Person talk:William Ward (17)

Parental Theories [10 February 2010]

• That he was son of Edward. ^{Citation needed}
• That he was born 15 May 1603 in Yorkshire, Warington, England, son of Johannes Edward WARDE (b: 19 March 1559 or 1560 in Braunston, Rutland, England) and Marie HATTON (b: about 1565 in London, England). See Charles Heggen's WorldConnect entry. Jillaine contacted Charles Heggen in Feb 2010 concerning the origins of this information:

"This came from a 'COUSIN', Ed Bartlett, who was a Ward but was adopted hence ended up with Ward surname. He has passed away but all his genealogy research is in the library in Independence, Missouri.  I did not note where he had obtained that info, but I met him years ago and he was a real "stickler" for verifying his genealogy information he recorded. I hope this helps."

Town of Origin Theories [10 February 2010]

• William Richard Cutter in New England Families (p. 1422) writes "born in England in 1603, probably in Yorkshire."
• But Andrew Ward in his 1851 genealogy of Ward writes: "Information already received, renders it improbable that he came from Yorkshire, although it is quite certain, that his early ancestors were of that place." Instead, Ward points out that Chester is a more likely origin:

"From 1349, a succession of eleven generations of one family is found there [Chester], in each of which, the name of the head of the family was, in the first, Ralph; in the second, Richard; in the third, John; in the fourth, John; in the fifth, Richard, in the sixth, William; in the seventh, Thomas; in the eight, Thomas; in the ninth, John; in the tenth, Richard; and in the eleventh, Thomas, who had sons John and William-- these were prevailing names in the early families descended from William of Sudbury, and are yet retained to a considerable extent in the families of his descendants to the present time."

He also proposes Durham as a possible site.

All of these places are in the northern half of England. (See this map of English counties. Chester is just south of Liverpool. And nowhere near London where the 1624 marriage of a William Ward and Elizabeth Philippus takes place.

The Wives of William Ward [9 February 2010]

That there was more than one wife [8 February 2010]

His 1686 will says :

Item unto all myne own children (vizt) all my sonns and daughters which I have by y former wife and all That I have survive me by my present wife I give twenty shillings a piece...

The names of each wife [10 February 2010]

Wife #1 [10 February 2010]

1. Eleanor (Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 but with a "?" by her name)
2. Elizabeth Philippus (Allegations for marriage licences issues by the Bishop of London, volume 26, page 168: "1626. May 1 William Ward, St Sepulchre's, London, Leather seller, & Elizabeth Phillippes, of St James, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, Spinster; at St James aforesaid." However, there is no evidence to connect this William Ward with he who emigrated to New England and was one of the first settlers of Sudbury and then Marlborough, MA. That said, the estimated birth years of his oldest children would fit with such a marriage.

Wife #2

1. We know that his second, child-bearing wife was named Elizabeth from his 1686 will which names her-- Elizabeth. But this does not provide her maiden name.
2. Elizabeth Storey (Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 but with a "?" by her last name)

Which wife emigrated with him to New England?

All sources seem to claim that he emigrated with his second wife, Elizabeth, but on what basis?

Which children were born to which wife? [8 February 2010]

We know that William had a total of 13 children. (See their person pages for sources of this.)

That his will (above) refers to sons (plural) and daughters (plural) indicates that he had at least two sons and two daughters by a previous wife, AND that they are all still alive at the time he wrote his will. (Note that he refers to surviving children by his present wife-- i.e., that at least one of her children had died by the will's writing.)

Children listed chronologically by birth date (estimated or recorded):

1. John, b. abt. 1626; m. Hannah Jackson; lived in Newton;
2. Joanna, b. 1628; m. Abraham Williams; lived in Marlb.;
3. Obadiah, b. abt 1632; m. Mary; resided in Marlb.
4. Richard, b. abt 1635, m. Mary Moore; res. in Sud.
5. Deborah, b. abt 1637; m. John Johnson; moved to Marlb.
6. Hannah, b. abt. 1639; m. Abraham Howe; lived in Marlb.
7. William, b. Jan 22, 1640; m. and resided in Marlb.
8. Samuel, b. Sep 24, 1641; m. Sarah Howe; res. in Marlb.
9. Elizabeth, b. April 14, 1643
10. Increase, b. 22 Feb 1644; m and res in Marl.;
11. Hopestill, b. Feb 24, 1646; m. James Woods; lived in Marlb.
12. Eleazar, b. abt. 1649; m. Hannah Rice. He resided in Sud and was slain by the Indians upon the highway between Marlboro and Sudbury abt. April 20, 1676.
13. Bethia, b. abt. 1658; m. Daniel Rice, of Marlb.

IF the birth order above is correct, then at least the following were children by his first wife:

• John
• Joanna
• Obadiah
• Richard
• Deborah

IF it is correct that he emigrated with his second wife, then children #7-13 (most of whom are recorded as being born in Sudbury or Marlborough) must have been by his second/last wife, Elizabeth.

That leaves child #6 (Hannah) as the only questionable daughter (if, indeed, the first wife did not emigrate). The 1925 William Ward Genealogy puts forth that she was likely born in Sudbury (p. 65).

Children listed in order bequested in father's will:

1. John
2. Increase
3. (grandchild:) "William sonne of my sonne Obediah"
4. Mary, former wife of his son Richard, as well as their two children, Obediah and Lydia
5. Hannah, former wife of his son Eleazar, as well as their one daughter, Hannah
6. Samuel

His other children are not identified by name in his will.

Discussion of Sources

The William Ward Genealogy (1925) [11 February 2010]

Martyn, Charles,. The William Ward genealogy : the history of the descendants of William Ward of Sudbury, Mass., 1639-1925. New York: Artemas Ward, 1925. Source page.

This is also available at heritagequest.com. Plus the first ten chapters may be seen at [1]. Personally, I think the first four or five chapters are an example of the worst kind of genealogy there is, where the author admits he knows nothing about the origins of the person, and then spends four chapters providing filler on what life was like in places he can only guess that ancestor lived, and speculating what the ancestor might have been doing. The chapters in part two are much more worthwhile, being names and dates and provable facts, and since this seems to be the newest genealogy on William Ward, it is one of the first places to turn to for information this family. --Jrich 23:55, 31 January 2010 (EST)

Ward Family (1851)

Ward, Andrew Henshaw. Ward family : descendants of William Ward, who settled in Sudbury, Mass., in 1639 : with an appendix, alphabetically arranged, of the names of the families that have intermarried with them. Boston: S.G. Drake, 1851. Source page

See source page for critical excerpt about his origins.