03.11.08
Posted in Ward Family, England, Connecticut at 8:49 am by canterbury5
Several of the “pro-Richard Warde + Homersfield” crowd cite a travelogue written by a man named Leverland, recounting his journey through Suffolk in the 1600’s, apparently including personal stories about some of the people he met. What do we know of Leverland? I have not yet found a copy of his manuscript, but I have found references to the same travelogue in other, non-Ward-family documents.
In “The Brights of Suffolk, England,” by J.B. Bright, Jun., Boston, 1858, it is noted at page 75 that:
A manuscript collection of notes by Zaccheus Leverland, schoolmaster of Framlingham in 1655, who made in that and the following year the tour of Suffolk, for the purpose of collecting genealogical and heraldic information, mentions the arms afterwards seen by Mr. Alan Cotton, in 1881, in the parlor of Talmach Hall . . . .
In “The History of Framlingham, In the County of Suffolk,” begun by “the late Robert Hawes, Gent.,” with “considerable additions and notes by Rober Loder,” Woodbridge, 1798, at page 207, we find the following:
Masters of Sir Robert Hitcham’s School: Zaccheus Leverland, gent., whose Arms were Gu. 2 Bends, Ar. was originally a clerk in the Herald’s Office, which being laid aside by the long rebellion, he came to Framlingham, and was admitted the First Master of this School. There are several of his MSS. relating to monuments, pedigrees, arms, and antiquities yet extant, whereof the majority part were formerly in the custody of Philip Candler late of Woodbridge, clerk, and some of them are quoted in this book. He died at Framlingham, and was buried in the fourth isle of the Chancel there, upon the 7th of May, 1677.
This would seem to confirm that Leverland himself at least existed, and did in fact write the manuscript referred to by the Ward researchers; unfortunately, much in the same way Jacobus failed to properly cite whatever work of Banks he was using, the Ward researchers have failed to properly point to which of Leverland’s extant works contains the alleged references to Andrew Ward(e). If these exist, however, they should be locatable and verifiable, at least as to their own contents.
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03.07.08
Posted in Ward Family, England, Connecticut at 9:47 am by canterbury5
I had planned on wrapping this up today, but last night I managed to find a relevant selection from another source. The “Powers-Banks Ancestry, Traced in All Lines to the Remotest Date Possible,” by Wm. H. Powers, Ames, Iowa, 1921, shows up in a variety of charts as a source. At pages 210 and 211 we find the following:
THE WARD LINE. At the very outset is encountered a tangle involving the Shermans. It is said, though no documents are cited, that Andrew Ward married Hester Sherman. If he did there is probably little weight in the J.H. Lea [Footnote: New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 44, p. 119] that Andrew Ward was from Northampton; for the Shermans belonged to Essex and in that vicinity we find the Wards from whom it has been customary to derive Andrew. Lea’s contention is based on a will of Richard Ward of Foxton, dated 17 February, 1639(40), wherein he mentions his brother Andrew and other brothers and sisters, and also Thomas Dudley, governor of New England, with whom, Lea says, Andrew Ward was on terms of friendship. The pedigree of this Ward family had been recorded in 1618(19). The question has been discussed in various issue of the Transcript.
Accepting, however, the marriage to Hester Sherman, we turn our attention to Essex. In the adjoining county to the north, Suffolk, we find a Sir Richard Ward of Homersfield about the middle of the sixteenth century. Richard was the son of Thomas, his mother a daughter of Dr. John Hare [Footnote: John Hare LL.D. died 1526; he was son of Nicholas, a grandson of John.].
The Hares were well known, Sir Nicholas of Homersfield being a judge, 1557, and traced their family through twelve generations. Richard Ward died old, the lord of Gorleston Manor, leaving by will in 1598 his property to five sons, the fifth of whom was Andrew, his share being 333[pounds sterling]. The Gorleston Manor had come into the family from Richard’s wife, the daughter of Richard Gunville, said to have been the same family as the founders of Gonville College. The son Andrew was born about 1572 and is probably to be identified with the Andrew Ward buried at St. Michael’s, Cornhill, London, 23 January, 1615. At the same place was buried Ralph Ward, probably the brother mentioned in the will of Richard. It is assumed that the immigrant Andrew was the son of the Andrew who died in London, 1615. Confirmatory of this is quoted from the manuscript of a journey through Suffolk in 1657 by Mr. Leverland: “Descendants of Andrew Ward, son of Richard of Homersfield, were in New England.”
One of the things I love about this hobby is the hunt. I would like to wrap this journey up, but I think the hunt requires me to parse out at least two more threads before I do. Much of the support of the George K. Ward camp appears to go back to two sources: Horatio Ward, an American banker who lived in England in the early-mid 1800’s, and the Mr. Leverland who documented his tour of Suffolk in the 1600’s. We’ll head there next.
