James Ward Jr. (1826 - 1862)

Born 15 Nov 1826 in Cherokee Nation (East) [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 2 Sep 1862 at age 35 in Indian Territory, United States

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Biography

James was Cherokee.

James Ward was born on November 15, 1826 in the Cherokee Nation (East). His parents w ere James Ward, a Cherokee, and Lucy Haynie, a white woman. The family emigrated to Indian Territory in 1831 as "Old Settlers." ^[1] James appears with his father and siblings on the 1851 Old Settler Roll, living in the Going Snake District. ^[2] He was educated at the Dwight Mission and then attended Dartmouth College in 1852-53. ^[3] He returned to the Cherokee Nation and married Esther Hoyt, the daughter of a missionary, on February 09, 1854. They were the parents of Darius, Lydia, Clara, William, and Henry. In 1858 James and Esther joined the Moravian church and James was soon appointed as a missionary at New Springplace. James was believed to be a supporter of the Confederate Cherokees and in September, 1862 his wife and children were taken captive by Union supporters and James was shot and killed. ^[4] He is buried at the Oaks Cemetery, Delaware County, OK. ^[5] Following James' murder Esther took their children to Illinois for safety.

Research Notes

From a previous version of this profile: James Ward Jr son of Cherokee Indians James and Lucy Ward traveled with his parents over the Trail of Tears in the Winter of 1838/39. He was then a boy of only 13. He was orphaned along the trail when both of his parents died before reaching Oklahoma. James became a missionary to his people in the Oklahoma Indian Territory and died in 1862 at only 36 years of age. His grave is at Oak's Mission Cemetery near Highway 412A.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Baker, Jack D. transcriber. Cherokee Emigration Rolls 1817-1835. Baker Publishing Co., Oklahoma City, OK. 1977. Original Records: National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 1793-1999. p. 27
2. ↑ Hampton, David K., transcriber. Cherokee Old Settlers, combined transcript of 1851 and 1896 Old Settler Payrolls. 1993. p. 257. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 75, Microfilms T985 and 7RA34. Going Snake #9
3. ↑ Wright, Muriel. Springplace Moravian Mission and the Ward Family of the Cherokee Nation. Cooperative Publishing Co., Guthrie, OK. 1940. p. 58
4. ↑ Wright, Muriel, Springplace Moravian Mission, pp. 68-70
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5345839/james-ward: accessed 18 November 2023), memorial page for Rev James Ward Jr. (15 Nov 1826–2 Sep 1862), Find a Grave Memorial ID 5345839, citing Oaks Cemetery, Oaks, Delaware County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by Wes T. (contributor 48190645).
6. ↑ This information was gathered at the annual Carter/Ward reunion in Locust Grove in 1996.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 20 March 2021, 03:14), entry for James Ward Jr.(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LJK5-L1L); contributed by various users.