James Ward (1758 - 1848)

Born 25 Mar 1758 in Fincastle County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Williamson) Ward — married 9 Oct 1810 in Tug River, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 15 Jul 1848 at age 90 in Lawrence, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

James was born in 1758. James Ward ... He passed away in 1848. ^[1]

Elizabeth Williamson, dau. of Alden Williamson, was married to "Pioneer" James Ward on the banks of the Tug River in 1810. In the March 1998 issue of the Martin County Heritage there is a story of the James and Elizabeth WARD Family. The first part reads as follows:

James "Pioneer" Ward was a descendant of James Ward, born 1672 in County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland (Northern Ireland). He died in Augusta County, Virginia in 1760. Hugh Williamson, ancestor of Elizabeth, came to Virginia from Wales.

James "Pioneer" Ward, (born March 25, 1758, Fincastle Co., Virginia. Died July 15, 1848), married Oct. 9, 1810, Elizabeth Williamson, (born 1794 in Virginia, died after 1880), daughter of Mary E. Jackson and Alden Williamson, Sr.

The couple settled on Rockcastle Creek (Saltwell), and raised a large family. James, the first settler of Martin County, lived to be 90 years old: Elizabeth probably died in her late eighties. In the 1870 census of Johnson County, she is listed as a widow age 82, and her occupation is "knotting." She lived with her daughter Alafair Ward Crum, also a widow, on Rockcastle Creek.

Children:

1. Sarah Ward, (b. 1811), married 1832 to Freeman Copley (b. 1811, VA.

2. Alafair Ward (b. 1813), married 1834 to Ruben Crum (b. 1810 in Ky., died between 1850-60). Both buried at Crum Cemetery at Rockcastle.

3. Elizabeth "Betsy" Ward, (b. May 20, 1815,-d. after 1880), married June 1, 1834 to James Delong (b. March 20, 1814, Zanesville Ohio), son of Mary Barbara Auxier and George Delong, Jr. Probably buried in Delong Cemetery at Johns Creek.

4. James Ward Jr., (b. 1817) married January 8, 1840, to Cynthia Young, (b. 1820) daughter of Absolom Young. Buried at cemetery at Rockcastle Creek (possibly Saltwell Cemetery near Inez)

5. Wells Ward Sr., (1818-1890), married August 13, 1843, to Sarah (Senna or Cena) Preston, (1823-1903), daughter of Elizabeth Caines and Henry Preston, grandaughter of Fanny Arthur and Moses Preston of Lawrence Co. Buried at Saltwell Cemetery.

6. Margaret "Peggy" Ward, (b. 1821-d. after 1880 in West Va.), married John Conley, (b. 1814).

7. Solomon Ward, (b.March 31, 1823 -died between 1843-47), married April 3, 1843, to Lucretia Porter (b. 1828). No children. Solomon may be buried at Saltwell Cemetery. Lucretia married Alexander Cassady in 1847.

8. Nathan Ward, (1824-Aug. 12, 1864), married Aug. 10, 1848, to Arminta Preston (Dec. 1832-April 11, 1914), daughter of Elizabeth Caines and Henry Preston, and sister to Senna Preston Ward. Nathan died of typhoid fever as a Union soldier camped at Peach Orchard in Lawrence County. Arminta Ward's log house was site of Eden's (Inez) first court sessions.

9. George Washington Ward (b. April 1827) married 1850 to Nancy Clay (b. June 1832), daughter of Nancy and Peter Clay, who was a well-known educator.

10. Margarry or Morgania Ward (1831-1853), married July 6, 1846, to George W. Murray (b. 1821), son of Samuel Murry. She is believedd to have died in a house fire. In 1850 census of Johnson County, she had a ten month old son, Marion.

11. Emanuel Ward (1838-June 23, 1864), a Union soldier, died of wounds received at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia; married to Matilda Mosley (b. 1838). They had two children: James Jefferson Ward, Susannah Mitilda Ward. Matilda later married Jesse Crum.

James and Elizabeth Williamson might have had three other children: Hiram, Angeline, and Sophia, records unknown.

Historical Marker 729

Location: Inez, Courthouse Lawn, KY 3, 40

Description: James Ward (Pioneer Ward) born in Virginia, 1758. Settled on Rockcastle Creek, three miles south of here, where he lived 50 years and died. 1848. Private, Virginia regiments, War of the Revolution, 1775-76. Came to Kentucky, 1779. With the Clark expedition against Indians, Chillicothe and Piqua, Ohio, 1780. In battles of Bryan Station, and Blue Licks, 1782.

(other side) Educator Ward - William B. Ward, 1877-1952. Buried in Saltwell Cemetery. Known as educator, author and leader in the field of education, 50 years. Principal in schools of eastern and northern Kentucky; head of the Old Sandy Valley Seminary at Paintsville. Author Outline of U.S. History; publisher the Mountain Journal and the New Day. Descended from Pioneer Ward.

Research Notes

Battle of Blue Licks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east. On a hill next to the Licking River in what is now Robertson County, Kentucky (but was then in Kentucky County, Virginia), a force of about 50 American and Canadian Loyalists along with 300 American Indians ambushed and routed 182 Kentucky militiamen. It was the worst defeat for the Kentuckians during the frontier war.