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03.06.08
Posted in Ward Family, England, Connecticut at 10:17 am by canterbury5
My breakdown of the conflicting reports of the existance of Richard Warde and the Gunvilles is almost finished and should conclude tomorrow. I continue today with another source referencing Richard:
In “The Visitation of London, anno domini 1633, 1634, and 1635″, made by Sr. Henry St. George, Kt, Richmond Herald, and Deputy and Marshal to Sr. Richard St. George, Kt., Clarencieux King of Armes, Edited by Joseph Jackson Howard, LL.D., F.S.A, London, 1883, Vol. II, p. 321, the entry for the Warde family includes the same coat of arms I have described over the last few days as appearing in other works, along with the following text:
These Armes were confirmed & the Creast granted by Robert Cooke Clarenceux 1593. The Armes of Gunville is to be quartered with Ward vidz. Argt on a cheueron Sa., 3 escallops or betweene two Cottises dansey Sa.” The page includes a brief genealogy showing “Richard Ward of Gorleston in Com. Suffolk” marrying “. . . da. & heire of . . . Gunuill of Gorelston in Com. Suff.,” yielding issue of “Henry Ward of Horsted in Com. Norfolke,” who in turn married “Anne da. of Tho. Croft of ffelmingham Com. Norfolke.” Issue of that union included “Richard Ward of Londong, eldest son now liuing 1634″ who married “Barbara da. of Henry Bufking of Gore Court Com. Kent,” and “Ann Wife to Will’m Ginn of London.”
Looking back to the the George K. Ward book, it must also be noted that he does, in fact, himself cite a source in addition to quoting the McClintock lecture (again in the “Historical” introduction):
The family belong to the nobility, including barons, lords, knights, etc. Horatio Ward, Esq., of the Andrew Warde line, in his valuable manuscript volume, has a score or more of these allied families living in the British Isles, including their respective coats of arms. Mr. Ward, who was a gentleman of wealth and culture, spent twenty or more years of his life in London, much of it being given to an assiduous search for the ancestors of Andrew Warde among the many families of that name in the United Kingdom. His researches led him to the conclusion that the American colonist of that name belonged to the Ward family living in Homersfield and Gorleston, Suffolk County, England. From a careful examination of his and other manuscripts, the compiler of this volume is led to believe that Andrew Warde, of Fairfield, Conn., was the grandson of Richard Ward, of Homersfield.
Now, I realize the in the same way Jacobus offers only a general citation to the work of Charles Banks for the proposition that Richard did not exist, George K. Ward is offering a general citation to the work of Horatio Ward for the proposition that Richard did exist. This is, in part, my point: it would be as much a mistake to accept the Jacobus assertion as it would be to accept the George K. Ward assertion, without more. As regards the latter, there is, as I have submitted over the last several days, at least a body of documentation to suggest that a collection of Ward researchers believed they had found something to verify that Richard the Gunvilles existed in Homersfield/Gorleston.
I will draw some additional conclusions tomorrow, and wrap this up with some observations of where to look next on this issue.
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03.04.08
Posted in Ward Family, England, Connecticut at 9:09 am by canterbury5
It should be noted that “The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633″ by Robert Charles Anderson is often cited as aligning with Jacobus, but it in fact merely quotes Jacobus and repeats the assertion without adding any authority to it. From Anderson, Vol. III, p. 1920-1921: “Early accounts of the origin of Andrew Ward claimed that the family was from Homersfield, Suffolk, but no evidence of the family has been found there. Jacobus suggested searching in the area of Dedham, Essex, since that was the home of Ward’s wife [FOOF 1:643-44]. Jacobus also noted a clue pointing to a Ward family of Faxton, Northamptonshire [NYGBR 44:119-21].”
Sources independent of those described over the last few days at least suggest the existence of a Richard Warde and Gunvilles in the area of Gorelston. See, for example, “The Perlustration of Great Yarmouth, with Gorleston and Southtown,” by Charles John Palmer, F.S.A., Vol. III, printed by George Nall, 182 King Street, Market Place, 1875. At page 316: “There is another manor in Gorelston called Bacons, because it was for centuries held by the illustrious Suffolk family of that name. It appears to have been subservient to the paramount Manor of Gorleston. In 1292 Sir John Bacon was lord; as was Sir Henry Bacon in 1335. John Spring, Esq., was lord temp. Henry VIII; and in 1547 Richard Gunville was lord, and with his descendants the manor continued until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when Henry Gunville dying s.p. passed it to his sister, Anne, who married Richard Ward, Esq.”
