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Major William Ballard Lenoir (1775–1852; also given as 1781-1855) was the eldest son of General William Lenoir and his wife, Ann Ballard. Born in North Carolina, the younger Lenoir moved in 1810 with his wife, Elizabeth Avery Lenoir (daughter of Waightstill Avery), to a tract of land in Tennessee, near modern-day Lenoir City, Tennessee (named for the father and son), which originally had been awarded to General Lenoir by the state of North Carolina for service in the Revolutionary War.
The younger Lenoir was active in business and in Tennessee politics, serving a term in the state House of Representatives from 1815 to 1817. He established the Lenoir Manufacturing Company in 1817, and built several mills in what is now Lenoir City, including the Lenoir Cotton Mill. His son, Isaac, also served in both houses of the Tennessee legislature.