Elias Ball

Elias "Red Cap" Ball (1676–September 1751) was an English-born migrant who became a wealthy landowner in colonial era Carolina.

Early life Ball was born in Stokeinteignhead, Devon, England, to William and Mary Ball, tenant farmers with limited property. His early education was rudimentary, though he learned practical skills such as double-entry bookkeeping, which later supported his plantation business in colonial America.

Emigration to Carolina In 1698, Ball emigrated to the English colony of Carolina (later South Carolina), during a period of expanding settlement and economic opportunity in the region. He inherited land along the Cooper River, where he became a rice planter. His estate, known as Comingtee Plantation, relied heavily on enslaved labor, a common practice in South Carolina's plantation economy at the time.

Nickname and portrait Ball was known as "Red Cap" due to the red velvet hat he wore in a portrait painted by Jeremiah Theus in the 1740s. The portrait, housed at the Gibbes Museum of Art, depicts him as a well-established plantation owner. His economic success placed him among the influential planters of the Carolina Lowcountry, a region central to the colonial rice trade.

Military service In 1715, during the Yamasee War, Ball served as a captain in the South Carolina militia. His role involved defending settlements along the Cooper River from attacks by Native American groups reacting to colonial encroachment and economic exploitation.

Legacy and death Ball amassed substantial wealth, largely through rice cultivation and enslaved labor. His will, written in 1750, detailed extensive landholdings and hundreds of enslaved individuals. He died in September 1751, leaving a legacy that continued through his descendants, who remained prominent figures in South Carolina's plantation society.