Palmer’s footnote to this passage reads as follows: “For an account of this family see vol. i, p. 257. In 1595 Richard Ward was ‘chiever,’ and did paie the whole rent without any helpers, because he could not fynd eny from lands out of his owne possession.’” This cross-referenced section in Volume I of Palmer’s “Perlustration,” at pages 256 and 257, indicates the following:
To the east of the last-mentioned house, fronting the south, and extending nearly as far as George street, is Quay house, for many years a residence of the Lacon family. Daniel Sheppard, merchant, sometime previous to 1670, rebuilt the messuage [sic] then standing on this site, and in that year he sold it to Thomas Osborne, who devised it to his grandson and heir, Thomas Ward. The latter, in 1738, conveyed it to James Ward, who in the previous year had married Catherine Evans of Bury St. Edmunds. He was a man of property, holding landed estates in Belaugh, Clotishall, Hoveton, and Horstead in Norfolk, and at Holton, Halesworth, Thradiston, Mutford, and Lowestoft in Suffolk. He devised the above-mentioned house to his son, James Ward, who filled the office of mayor in 1751. At that time the property extended to George Street (then called Middlegate street), and he let a portion of it, with the vaults, to Government for the purpose of a custom house, he himself being a collector of customs. Ward died by his own hand in 1765; and in his will devised this property to his son, James Ward of Bury St. Edmund’s, of whom it was purchased by Jon Lacon, Esq.”
The footnote for this passage, on page 257, shows an image of the traditional Ward family crest, similar to the crest reproduced on the Hamlin chart, with this text accompanying: “The Wards of Gorleston and Homersfield in Suffolk bore az., a cross between four eagles displayed arg.; and for a crest on a mount vert. a hind couchant arg. The above-named Jame Ward sealed with these arms, which had been confirmed to his ancestors by Robert Cook, Clarenceux, in 1593, a copy of which grant is in the possession of Mr. A. W. Morant. Neale Ward, his brother, resided at Bury St. Edmunds.”
The investigation continues tomorrow.
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02.29.08
Posted in Ward Family, Michigan, Connecticut at 10:37 am by canterbury5
Continuing from yesterday’s post:
The theme of this serious of posts is my conclusion that the Jacobus assertion that the Ward researchers have been duped as to the very existence of Richard Ward and Ann Gunville is suspect: the question has been the subject of a great deal of extensive research, and Jacobus’s claim that one researcher debunked all that research in some undocumented may or may not be true, but should not be be taken at face value. If Jacobus is to be believed, either a great number of dedicated researchers have been duped for a very long time, or there is some vast conspiracy of collusion at work. And it is not as if we are talking about a couple of researchers being duped over the last 50 or 60 years. There was for some time in existence the Andrew Ward Association, a familial association of researchers that would regularly meet to discuss and address such matters. It is from an address to such a meeting of that association that George K. Ward reproduces the selections from Emory McClintock that I have quoted over the last couple of days. This address took place on May 10, 1905. I will give you one final selection, as found in the George K. Ward book, before moving on to other sources:
Now, as regards Richard Ward, his will was probated in the Bishop’s Court in 1598. He gave to his son Henry all this lands in Horstead and Stoninghall, in Norfolk; to his son Richard all his lands, tenements, etc., in Metfield, Wethersdale, Menham, Sandcroft, Homersfield, St. Michaels and Flixton, in Suffolk, and all his remaining lands in Norfolk; to his son Andrew 333 pounds! He was succeeded by his son Henry Ward, lord of the manor, who was born in 1559 and died in 1645. He sold the manor to people of another name and moved to Norfolk, where the family continued for one or two generations, and then died without issue. So much for the family of Richard Ward, the father of Andrew Ward, and of whom our Andrew was doubtless the grandson.
We do not know that Richard Ward was the son of Thomas Ward, of Homersfield, in the northeast corner of Suffolk. Thomas Ward married the daughter of Dr. John Hare. Richard Ward married the daughter of Richard Gunville, of Gorleston, and his wife inherited the manor from her brother, Henry, whose widow died in 1580; and at his widow’s death it passed to the wife of Richard Ward. There is an old and famous family of Gonvilles, in Suffolk, and this family is believed to be related to them, because they have the same arms as the more illustrious Gonville family who founded Gonville College, and the names of some of the descendants are given in this statement; but the exact connection between the older Gonville family and the Gonville family of Gorleston is not directly traced, although a connection is plain from the arms.’
The nature of Jacobus’s assertion - it being entirely undocumented - leaves us not knowing what, if anything, the allegedly-debunking Col. Charles Banks looked at in drawing his conclusion that Richard and Gunvilles did not exist. McClintock was clearly relying on a primary source, relying on a secondary source, or completely fabricating the details above. Was Banks unable to find or confirm the source, and therefore concluded as to the latter? Is McClintock the allegedly “fraudulent genealogist” that Jacobus refers to? As there are references to Richard Warde of Homersfield that I have found going back at least thirty years before McClintock (which themselves reference even earlier works), it appears McClintock cannot be the the source of the alleged fraud, if there is one. I will share those sources with you next week.
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