More information on my Ward Lines

In the following photo is a drawing of the "Ward Family Crest" It belongs to the English Wards who were planted in Bangor, County Down in Ireland during the Autumn of 1649 by Oliver Cromwell.

James Ward, the patriarch of our Ward line was disinherited and his property sold when he converted to the Presbyterian faith. The bill of sale for his land sits in a glass case in Dublin castle. This much I have researched and been able to document.

the next photos are of Castle Ward the Ancestral home of the Viscount of Bangor

it is clear that work began in 1761 and lasted until 1767. It was commissioned by Bernard Ward, later first Viscount Bangor (1719-81), whose family first settled in the area around 1570 when they built the original Castle Ward - a tower house which stands in the farmyard close to the shore. This castle was replaced in 1710 by a new mansion constructed a short distance north west by Bernard's father, Judge Michael Ward (1683-1759) - a remarkable figure who achieved great wealth through marriage and business acumen. His house no longer stands, but much of its surrounding formal landscape survives, notably the impressive Temple Water dug in the 1720s. Bernard proved to be no less energetic than his father and began creating a 'naturalistic' landscape park as a setting for his new house before his father's death in 1759 - no doubt encouraged by his wife Lady Anne Bligh, daughter of the first Earl of Darnley . Work on the house was well underway when Mrs Delany visited in July 1762 and expressed concern that its magnificent setting 'should not be judiciously laid out. He wants taste and Lady Anne is so whimsical that I doubt her judgement. If they do not do too much they can't spoil the place for it hath every advantage from nature that can be desired.' The architect's identity remains a mystery - it is generally accepted that he was not Irish but could have been any one of several dozen competent architects operating in England at that time. His plan was a rectangle with semi-octagonal bays at each end, the façades being built of Bath stone which Bernard had used when erecting Lady Anne's Temple around 1750. Contrary to popular mythology, Bernard and his wife worked closely together on the design of the house; indeed, there is every reason to suppose that Bernard thoroughly approved of the Gothick style, particularly as it gave substance to the name Castle Ward. Furthermore, Lady Anne never left her husband as is often claimed but remained with him at Castle Ward until his death in 1781. After Bernard's death the estate was placed in Chancery due to the insanity of Nicholas, the second Viscount. Nicholas continued to live at Castle Ward while the third son, Robert, received Bangor Castle and a substantial estate. Edward, the second son, moved into Castle Ward as guardian to his brother and was given an allowance for the upkeep of the house and demesne. This arrangement might have worked had Robert not been one of the three people appointed to manage the revenue of the estate. Robert was jealous of Edward and refused to increase the allowance after it proved insufficient. Edward, who had little money of his own, sank increasingly into poverty and resorted to farming the park to make money. At one stage he even tried selling bread at the gate, and eventually died a broken man in 1812. His elder brother Nicholas lived on until 1827 by which time Robert had removed most of Castle Ward's contents to Bangor, leaving only the ancestral portraits, while the demesne remained in a state of ruin. Much of the present decoration and furnishing consequently dates from the 1830s when Edward's son - Edward Southwell, the third Viscount (1790-1857) - refurbished the interior. The only subsequent work of note was carried out by the fourth Viscount (1827-81) when the main entrance was moved to the eastern bay in 1870 and a porch was added. The old hall, later converted into a music room, is richly decorated with a screen of scagliola Doric columns, a fine marble fireplace and a late nineteenth-century parquet floor, which replaced the original seen by Sir James Caldwell on his visit in 1722 and referred to as 'inlaid with oak and mahogany and diced and kept smooth with rubbing and beeswax that you are in danger of slipping every moment'. The most remarkable feature of the room is the plasterwork, especially the decorative festoons of musical instruments and gardening tools which were added to the earlier more formal work in 1828 by a local plasterer, Graham of Dundrum, who cut corners by incorporating real objects into the design. two rooms flanking the old hall are also in the classical style. Of these the library is not an especially distinguished room, though it does contain one of William Ashford's finest landscapes - a view from the temple across the park at Castle Ward, date 1785. The dining-room, which Sir James Caldwell rightly observed was 'quite too small for such a house', is an attractive room with painted, grained and gilded panelling and has a chimney-piece with a charming relief panel of Ceres and Cupid frolicking amongst vine leaves. Above the fireplace is an unusual portrait group painted at the Bishop's Palace at Dromore, probably by Thomas Robinson, while also in the room is a portrait of poor Edward Ward attributed to Romney. The main Gothick room in the house is the saloon in the centre of the east front - most striking for the rich quality of its decoration, with a ceiling of fretting and quatrefoils, pointed doors and an overmantel with battlemented top. The adjacent sitting room or boudoir is the most astonishing room of the house because of its spectacular ceiling with huge udder-like pendentives, which according to a contemporary letter are based on Henry VII's chapel at Westminster Abbey. This room lies adjacent to the main staircase, notable for its elegant wrought-iron balustrade with S-scrolls of the type popularised by Sir William Chambers. It occupied a bay in the middle of the north-west faÁade and gives access to the bedroom floor, the mid Victorian entrance porch and the basement. On their way out through the basement, visitors will find a special room dedicated to the memory of Mary Ward (1827-69), one of the most fascinating people associated with Castle Ward. Born Mary King, the daughter of a rector in Offaly, she was a botanical artist and outstanding naturalist who published a number of books connected with the microscope. She married Henry Ward (1828-1911) in 1854 but died before he succeeded his brother as fifth Viscount in 1881. With the death of her eldest son Maxwell Ward, sixth Viscount Bangor (1868-1950), Castle Ward was given in lieu of death duties to the National Trust who have continued to maintain the house in excellent condition. Located 1 mile west of Strangford on the Downpatrick Road (A25). NGR: J 573494.
This is the site of the castle ward work house . where paupers, orphans, and political prisoners were sold into white bondage to repay thier real or imagined debts to society

