Events
Date of Baptism: 4 April 1680.
Place of Baptism: Uttoxeter.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Burial: 21 February 1758.
Place of Burial:: Uttoxter, Staffordshire.
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: Anthony Ward.
Mother: Joan.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Mary.
See the Commentary section.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Thomas Ward (baptized 29 November 1710 in Uttoxeter).
Joshua Ward (baptized 29 November 1713 in Uttoxeter).
Rachel Ward (baptized 8 November 1716 and buried 11 November 1716 in Uttoxeter).
William Ward (baptized 1 January 1717/8 in Uttoxeter).
James Ward (buried 18 April 1720 in Uttoxeter).
Katherine Ward (baptized 3 December 1721 in Uttoxeter - buried 20 July 1804 in Stone, Staffordshire) married John Bradshaw 8 May 1748 in Milwich, Staffordshire.
Matthew Ward (baptized 24 October 1722 and buried 7 July 1723 in Uttoxeter).
Edward Ward (baptized 9 October 1724 in Uttoxeter).
William Ward (born 1 November 1729 and buried 17 November 1729 in Uttoxeter).
Mary Ward (baptized 13 September 1731 in Uttoxeter.
Evidence
from the Uttoxeter register:
April 1680
C Thomas son of Anthony Ward & his wife baptized the 4 day
1710, November
C Thomas the son of Thomas Ward & [blank] his Wife Baptized the 5th Loxley
1713, November
C Joshua The Son of Thomas Ward and his Wife Baptized the 29th Loxly
1716, November
C Rachall the Daughter of Thomas Ward of Loxly and Mary this Wife Baptized the 8th
B Rachall the Daughter of Thomas Ward of Loxly Buried the 11th.
1717, January
C William the Son of Thomas Ward of Loxley and Mary his Wife Bap: the 1st
1720, April
B James the Son of Thomas Ward Buryed the 18th
1721, December
C Katherine the daughter of Thomas Ward and Katherine his wife Baptized the 3d
1722, October
C Matthew the Son of Thomas Ward and Mary his Wife. Baptiz’d the 24th
1723, July
B Matthew the Son of Thomas Ward Buryed the 7th
1724, October
C Edward the Son of Thomas Ward & Mary his Wife Bap: the 9th.
1729, November
C William the Son of Thomas Ward the Son of Thomas Ward Born [sic] the 1th
Cert Wm the Son of Tho.s Ward the 17th
1731, September
C Mary the Daughter of Thomas Ward and Mary his Wife Baptized the 13th
1758, February
Cert Thomas Ward the 21st
1759, August
Cert Mary Ward Widow the 15th
The will of Thomas’s brother Anthony:
28 of September 1717
in the name of god amen I anthony ward being weak of body but of sound and perfect mind and memory thankes be to god for the same Item I will devise give and bequeave to my brother William Ward all my personall estate goodes and chattells and all things else whatsoever belonge to mee keeping and dis charg all my deepes and funerall Charges and all such legaces as I will devis give and bequeave and not otherwayes Item I will devise give and bequeave to my mother Joane Ward 30 shillinges to be pad her quarerley duering her Life Item I will devise give and bequeave to my broother John Ward teen poundes Item I will devise give and bequeave to my sister Margret Blount ten poundes but my sister Margret shall give such secuurete as my mother shall think fitt to pay my mother ten shillinges yearley duering by mother life or elce my executor to let out my sister Margret teen pound for the use of my mother duering my mother life and then to pay it to my sister Margret Item I will devise give and bequeave to my brother Thomas Ward teen poundes Item I will devies give and bequeave to my brother George Ward teen poundes Item I will devise give and bequeave to Ruth [Nereld?] twenty poundes Item I will devies give and bequeave to my brother William Wardes 2 Children John and William Ward five poundes apiece and the use of the money to be towardes the paing their School wages I do Chuse and a point my brother William Ward to be my executor of this my last will and testament and Revoak all other wills and testaments by mee maid to this present day in witness here unto I have put my hand and seale the day and yeare first above writtne
It is my will that none of the aforesaid giftes shall be com dew of a whole yeare and a day
Anthony Ward
His marke
Wm Fowers
Gorge Ward
his mark
Rodger Wildon
his mark
Inventory: Anthony Ward of Uttoxeter Woodlands … Batcheler
Commentary
Thomas’s parentage:
A Thomas Ward was baptized in Uttoxeter in 1680 (parents Anthony and Joan). There appears to have been only one Thomas Ward having children in Uttoxeter in the following decades. This Thomas had several children baptized in Uttoxeter between 1710 and 1731. His wife was named Mary in five of the baptism entries and was unnamed in three. In one baptism entry, in 1721 for a daughter Katherine, it appears that Mary was misnamed Katherine (Parish register entries were typically copied from sheets of paper where the information was originally recorded, and it happened fairly often during the copying process that the clerk would mistakenly repeat a daughter’s name instead of copying the mother’s name correctly.)
There is additional evidence tying Thomas to Anthony and Joan. Anthony and Joan’s son Anthony, in his 1717 will, named his brother Thomas, showing that Thomas was still around in 1717.
Another piece of evidence is that Katherine’s son George Bradshaw in his will names his “cousin” John Lees of Sandon. After investigating the two families, it appears that there is only one connection that could account for the “cousin” relationship: John Lees’s grandmother was Mary Ward, who was the daughter John Ward, another son of Anthony and Joan Ward who was also mentioned in the 1717 will. Assuming that Thomas was Anthony and Joan’s son, that would make George Bradshaw and John Lees second cousins once removed. This is somewhat distant, but there is no way to make the relationship closer (or as close) without assuming that Thomas is the son of Anthony and Joan.
Taken together, I think the evidence that Thomas was the son of Anthony and Joan is pretty good.
References
Staffordshire parish registers. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk.
Will of Anthony Ward of Uttoxeter. Proved 1717 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk.
Will of George Bradshaw of Cullomoor, farmer. Proved 1824 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry, [digital images on Findmypast.uk, accessed 23 December 2015].