Wilfrid Williams Ball, son of Benjamin Williams Ball and Sylvia Ball [Good]

Wilfrid Williams Ball was born on 4th January 1853 in the East End of London to Benjamin Williams Ball, an accountant, and his wife Sylvia nee Good. Although born and growing up in poor surroundings, Wilfrid was part of a successful banking and trading family. His uncle John Ball (1808 - 1879) was one of the founding members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and his brother John Ball Ball b 1844 became President of the Institute for the year 1908/9. Wilfrid's other uncle Thomas Mugliston Ball was a prominent Sugar Trader.

Benjamin and Sylvia Ball had six children and the youngest three - Arthur, Wifrid and Rosamund - all had strong aesthetic leanings. Arthur was a painter and exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists shows before his early death in 1885. Rosamund became a well-known poet, critic and essayist and had multiple marriages and relationships. She is often better known by the name of Rosamund Marriott

Wilfrid's earliest career was as an accountant but he spent his spare time at the Heatherley School of Art in Chelsea and by 1877 was exhibiting his work. In 1881/2 his etchings of the Thames gained a warm eulogy from and, subsequently he worked with, James Whistler:

For the next two decades he painted landscapes and marine subjects and exhibited widely at the Royal Academy; Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers; Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours; and many others. He became President of the Society of British Artists in 1886. He was also a member of The Arts Club from 1896 until 1916.

Wilfrid lived most of his life in London but he travelled widely throughout Europe and developed a close relationship with the counties of Sussex and Hampshire. His book 'Sussex - Painted by Wilfrid Ball' published in 1906 and 'Hampshire - Painted by Wilfrid Ball' published in 1909 brought his paintings to a much wider audience and significantly enhanced his popularity. Many of his paintings were used, and still are, on postcards and greetings cards.

He married Florence Helen Hollinshead late in life and died 14 February 1917 of heat exhaustion in Khartoum during WWI while working as an administrator for the British Army.


See also Sussex - Painted by Wilfrid Ball published in 1906 and Hampshire - Painted by Wilfrid Ball
Date
Type
Information
Source
 
4th Jan 1853
Born
In the Parish of Hackney, London
 
 
26th Apr 1874
Christened
At St. Mary's Church, Putney, in London
London Metropolitan Archives
 
July to Sep 1895
Married
Registered at Hambledon District, Surrey; ref: 1895 Q3 Vol 2a Page 261
Register of marriages
 
14th Feb 1917
Died
At Khartoum, Sudan
Probate Registry of England and Wales
 
31st May 1917
Probate
London; Effects: £3,946 14s 7d
Probate Registry of England and Wales
 
1904
Crowborough Heath
Crowborough Heath, Crowborough painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Groombridge
Groombridge, Groombridge painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Garden of the Moated House
Garden of the Moated House, Groombridge painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
The Inn
The Inn, Hartfield painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Hartfield
Hartfield painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Mayfield
Mayfield painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Mayfield
Mayfield painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Cottages at Mayfield
Cottages at Mayfield painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
The Rother
The Rother painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
Sussex Hills
Sussex Hills painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex
 
1904
High Street
High Street, East Grinstead painted by Wilfrid Ball
Sussex

The ancestral pedigree of Wilfrid Williams Ball
  
 Isaac Ballm: 6th Nov 1803 St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, LondonElizabeth Williams 
 b: c 1780  b: c 1780 
  
    
 Thomas Mugliston John Isaac Benjamin Williams
 b: 1806 Southwark, London b: 1808 London
d: Aug 1879
 b: c 1813 London
d: 24th Apr 1889 St Johns Parsonage, Avoca, Victoria, Australia
 b: 13th Jan 1816 London
         
Grandfather record
   
   
    
 Benjamin Williams Ballm: 25th Dec 1841 Barcombe, SussexSylvia Good 
 b: 13th Jan 1816 London  b: 12th Oct 1817 Brighton, Sussex
ch: 3rd Jun 1818 St. Nicholas Church
d: 30th Jan 1874
 
  
      
 Sylvia St. Mary John Ball Jane Arthur Edmond Wilfrid Williams Rosamond
 b: 26th Aug 1842 London b: 16th Dec 1844 Hackney, London
ch: 23rd Jun 1858 St. John's Church
 b: 1849 Hackney, London b: 7th Apr 1851 Hackney, London
ch: 26th Apr 1874 St. Mary's Church, Putney, London
d: 1885
 b: 4th Jan 1853 Hackney, London
ch: 26th Apr 1874 St. Mary's Church, Putney, London
d: 14th Feb 1917 Khartoum, Sudan
 b: 6th Oct 1860 Hackney, London
ch: 19th Apr 1861 St. John's Church
d: 1911
        
Parental record
   
   
   
 Wilfrid Williams Ballm: Jul to Sep 1895Florence Hollinshead 
 b: 4th Jan 1853 Hackney, London
ch: 26th Apr 1874 St. Mary's Church, Putney, London
d: 14th Feb 1917 Khartoum, Sudan
  b: 1859 Blackburn, Lancashire 
Family record

The Weald is at  Database version 14.05 which has ongoing updates to the 395,000 people; 9,000 places; 613 maps; 3,308 pictures, engravings and photographs; and 248 books loaded in the previous version

ODNB  
British Libarary  
High Weald  
Sussex Record Society  
Sussex Archaeological Society  
Kent Archaeological Society  
Mid Kent Marriages  
Ancestry  
Genes Reunited  
International Genealogical Index  
National Archives  

Top
of the
page