Family legend says that to spite his father the Viscount for disowning him, James married Sarrah Nic na bhaird a daughter of the Mac an bhairds of Ui Maine. Shortly after bearing his third son Sarah died.

We then lose track of James untill his departure from County Down in 1729. He is listed on the passenger logs as a widdower traveling with his wife, three sons, and three grand sons.He landed in Philidelphia Pensylvania in 1730 and settled near Staunton, Virginia.

His second son William (aka Col. William Ward of Botentourt) from whom our line is decended settled in Black Lick, Wythe Co. Virginia.The original parchment deed for William's land, signed by James Monroe while governor of virginia, is in the possesion of Woodrow W. Thompson.

William's son David (aka the Indian fighter of the clinch) settled in the Clinch River Valley.

David's son John was first clerk of Taswell county Virginia and a represententive to the house of delegates in 1802, 1803, 1809, 1810 & 1811.

John's son Rufus is listed in the 1880 census for Mendocino County, California as Ward, R. M. Also listed are his wife Elizabeth and two servants: Jennette and Mary Jane.

Rufus's son James is also listed in the 1880 census for Medocino county, California. Also listed with him are his wife Amanda and 4 of his children
Lewis, Annie, Hallie & Guss
(my great grandfather Mack was the youngest and was not born till 1881)

During the American civil war, Amanda was interviewed by a news paper man at Sutter's Fort. The men were off fighting the war and the women were huddled together in the fort for protection. When she was asked if she were afraid that the indians would attack the fort while the men were away, she responded,"What have I got to fear? I know how to handle a gun!" I laughed at this unquenchabe spunk when I read the article because Amanda was a short woman, about 4'11", and the guns of those days were anything but small.

James and Amanda ran a saloon where they also assayed gold, sold mining equipment and provided "female companionship" to the lonely miners.

In 1898 Guss Ward, was in training a the presidio in San Francisco, California camping out on training exercises in the rain where he contracted pnuemonia and died.

The other members of our direct Ward line are either living or I have not placed more information on them out of respect for their living children and grand children.