My family seems to have originated from Essex. There are a number of groupings of SAWARD families in the county and at least one branch migrated to Hertford Hertfordshire UK. Various other families seem to have migrated to London - my branch is amongst these. I have not found any trees or other researchers looking into what appears to be my tree, nor have I found the "Adam" Saward who presumably founded the Essex groupings.

The furthest back I have been able to trace my paternal family is a Samuel Saward b 1767 in Eastwood. There is a grey area surrounding one of his grandsons where there is inconsistency in names (Cornelius or John) and where birth records do not seem to show up at all and census and marriage cert data do not quite match. Similar problems arise with Cornelius/John's marriage(s) and children. Apart from my gf and one of his sisters most of Cornelius/John's children as shown in the censuses of 1871 (head of family John) and 1881 (head of family Cornelius Sayward - the only time it was spelt that way)seem to have disappeared without trace

At least one Saward - James Townsend Saward or Jim the Penman - was transported to either Tasmania or Australia, and others probably emigrated there. James Townsend Saward was a notorious forger whose day job was as a barrister. He was also implicated in the original Great Train Robbery (a consignment of bullion disappeared from a train between london Bridge and Paris) because it is believed he fenced some or all of the loot.

There are a large number of Sawards down under.