He was born under the reign of King Charles I in c. 1629, who was later executed for high treason in January of 1649. Alexander Ballingall was the first known family member in which the family can be traced to the present day. Many of the parish registers only begin in 1691 therefore; a baptismal record does not exist for Alexander Ballingall. He appears to have been a resident of Kettle Parish, in the Kingdom of Fife in c. 1670 when his son, Thomas, was born and was a sometime tenant farmer in Clatto. He resided in the parish until his death at the age of 70 in the year of 1699.