Events
Date of Baptism: 13 June 1800.
Date of Baptism: 7 September 1800.
Place of Baptism: Peebles, Peeblesshire.
The birth and baptism are recorded in the parish register.
Date of Death: unknown.
Place of Death: unknown.
Relationships
Father: Thomas McDonald.
Mother: Jean Campell.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse or partner: William Stewart.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Robert Ward. Married 31 July 1825 in Peebles.
The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
William Stewart (born about 1819 in Peebles - died 10 May 1878 in Dalkeith, Midlothian) married Mary McKay in 1850 in Peebles. Had a child with Agnes Fotheringham.
John Ward (born about 1825 in Peeblesshire) married Mary Bryce 9 February 1851 in Edinburgh.
Agnes Ward (born about 1830 in Manor, Peeblesshire) married William Monaghan 22 November 1858 in Peebles.
Jane Ward (born about 1834 in Peeblesshire - die 27 January 1865) married John Ketchin 11 February 1855 in Traquair, Peeblesshire.
Mary Ward (born about 1835 in Manor, Peebleshire)
Robert Ward (born about 1837 in Peebleshire)
Nicholas Ward (born about 1841 in Peebles).
Peter Ward (born about 1843 in Manor, Peebleshire)
Thomas Ward (born about 1848 in Manor, Peebleshire)
Evidence
from the Peebles register:
1825:
Robert Ward Labourer in Peebles & Jean McDonald daughter of Tho.s McDonald Labourer there, gave in their names to be proclaimed in order to marriage, which was done once on the 31 July & twice the following Sunday & no objection offered why the same may not be solemnized.
from the 1841 census:
Manor, Upper Clack
Robert Ward, male, 35, born Ireland, Ag Lab
Jane Ward, female, 35, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
John Ward, male, 15, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
Agnes Ward, female, 10, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
Jane Ward, female, 8, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
Mary Ward Ward, female, 5, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
Robert Ward, male, 3, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
Nicholas Ward, female, 3m, born Peeblesshire, Scotland
from the 1851 census:
Manor, Glack
1851:
Robert Ward, head, 41, born Ireland, Farm Labourer
Jane Ward, wife, 42, born Peebles, Peeblesshire, Wife of Labourer
Robert Ward, son, born Manor, Peeblesshire, Scholar
Nicholas Ward, daughter, 10, born Manor, Peeblesshire, Farm Labourer’s Daur (scholar)
Peter Ward, son, 8, born Manor, Peeblesshire, Farm Labourer’s Daur (scholar)
Thomas Ward, son, 3, born Manor, Peebleshire
Commentary
Jane’s parentage:
The father of Jane/Jean is recorded in the 1825 entry in the Peebles register for Jane’s marriage as “Tho.s McDonald Labourer there [i.e. in Peebles]”. Only one baptism of a Jean McDonald took place in Peebles in the period, in 1800, where the parents are recorded as Thomas McDonald and Jean Campbell. The female name “Nicholas” given to one of Jane’s daughters is additional corroboration, as Thomas and Jean had a daughter Nicholas, and Nicholas was not a common name in the area (only 8 recorded baptisms in Peeblesshire in the decades around 1800, compared with several hundred Marys and more than 1000 Janes.)
Jane’s relationship with William Stewart:
I am identifying the Jane McDonald who married Robert Ward with the Jane McDonald who had at least one child with William Stewart in Peeblesshire (William, born about 1819). The younger William’s parents were identified by his daughter in his death registration as William Stewart and Jane McDonald and his age at death gave an implied birth date of 1817 (Other evidence suggests 1819 or 1822). William’s daughter gave his birthplace as Peebles. There does not seem to be more than one Jane McDonald in the area in the appropriate period, and there is additional corroborrating evidence: the younger William Stewart named one of his daughters Nicholas; and a documented descendant of the Nicholas McDonald who I am arguing is the sister of the Jane McDonald of this page shares significant amounts of DNA with me and two other documented descendants of William Stewart (10 cM, 24 cM, and 24 cM). The paper-trail trees leave little doubt that the connection is through the McDonalds.
There is another probable DNA connection through Jane’s mother Jean Campbell, but in that case, the tree is not as well documented and so the relevance of the shared DNA is not certain.
References
Ancestry.com. 1841, 1851 Scotland Census [database on-line].
Parish register for Peebles at FamilySearch.org [digital images