The source for the proof of Richard Ward as son of Richard Ward (1692-1762) & Mary Johns appears in Lunenburg County Will Book 1, page 234, September 8, 1868, Inventory of the Estate of Richard Ward, deceased. Under Debits of the Estate a payment is made in 1768 to THOMAS JOHNS for 3 years board of RICHARD WARD orphan of RICHARD WARD deceased. This would indicate that the orphan Richard lived with Thomas Johns, who must be of some relation to Mary Johns Ward. Also it begs the question, what became of Mary Johns Ward? Did she die in childbirth? Was she living when her husband, Richard Ward ( died in 1762? Also we know that a BENJAMIN WARD was briefly appointed guardian of the orphan Richard Ward. What we do not know is which Benjamin Ward is this? Would it be the Benjamin Ward, Esq. of Granville County or Richard Ward's son, Benjamin (born 1717) by his first wife Frances? And the bigger question -- what became of RICHARD WARD the orphan after 1768? Brenda Reed

Brenda brings up some interesting questions. I am unsure about the law at that time. If Benjamin Ward and, subsequently, Perrin Allday were appointed guardians of Richard Ward, would that imply that Mary Johns Ward had died? Did guardianship mean "administered money for"? Or did it mean that the person in question was physically living with the guardian? Does it imply that no parent was alive? Or could a mother not be a legal guardian? Here are some other things that I find interesting. In the court books I went through, there were various other references to Richard Ward's estate, including various suits brought against it, and the trial of one of the slaves of the Ward estate. Mary is not mentioned in any of these orders, which may not be surprising since Perrin Allday was the executor. The specific slave in question in the trial, was a man named Bosen. A slave named Bowser was "loaned" to Mary Ward as a provision of Richard Ward's will. The other slave involved, a man named Vall, was said to belong to Elizabeth Fuqua (Richard Ward's will mentions that there was a Fuqua family adjoining his land, and I guess that this was the same family), whereas Bosen was said to belong to the estate of Richard Ward. Richard Ward provided handsomely for his wife in his will, providing a home and means by which to run it and it seems a little odd that his son would have lived elsewhere, unless, perhas Mary remarried and moved away? Very curious indeed! Linnea --- BrendReed@aol.com wrote: > The source for the proof of Richard Ward as son of > Richard Ward (1692-1762) & > Mary Johns appears in Lunenburg County Will Book 1, > page 234, September 8, > 1868, Inventory of the Estate of Richard Ward, > deceased. > > Under Debits of the Estate a payment is made in 1768 > to THOMAS JOHNS for 3 > years board of RICHARD WARD orphan of RICHARD WARD > deceased. This would > indicate that the orphan Richard lived with Thomas > Johns, who must be of some > relation to Mary Johns Ward. Also it begs the > question, what became of Mary > Johns Ward? Did she die in childbirth? Was she > living when her husband, > Richard Ward ( died in 1762? > > Also we know that a BENJAMIN WARD was briefly > appointed guardian of the > orphan Richard Ward. What we do not know is which > Benjamin Ward is this? > Would it be the Benjamin Ward, Esq. of Granville > County or Richard Ward's > son, Benjamin (born 1717) by his first wife Frances? > > And the bigger question -- what became of RICHARD > WARD the orphan after 1768? > > Brenda Reed > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Try FREE Yahoo! Mail - the world's greatest free email! http://mail.yahoo.com/