Wards in Dorset
wasmart
My Wards seem to have originated in Dorset. I am specifically looking for David Ward and Charles Ward who both say they were born in Chetnole, Dorset about 1773. I believe they were possibly brothers. Does anyone have connections to either of these?
I also have connections to James Ward born 1804 in Cornwall,and sons who were Coast Guards in and around Cornwall, Devon, Kent and Dorset
Comments
warwickkellaway on 2017-04-28 02:48:38Hello wasmart
I do not think I can assist you greatly, but I have a Charles Ward who was the brother of my 2x great grandmother Sarah Ward. He was the 14th(!) child of William Ward and Catherine Witsey, but born c1829 (William was born c1781) - all a bit late.
Sarah married William Stokes, whose family lived in Leicestershire, some distance from Dorset. I do not know exactly where the Ward family lived, although it was presumably fairly close.
However they seem to have had large families, as Sarah and William brought out 9 children with them on the Randolf, one of the first four ships of the 1850 Canterbury Settlement (Christchurch).
They may well have originated in Dorset, and I seem to recall the name in the Dorset PRs. You suggest two locations, so they may have moved about, especially younger sons.
My own Kellaway family lived in Dorset from the early 1200s at least. And Chetnole was a family home. (I have an ONS.)
My first suggestion would be to look up the Chetnole OPC records in Google, however the records there are not complete, and there is no indication of any Wards.
Neighbouring village OPCs could help.
FamilySearch may have something - I got most of my basic research information from the LDS years ago. Be a little cautious though with Ancestry.
You may have tried these sources some time ago.
Best of luck.
Warwick