Named for his maternal uncle, David McCarroll, Sr. (1826-1869). Named for his first-cousin, Civil War soldier, Cpl. Jesse James Ball. Jesse's father, Rev. Lewis B. Ball, and David's father, Milton were brothers. Jesse, a teenager, and his identical twin uncles, Milton and Clinton, aged 36, all enlisted in the Tennessee Cavalry in 1862 -- when David was a one-year-old infant. Jesse never returned from war, dying of typhoid fever in Nashville.

David's older brother, James E. Ball, married Polly Anna Starnes in 1875. The Starnes' family homestead was at Romeo, Greene County -- 26 miles away from the Ball homestead at New Canton, Hawkins County. While visiting his brother in Romeo, teenage David met Polly Ball's young niece, Rebecca "Betsy Jane" Starnes. David's paternal uncle, Rev. Lewis B. Ball performed rites of matrimony for the couple, Rebecca Jane, age 16, and David, who turned 18.

Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950
Name David Jesse Ball
Event Date 23 Jan 1879
Event Place Greene, Tennessee
Spouse's Name Betsy Jane Starnes
Solemnized by Rev. Lewis B. Ball, Minister of the Gospel, New Lebanon Baptist Church, Lost Mountain, Tennessee.

By the Jun. 1, 1880 Census, David Jesse, age 19, was back living and working on his parents' farm at New Canton. His wife, Rebecca Ball, age 18, resided with her grandmother, Elizabeth Starnes at her home in Romeo, 26 miles away. The couple divorced by 1886, the union having been apparently childless.

Jun. 1, 1880: 16th District, Hawkins, Tennessee
Melton Ball Self 53 Tennessee, farmer, cannot write
Luisia Ball Wife 53 Tennessee, keeping house
Rebecca Ball Daughter 23 single Tennessee, keeping house
Mahalia Ball Daughter 15 Tennessee
Sarah Ball Daughter 12 Tennessee
M E Ball Daughter 9 Tennessee
David Ball Son 19 Tennessee, married farmer

1880: District 11, Romeo, Greene, Tennessee
Elizabeth Starnes, 64 widow, keeping house
Rebecca J. Ball, 18 married granddaughter, works in house