Ball, John (1654-11-01 - 1745-05-06)

John Ball was born in November 1654 to William Ball (1624-1670), ejected presbyterian minister, and his wife Susanna. He studied with Henry Hickman at his academy in Dunthorp and with Ames Short at Lyme Regis; he went on to open his own academy for conformists and nonconformists in Dorset. After Monmouth’s rebellion in 1685, Ball departed for the Netherlands where he studied medicine at Utrecht. He was ordained in January 1696 and settled in Honiton; from this year onwards he attended the Exeter assembly and served as moderator five times. In 1705 he reunited the Presbyterians with the Baptists at the Bridge Assembly. He was a leader of the orthodox dissenters during the Exeter controversy (1716-1719), publishing “Arius Detected and Confuted” in 1719 as part of the debate; he also published “An Answer to some Common Objections” (1727), “The Importance of Right Apprehensions of God with Respect to Religion and Virtue” (1736), and the sermon “Some Remarks on a New Way of Preaching” (1737). He died at Honiton in 6 May 1745, predeceased by his wife.