County, Virginia, and was buried at the Ball-Shumate Cemetery next to her husband. Her grave is not marked.
References:
1. DAR North American Family Histories, 1500-2000, Vol. 165, Pg. 138, 194.
2. Gwathmey’s Virginians in the Revolution, Pg. 35
3. McAllister’s Virginia Militia in the Revolution, Section 26, Pg. 199.
4. Founders Online. Washington Diary, Vol. 2, Entry dated 30 December 1769, founders.archives.gov/docuemnts/washington/01-02-02-0004-0032-0030.
5. Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution.
6. History.com, Battle of Brandywine/Yorktown.
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