Can anyone tell me anything about the old rifle I have?
It is a 44 cal rim fire marked        BALL & WILLIAMS
                                                Worcester Mass.

                                                MERWIN & BRAY AGTS
                                                    NEW YORK

The other side is marked              BALLARD PATENT
                                                   NOV 5 1861 
It is not in very good shape. There are no sights, the forarm is broken with 1/3 missing and the end cap is lead and I don't think it is  original.  The lower tang has been broken off and a new piece welded on sometime in the past. The octagon barrel still has rifling but is rough. It has an extractor lever in the rear of the forarm and a sling swivel on the butt stock but nothing on the front. The butt plate is crescent and comes up over the top of the stock like a Ruger #3. The lever, hammer,trigger and extractor work fine and years ago I fired some 44 rim fire shells in it with no problems. Is this rifle worth anything? I think it may have too many problems to fix back to original or could it be saved by rechambering and restocking. Or maybe with all the missing parts this would not be cost effective.
Thanks for your input.   
Robert White
 

I pretty much agree with Marlinguy. You SHOULDN'T rechamber to anything bigger. I shoot N-SSA and have seen some of the original civil war baalrds rechambered to .45 colt or some other .44 that have cracked frames. Often several welds to keep it in action! I love the old original ballards and have a couple in states similar to yours. I keep them around hoping to stumble across parts to put them back as close to original as I can. It is a SLOW process with those old guns. I have one clean all original that is probably what yours should be that I ocaisionly shoot with the .44 reloadable rimfire cases. Mine might be a bit later than yours as mine has the rimfire/percussion block on it. 
If you decide to unload it, I would be interested.
There are a couple guys who will convert the block to centerfire with a spring retracting firing pin, but personally would only consider this if going to a smaller, lighter round, like a .32 colt or S&W. The cost involved in getting it to a good point may make it more sensible to go a different route. But some of us are stubborn about a project, I am guilty of it. 
The fact is, they shot the heck out of the .44 and some .46 cals during the War. Can't say they didn't crack, they also weren't 130+ years old. 
I always recommend anyone interested in any Ballard to get the John Dutcher book on the subject. It may seem a bit pricey for a book, but I assure you, it is not.
MerwinBray