Our Common Ancestor

Reprinted from "The Ballard History - 1996".
In starting this, our family history and gealogy, we have thought it wise to begin at our common ancestor, William Ballard, who was baptized at Sanford Priors, Warwickshire, England, August 12, 1603.
He registered as a passenger from England for New England as is found in Hottem's "Original Lists" that "William Ballard, husbandman, ae 32 with Mary, his wife, ae 26, Hester ae 2, and John ae 1, came in the "James" July 1635 landing in Boston.
Although called a "husbandman" i.e. a farmer, he must have been a man above the ordinary in education and ability, for the general court of Massachusetts Bay appointed him a magistrate " in roome of Captain Turner" in the session held at Newtowne (now Cambridge) June 8, 1638. He was made a freeman of the colony May 2, 1638.
He first settled in Saugus, now Lynne, and had 60 acres of land situated on the Boston road on the west side of Saugus river. The court assigned various duties to him, one of these being to serve on a committee to establish the line between Salem and Lynne. Their report was made March 13, 1638. They must have had labor troubles in those early days as he was arrested for hiring laborer illegally. His name is on the list with others but he was "discharged Dec. 4, 1638 as he had hired none but such as had lots." He had a suit in court in 1637 and was a juryman in 1638. He died early in 1639.
He had no written will but told two of his neighbors, Nicholas Brown and Gerard Spencer, Jr. a day or two before his death that he wished :half of his estate to go to his wife and the rest ot go to his children," and this his noncupative will was proven upon their testimony and the court appointed "Mr. Timothy Tomlins to act with Mr. Hawthorn" as magistrate, June 6, 1639.
His first wife, Mary, who came to him and whom he married in England, must have died a short time after he came here for he married a second wife, Elizabeth - who survived him. She afterward married William Knight of Salem whom she outlived. He bequeathed to her and her children, "the four children I had by my last wife, Elizabeth" and made bequests aslo to John and Nathaniel Ballard of 40 shillings each without saying that they were her children or why he remembered them but when the executor paid them their legacies they receipted fro them as coming from their father-in-law (stepfather, as we now say), Willliam Knight.
Elizabeth married third time Jan. 28, 1656, Allen Bread (Breed).
The Town of Reading was fromed from a district of Lynn, and William Ballard had lands there. In the earliest records of Reading now extant (the 6th of the 11th month 1644) a division of land is recorded thus "To Samuel Dutton half of the Meadow that was given to Goodman Knight and Mr. Ballard's children that Goodman Knight's part."