Black Loyalist

Nathaniel 39 is the head of an extended family of Snowballs which include his brother Timothy, his wife Violet and several children. He travels on L'Abondance with his wife and children: Mary, Nathaniel Jnr and China. In the Birchtown Muster there are more children - Jane, Jenny and Godfrey. In the same company as his immediate family is Diana Snowball, who is not in the BON, and probably the wife of his brother Timothy who is absent in the muster.

The origin of the name Snowball is a mystery. Timothy Snowball is noted in his entry as being 'mulatto', suggesting a white father. This may be clue to the unusual surname. Snowball is not a name found in either Norfolk or Princess Anne Conty. It is mostly to be found in the north of England. He could be a white mariner, like the father of Betty Hemings.

'Mrs Shrewstin' is Nathaniel's stated former owner. Shrewstin is not in the tithables for Norfolk but 'Thruston' is. His original owner was in fact Edward Thruston - a prominent merchant who came originally from Boston. Like his brother he was originally owned by Thruston and will with his mother and siblings to Elizabeth Thruston who later married Cornelius Calvert in 1772. This is the origin of the 'Mrs Shrewstin' that Nathaniel says was his owner as Elizabeth Thruston lists a 'Natt' in her tithables. After the wedding of Elizabeth Thruston and Calvert, Nathaniel is listed in his tithables. Both Nathaniel and Timothy are later named in Cornelius Calvert's claims against the British. This Calvert ownership also connects the Snowballs to James Thompson whose household in Birchtown includes a child with the surname Snowball.

The Snowball family all relocated to Sierra Leone in 1791, where Nathaniel Sr and Jr, and Timothy, were involved in resistance to the colonial authorities.