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Note: I have been able to piece together at least an outline of the life of John Ward. He was apparently born in Monaghan County, Ireland, in about 1800. I don't know when he married Ann Murphy or when he came to America. She was born in Ireland also. The oldest child of theirs that I know of is Alice, who was born in Pennsylvania in about 1829. It seems most likely that John met and married Alice in Ireland and that they came to America together in the 1820's. I don't know how long they were in Pennsylvania. An obituary for his daughter Alice mentions that they moved from Pennsylvania to Exeter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, in 1837, when Alice was 8 years old. John is listed as the head of the household on the 1840 census in Exeter Township. The Irish Catholic settlement of "Stoney Creek" was settled in about this time. John and Ann would have been some of the original settlers in this area and they lived there for the rest of their lives. John was apparently a farmer. He died at the age of 60 years old in 1860, and he is buried in the St. Patrick's church cemetery in Carleton, Michigan. Rick Waggener ============= From the 1840 Federal Census of Exeter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, page 346, from ancestry.com, image 1 of 4: John Ward; 1 male 30-39 years (John); 1 female under 5 years (Mary Ann), 1 female 10-14 years (Alice), 1 female 30-39 years (Ann). ============ From the 1850 Federal Census of Exeter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, page 829, taken August 24, 1850, household 44; from ancestry.com, image # 7 of 11: John Warde; age- 50, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $300, born- Ireland Ann " ; age- 46, female, born- Ireland Mariah " ; age- 11, female, born- Michigan Ann " ; age- 9, female, born- Michigan John " ; age- 7, female, born- Michigan =========== From the 1860 Federal Census of Exeter Township, Monroe County, Michigan Page 408, household #815, taken July 5, 1860; from ancestry.com, image 8 of 21: John Ward; age- 60, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $400, personal property- $300, born- Ireland Nancy " ; age- 55, female, born- Ireland Mariah " ; age- 20, female, born- Michigan Ann " ; age- 18, female, born- Michigan John " ; age- 17, male, born- Michigan (I don't know where the name Nancy came from, but this is definitely Ann Ward. John and Ann are living next door to the household of their daughter Alice and her husband Owen McManus, in household #816. This census record was apparently taken just under three months before John died. -RW) ============ From Vital Records, Monroe County, Michigan by Nancy De Graff Toll Charter, St, Patrick's Parish: ****** "Ward, John-- d. Sept. 29, 1860, a. 60 yrs. w. Anne Murphy" ============ In the oldest cemetery of St. Patrick's, at Exeter and Labo Roads near Carleton, Michigan, I found John and his wife Ann's grave marked with stone with following inscription: Ann Wife of John Ward Died April 6, 1874 Age 71 years (There was more writing, but it is unreadable. -RW) On the other side of the obelisk shaped marker: John Ward Died Sept. 29, 1859 Aged 60 years (This side of the stone is quite worn and difficult to read, particularly some of the numbers. Since John is listed on the 1860 census, and correlating with the other record I found, I am pretty sure that the year here is off by one, and that John actually died on this date in 1860. -RW) ============ I found a book in the Ellis Branch Library in Monroe, Michigan, that seems to have been put together for the centennial celebration of the St. Patrick Church, titled "St. Patrick Church, Carleton, Michigan, 1847-1947." In a section titled "Irish Pioneers" the author reports, "In the old cemetery there were seventy-three tombstones of various sizes and legibility still standing in December, 1946. From these and from nine stones in the second cemetery the birthplaces of the Irish pioneers were found." The author listed "Ward, John, d. 1859," as having come from Monaghan County. This record of his death is off by a year, but must be of John. I have no idea what information he had to conclude that he came from Monaghan County, Ireland. -Rick Waggener
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