Caldwell's expedition

Although a British army under Lord Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781, the war on the western frontier continued. Aided by the British stationed at Fort Detroit, American Indians north of the Ohio River redoubled their efforts to drive American settlers out of western Virginia (what is now Kentucky and West Virginia). In July 1782, a large meeting was held at the Shawnee villages near the headwaters of the Mad River in the Ohio Country, with Shawnees, Delawares, Mingos, Wyandots, Miamis, Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Potawatomis in attendance. A force of 150 British rangers under Captain William Caldwell (of Butler's Rangers) and 1,100 Indians supervised by Pennsylvania Loyalists Alexander McKee, Simon Girty, and Matthew Elliott was sent against Wheeling on the Ohio River. This would have been one of the largest forces sent against the American settlements during the war.

This expedition was called off, however, after scouts reported that George Rogers Clark, whom the Indians feared more than any other American commander, was preparing to invade the Ohio Country from Kentucky. Caldwell's army returned to the Mad River to intercept the invasion, but Clark's army never materialized. As it turned out, the rumors were false: Clark had a large boat patrolling the Ohio River, but he was not prepared to launch an expedition. Frustrated with this turn of events, most of the American Indians dispersed.

Bryan Station

With the remaining force of approximately 50 American and Canadian Loyalists along with 300 American Indians, Caldwell and McKee crossed into the Kentucky territory. They hoped to surprise the settlement of Bryan Station, but the settlers had learned of the approach of the army and taken refuge within their fort. Caldwell and McKee's force laid siege to Bryan Station on August 15, 1782, but withdrew two days later when they learned that a force of Kentucky militia was on the way. Caldwell's force had 5 killed and 2 wounded.

The Kentucky militia who came to the relief of Bryan Station on August 18 consisted of about 47 men from Fayette County and about 135 from Lincoln County. The highest-ranking officer, Colonel John Todd of the Fayette militia, was in overall command; under him were two lieutenant colonels, Stephen Trigg of Lincoln County and Daniel Boone of Fayette County. Benjamin Logan, colonel of the Lincoln militia, was still gathering men and was not present.

The officers discussed whether to pursue the enemy force immediately before it could escape across the Ohio River or to wait for Colonel Logan to arrive with reinforcements. Major Hugh McGary recommended waiting for Logan, but he was overruled by Colonel Todd, who shamed McGary by suggesting that he was timid. The Kentuckians therefore pursued the retreating British and Indian force, covering nearly 40 miles (60 km) on horseback over an old buffalo trail before making camp.

Battle

The Kentuckians reached the Licking River on the morning of August 19, near a spring and salt lick known as the Lower Blue Licks. On the other side of the river, a few Indian scouts could be seen. Behind the Indians was a hill around which the river made a loop. Colonel Todd called a council and asked Boone, the most experienced woodsman, for his opinion. Boone, who had been growing increasingly suspicious of the obvious trail the Indians had been leaving, advised his fellow officers that the Indians were trying to draw them into an ambush.

Major McGary, apparently eager to prove that he was not a coward as Todd's earlier criticism had suggested, urged an immediate attack. He mounted his horse and rode across the ford in the river, shouting, "Them that ain't cowards, follow me." Men began to follow, as did the officers, who hoped to at least make an orderly attack. "We are all slaughtered men," said Boone as he crossed the river.

On the other side of the river, most of the men dismounted and formed into a battle line of three or four divisions. They advanced up the hill, Todd and McGary in the center, Trigg on the right, Boone on the left. As Boone had suspected, Caldwell's force was waiting on the other side of the hill, concealed in ravines. As the Kentuckians reached the summit, the Indians opened fire with devastating effect. After only five minutes, the center and right of the Kentucky line gave way; only Boone's men on the left managed to push forward. Todd and Trigg, easy targets on horseback, were quickly shot down.

The Kentuckians began to flee wildly back down the hill, fighting hand-to-hand with the Indians who had flanked them. McGary rode up to Boone's company and told him that everyone was retreating and that Boone was now surrounded. Boone gathered his men for a withdrawal. He grabbed a riderless horse and ordered his son, Israel Boone, to mount and make an escape. Israel refused to leave his father, however, and was shot through the neck as Daniel searched for another horse. Boone saw that his son's wound was mortal, mounted the horse, and fled. According to legend, Boone hid his son's body before leaving, but in reality there was no time.

Aftermath

Although he had not taken part in the battle, George Rogers Clark, as senior militia officer, was widely condemned in Kentucky for the Blue Licks disaster. In response to the criticism, Clark launched a retaliatory raid into the Ohio Country. In November 1782, he led more than 1,000 men, including Benjamin Logan and Daniel Boone, on an expedition that destroyed five Shawnee villages on the Great Miami River, the last major offensive of the war. No battles were fought in that engagement because the Shawnees declined to engage the Kentuckians, instead pulling back to their villages on the Mad River.

Those villages were subsequently destroyed by Benjamin Logan in 1786 at the outset of the Northwest Indian War. On that expedition, Hugh McGary confronted the Shawnee chief Moluntha, asking him if he had been at Blue Licks. Moluntha had not taken part in the Battle of Blue Licks—relatively few Shawnees had—but he evidently misunderstood McGary's question and nodded his head in agreement. McGary then killed the Shawnee leader with a tomahawk. Logan relieved McGary of command and later had him court-martialed.

• Note; For Family Reference Only-FAG MEMORIAL ID 135079944

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Marie Mills, Nov 21, 2011

• Ward Family Genealogy. Ward Family
• Ward Genealogy, by Billie Edyth Ward, Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1987, pp. 19-20.

For further review:

• https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FP0xAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA3-PA26&lpg=RA3-PA26