Thomas Ward
Events
Date of Baptism: 4 April 1680.
Place of Baptism: Uttoxeter.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Death: unknown.
Place of Death: unknown.
Relationships
Father: Anthony Ward.
Mother: Joan.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Katherine.
Katherine is named in the baptism record of her daughter.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Katherine Ward (baptized 3 December 1721 in Uttoxeter - buried 20 July 1804 in Stone, Staffordshire) married John Bradshaw 8 May 1748 in Milwich, Staffordshire.
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
from the St Peter ad Vincula (Stoke) register:
1716
May 21 Thomas Ward et Catherina Astbury
1718
Nov. 15. Johannes Ward fil’ Thomae et Catherinae:
1720
Decem’ 11 Mary Ward of Thomas and Catherine.
1721
Dec. 4 Mary Ward Inf.
1722
Sept. 22 Mary Ward of Thomas and Catherine
1724.
July 21 Catherine Ward Uxor
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
On Thomas’s parents:
There are three Thomases who need to be distinguished.
One (ThomasA) lived in Loxley. He was married to Mary. They had several children baptized between 1710 and 1731. This Thomas died in 1758 and his wife in 1759.
Another (ThomasB) was married to Katherine, and had just one daughter baptized at Uttoxeter: Katherine, 3 December 1721. It is conceivable that “Katherine” for the mother here was written in error for “Mary” here, repeating the child’s name, but it is probably more likely to be accurate.
This appears to be a different man from the one (ThomasC) who married Katherine Astbury in 1716 in Stoke-on-Trent. ThomasC had a daughter buried in Stoke on 4 December 1721, the day after a daughter was baptized in Uttoxeter, 11 miles away, to ThomasB. ThomasC also had a daughter baptized in Stoke 22 September 1722, rather soon after Katherine was baptized to ThomasB.
A Thomas Ward was baptized in Uttoxeter in 1680 (parents Anthony and Joan). This Thomas was mentioned in his brother Anthony’s 1717 will, along with his other siblings John Ward, William Ward, George Ward, and Margaret Blount. I believe this was ThomasB for these reasons:
ThomasB’s daughter Katherine had a son, George Bradshaw, who named his “cousin” John Leese of Sandon in his 1824 will. John Leese was the grandson of Mary Ward, a daughter of the John Ward named in Anthony’s will. Investigation suggests that the relationship between George Bradshaw and John Leese must be through Mary Ward and Katherine Ward. (See Katherine Ward’s page for more evidence on the Leese-Ward connection.) If they were first cousins, then George Bradshaw and John Leese would be second cousins once removed. If Katherine and Mary’s relationship was more remote, it seems unlikely that George would have described John Leese as his “cousin” in 1824.
ThomasA was of Loxley. The elder Anthony Ward (died 1704), and his sons Anthony, John, and William, are all recorded as living at Woodlands. ThomasB’s residence is unrecorded. It is conceivable that a son of the elder Anthony Ward could be living at Loxley, since his mother Margaret Gamble had property there. But there are other Wards recorded as living at Loxley in the period (Matthew Ward, who had children baptized starting in the 1680s and died in 1703; and Elizabeth Ward, who married John Kendrick in 1703), who do not seem to have been Anthony’s children, and it seems likely that ThomasA was related to them rather than being a son of the elder Anthony.
For these reasons, I give Anthony and Joan as the parents of the Thomas Ward of this page.
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].