Edward Ward (abt. 1631 - 1701)

Born about 1631 in Staffordshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 3 Aug 1701 at about age 70 in Himley, Staffordshire, England

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Biography

Edward Ward was a member of the aristocracy in England.

Edward Ward is Notable.

Edward Ward was born in Staffordshire, England.

Edward was born in about 1631 in Staffordshire, the eldest of 6 children of Humble Ward, the 1st Baron Ward of Birmingham and Frances Sutton, the heiress to the Dudley title. ^[1]

He married Frances Brereton, daughter of the Parliamentary general Sir William Brereton (date and place unknown, but it may have been in Cheshire). They had 6 children, three of whom married and had issue^[2]:

• John, baptised 10 November 1656 at St Thomas, Dudley, Worcestershire ^[3] [dvp 1675]
• William 1660-1692 m Frances Dilke of Maxstoke Castle (whose son, Edward, inherited his grandfather's titles, however he died of smallpox in 1704 and the titles passed to his son who was born after his death) ^[4]
• Ferdinando (d 1717) ^[5]
• Catherine (m 21 Nov 1683 Hon John Grey of Enville Hall) ^[5]
• Lettuce (dvp an infant) ^[5]
• Humbletta (m Thomas Porter) ^[5]

On the death of his father, Edward became the 2nd Baron Ward of Birmingham on 14 October 1670, and on the death of his mother in August 1697 Edward also inherited the title of the 7th Baron Dudley. ^{[4] [6] [7]}

In 1679 Edward Lord Ward, John Levett and Mary his wife, petitioned the House of Lords on behalf of Edward's grandson and heir William Ward, an infant. The petitioners asserted that Sir Thomas Brereton, the brother of Edward's wife Frances, who was "a man of weake understanding" was, in 1666 "when he was surprized in drinke" persuaded by "Master John Warren a councellour att law to seale and execute a deede of settlement of his estate" to himself for life, to his lady for life, "then to the issue of his body and for want of such issue the remainder to one Nathaniell Booth esquire and the heires of his body". It was asserted by the petitioners that Thomas had attempted many times to revoke the settlement and was told by John Warren that the deed could not be found and should therefore assume it had been destroyed. ^[8][9]

Edward died on 3 August 1701 at the age of 70 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Himley. ^[10]

Edward's Will was made on "the twentieth day of June in the thirteenth year of the reign of William the Third King of England" (1701) when he was "weak of body but of sound and disposing mind and memory". He requested that his body "be privately deposited in the vault at Himley", and he appointed his brother, William Ward and John Hodgetts of Corbyn Hall guardianship of his grandsons Edward and William and his granddaughter Frances. Edward inherited his grandfather’s titles and estate. The witnesses to his will are John Tandy, John Bates and James Davis. Two addendums are made to the Will, one on 13 July 1701 (witnessed by John Bates, Mary Dawson and James Davis) and one on 2 August 1701 - the day before his death - (witnessed by John Bates, Mary Dawson and James Davis), both of which instructed his Executors to make regular payments to Thomas Baskerville.^[11]

Research Notes

Himley Hall was a moated manor house owned by the Dudley family and one of its primary residences. King Charles I is said to have camped in the grounds on his way to the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Himley Hall became their primary residence following damage sustained by Dudley Castle during the Civil War. When John Ward inherited the house in 1740 it was raised to the ground and replaced by the classical Palladian house that stands there today. At the same time the village of Himley, together with the church of St Michael and All Angels were relocated, so they were at a more respectable distance to the main house. Capability Brown designed the new grounds. The church was re-erected on its new site in 1764. It is not known whether Edward Ward's grave was relocated with the church. The hall is now in the possession of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. ^[12]

The Ward family, particularly Edward's father, Humble, attempted to became as close as they could to those in power, and benefitted as much as they could from their association. Charles I granted Humble the title Baron of Birmingham. However, after the fall of Charles I Humble created strong ties with the Parliamentary General Sir William Brereton, by marrying Edward to Sir William's daughter Frances and one of his daughters to the son and heir of Sir William. During the Interregnum Humble also dropped use of his title "Lord" in order to please the Puritans and in 1656 he petitioned the Lord Protector as "simple Humble Ward". Following the Restoration he "stood forth as a zealous defender of regal absolutism". ^{[13] [14]}

Edward has an entry on Wikipedia. ^[15]

Sources

1. ↑ The History of the Dudley Family, Number 1, Author Dean Dudley published by Dean Dudley, Wakefield Mass. 1886, p. 114 https://archive.org/embed/historyofdudleyf01dudl (Accessed 21 November 2021)
2. ↑ North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000: "North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000"
   P > Plantagenet, Tudor, Stewart > The blood royal of Britain : being a roll of the living descendants of Edward IV and Henry VIII , k
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 14 December 2021)
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB85-FMZ : 18 September 2020), Edward Warde in entry for John Warde, 1656. (Accessed 21 November 2021)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} The Complete Peerage by G.E.C. Edited by the Hon, Vicary Gibbs, 2nd Ed, Vol IV, published in London by The St Catherine Press, Stamford Street, SE, 1916, p484 https://archive.org/details/completepeerageo04coka/page/484/mode/2up?q=dudley (Accessed 21 November 2021)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/dudley1439.htm (accessed 1 December 2021)
6. ↑ Wikisource contributors, "1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Dudley, Barons and Earls of," H.Sydney Grazebrook, 11th Ed. Wikisource, https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Dudley,_Barons_and_Earls_of&oldid=4200671 (accessed 21 November 2021).
7. ↑ Twamley, Charles (1867). History of Dudley Castle and Priory: Including a Genealogical Account of the Families of Sutton and Ward. London: John Russell Smith. pp. 48–51 (accessed 1 December 2021)
8. ↑ "Petitions to the House of Lords: 1679," in Petitions to the House of Lords, 1597-1696, ed. Jason Peacey , British History Online, accessed December 7, 2021, "Edward Lord Ward, John Levett and Mary his wife, on behalf of William Ward, an infant. HL/PO/JO/10/1/385/118 (1679)" http://www.british-history.ac.uk/petitions/house-of-lords/1679.
9. ↑ https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_HL_PO_JO_10_1_385_118 (accessed 7 December 2021)
10. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2BY-JDWY : 6 March 2021), Edward Ward; Burial, Himley, South Staffordshire Borough, Staffordshire, England, St. Michael & All Angels Churchyard; citing record ID 174227988, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. (Accessed 21 November 2021)
11. ↑ Will of Edward Baron Dudley and Ward, Reference: PROB 11/479/36, Date: 02 November 1704, Held by: The National Archives, Kew, Legal status: Public record(s), Closure status: Open Document, Open Description. Downloaded for free 27 November 2021.
12. ↑ https://www.himleyhallandpark.co.uk/history (accessed 23 November 2021)
13. ↑ ebook, Chris Baker, Kingswinford: Manor and Parish, New Chapters from the History of Kingswinford, Staffordshire, Part 1: Manor and Parish up to 1800, Second edition. Freely available for download at: https://profchrisbaker.com/historical-studies/ (accessed 1 December 2021)
14. ↑ Twamley, Charles (1867). History of Dudley Castle and Priory: Including a Genealogical Account of the Families of Sutton and Ward. London: John Russell Smith. pp. 47–51 (accessed via Google Books, 1 December 2021)
15. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Ward,_7th_Baron_Dudley Wikipedia: Edward Ward, 7th Baron Dudley (accessed 1 December 2021)

Acknowledgements

‘’’This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.’’’