| Notes |
- From FindaGrave:
Not much is known of William Ward and his orgins except he was born in England. He got married to an unknown lady and they had five children. She died shortly after giving birth to their fifth child sometime in 1637. He met his second wife shortly after that and they began planning on moving to the colonies in America. In the spring of 1638, William, his second wife, and his 5 children from his first marriage arrived in Massachusetts. William joined a group of settlers that had petition for land grants in the area that would become Sudbury. He was farming his land in the fall of 1638 and Sudbury became official in the spring of 1639. His 6th child, Hannah, was born around this time. Besides being a founder of Sudbury William was a veteran of King Philip's War. Later he moved to Marlbourgh and kept his active political life in the community there and became a deacon of the first church established there.
Disputed origins: Despite much investigation, there is absolutely no evidence to link this William Ward of Sudbury to any Ward family in England. No wills or baptisms which match the known history of William Ward have ever been found. Specifically: He has been said to be the same as William Ward who married Elizabeth Phillips on 4 May 1626 at the parish of St. James, Clarkenwell. There is no evidence that this William is the same as William of Sudbury other than them having the same name. There are reasons why this is very unlikely to be the correct identification. First, if their first son John Ward was born in 1626 as stated in the Newton Vital Records, then it is unlikely that he is the son of a couple married in May of 1626 - the dates don't work. Second, the baptismal parish records for Clarkenwell have been published and they do not show the baptisms for any of the children of William Ward. He has been said to be a son of "Mr. Johannes Edward Warde" by his wife Marie Hatton. This is an assertion copied from the old LDS ancestral files. No such person by this name ever existed and there is certainly no evidence to back this up. Ward was an extremely common name found throughout England. His ancestry, if ever found, will undoubtedly be discovered by finding the baptisms of his 5 children known to have been born in England. This has not yet happened.
First wife: The name of his first wife is unknown. The will of William Ward refers to children "which I have by my former wife" and "all my sonns and daughters which I have by my former wife." This daughters in the plural implies that the first five and maybe six children were by his first wife. As discussed above, it is unlikely that she is the Elizabeth Phillips who married a William Ward at Clarkenwell. Torrey, in his New England Marriages Prior to 1700, lists for William Ward's first wife "Eleanor? __?__" Those sources were checked and discredited. Name of second wife: From baptismal records and the will of William Ward it is known that his wife's name was Elizabeth. However, her LNAB remains unknown. There is no evidence which conclusively proves her name or origins. Specifically: Elizabeth Phillips - As mentioned above, a William Ward m. Elizabeth Phillips in 1626. Since we know William Ward had several children by an unknown first wife, this marriage cannot possibly be the marriage to his second wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth Storey - The Newton Genealogy published in 1915 stated that William Ward's second wife was named Elizabeth Storey. This apparently the earliest known reference for this name and has been copied and spread accross many secondary references. No evidence has ever been found to support this LNAB. Torrey, in his New England Marriages Prior to 1700, lists for William Ward's second wife "Elizabeth "[Storey?]"." Seventeen of the 18 sources were examined and only 2 gave the name Elizabeth Storey. One was the Newton Genealogy and the other gave just (Story?) and was likely following the Newton Genealogy. Elizabeth Hall - A number of online trees show her as Elizabeth Hall. All of them are unsourced and this name does not occur in any printed reference. There is no evidence whatsoever to support this LNAB. Elizabeth Whale - At least one profile on WikiTree (and several others on the internet) called his second wife Elizabeth Whale, daughter of Jonas Whale and Frances Radley. However, Jonas Whale (d. 1621) did not have a daughter Elizabeth.
Incorrect birth date: As his origins are completely unknown, there is no foundation for any specific birth date. Previous profiles merged with this one suggested he was baptized on May 15, 1603 in Warrington, Lancashire or May 15, 1603 in Bolton Percy, Yorkshire. There is no evidence to show that William Ward of Sudbury was either born on this date or at these locations.
Immigration: He is occasionally said to have immigrated aboard the ship Diligent which arrived in Boston on 10 August 1638. However, he does not appear on the constructed passenger list of the Diligent. Furthermore, all the passengers of the Diligent were from Hingham, Norfolk and destined to settle in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is very unlikely that William Ward and his family arrived aboard this ship.
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- 1687
