I am new to this and not sure when you had this very interesting chat about the Wards of Crediton.
I hope someone out there is still active on the Wards issue.
I have stumbled into this because of an interest in Ann Ward (B. 27/12/1819) - the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth. My information is that she did not die in 1824. That must be another person, or a daughter who died young and was followed by a second "Ann Ward" in the same Family.
I found her living as a 'sister' in Marlborough Terrace, Kensington in the 1851 census. The 'Family Search' version of the Census cannot be manipulated easily to show the previous page, so I struggled to find out who was Head of the household (it's on a previous page in the original Census) and, fortunately, this thread has shown that it is William Ward jnr., the wine merchant, although he does seem to appear in several places at the same time. Given that he was dying and about to return to Crediton, this is perhaps understandable.
Living in the same house were visitors Jonathan Henry Price (b 1818 at Shoreditch) and Hannah Maria Price (b 1790 at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire).
By way of confirmation, on 16 Oct 1851, I found, in the British Newspaper Archive, a marriage between Jonathan Henry Price and Ann Ward at Camberwell, Surrey where she is 'daughter of the late Thomas Ward of Sandford, Devon'.
This Jonathan Henry Price (b. 1818) is a fascinating character. He was a reverend in the Congregational Church and head of a congregation at Woodham Ferrers (sometimes Ferris) in Essex from about 1840 to 1849. In 1849 he was charged with attempted murder, commuted to desertion of a child, after abandoning the offspring of a woman called Priscilla Ruffell in a basket in a field. He was lodging with the woman's aunt, Jane Wilkinson (nee Ruffell) and uncle George Wilkinson at Woodham Ferrers at the time. The assumption was that he was the father. The court case makes fascination reading.
The upshot was that he was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. Priscilla was sentenced to three months'. Shortly after release, he pops up at Marlborough Terrace and his reputation appears intact!
Incidentally the child survived and was brought up by Priscilla as John Ruffell, although she married a James Staines and raised another family.
Having married Ann Ward, Jonathan Henry Price produced two (more?) sons, George (b 1854) and Henry(b 1856) Ward-Price, at Woodham Ferrers. He then moved to Billericay, Essex and founded a school in a building called Burstead House.
He also made friends with another of my relatives, called William Ruffell (1806-1882) and was welcomed into the community. He held the office of assessor of taxes for the parishes of Great and Little Burstead for many years. He was also secretary to the Lighting inspectors, and a director of the Town Hall Company and the Billericay Building Society. Being Congregationalist, he for number of years worked most energetically as secretary to the Chapel and superintendent of its Sunday School.
Ann Price (nee Ward) died in Burstead House in 1861, Jonathan Henry Price remarried, in 1863, an Elizabeth Trenaman (b1839) and produce three further daughters:- Elizabeth Jane (b1864) Anna Maria Price (b1866), Edith Mary (b 1868). He died in March 1894 in Billericay.
Returning to Ann Ward's two sons:
- George Ward-Price(b 1856) died early in his life on 3 Aug 1883, and I don't think he had children or married.
- Henry Ward-Price (b.1854) became a clergyman and took up duties in Chester, and then Stockport. He died soon after his father in November 1894. He had married, in 1884, Sarah Emily Lewis and produced four children:
George Ward-Price (1886-1961)
He attended St Catherines College Cambridge; became a war correspondent for the Daily Mail in WW1; became a Director of the Daily Mail and friend of Lord Rothermere and (notoriously) befriend Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Oswald Mosely and Benito Mussolini! There are pictures to prove it!
Henry Lewis Ward-Price (1888-1963)
He attended St Catherines College Cambridge, joined the Civil Service and became a prominent Colonial Administrator in Nigeria. He wrote about his experiences and books on the Yoruba language.
Hilda Marjorie Ward-Price (1892-?)
She married John Archibald Redvers Buller (military family) in 1923, but divorced on grounds of his infidelity in 1927. I believe she may have married the artist Hector Whistler in 1956, but not sure about this.
Leonard Stanley Ward-Price (1891-1917)
He attended St Catherines College Cambridge, joined the Royal Horse Guards, was wounded in 1915, seconded to the Royal Flying Corps and was shot down and killed in March 1917).
Is there anyone out there?
Cheers
