Andrew Warde, Gent.

No children. Do not confuse with Andrew Ward of Fairfield

"we find in the Parish Registers of St. Mildred's Cornhill, London, the burial of a Mr. Andrew Warde, gent., 23 January, 1615, * who was probably the son of that Richard Ward of Homersfield and Gorleston, Suffolk ..."

From page 120 of "Clues from English Archives Contributory to American Genealogy," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 44

Andrew Ward of Watertown, Mass., freeman there, 14 May, 1634,1 removed the following year to Wethersfield, Conn., to aid in the foundation of the new town (then called "Connecticut Watertown ") he being one of the five dismissed from the parent town for that purpose. He was a prominent and influential citizen, member of the first Court in the Connecticut Colony in April, 1636; member of the upper house in 1637 when war was declared with the Pequots; twice member of the lower house, 1637 and 1638; deputy from Wethersfield for four sessions after the confederation of the three river towns in 1639, and frequently a member of the General Court and a Magistrate. In 1640, he, with others, bought the land comprising the present town of Stamford for the New Haven Company, he afterward removed, with Rev. Mr. Denton, to Hempstead, L. I., but, about 1650, returned to Connecticut and settled at Fairfield. He was a representative to the upper house of New Haven Colony 1646 and 1653 and died at Fairfield in 1659, his will dated 8 June of that year.f

He has been said to have been the son or grandson of Richard Ward of Homersfield, co. Suffolk, and descended of an ancient family long seated there, § but this statement rests upon the unsupported conjecture of an early Anglo-American genealogist most of whose work, subjected to the light of the clearer criticism of to-day which demands facts instead of fancy, is found to be untrustworthy and misleading. ....

It is also noteworthy, in further contravertion of that erronious derivation, that we find in the Parish Registers of St. Mildred's Cornhill, London, the burial of a Mr. Andrew Warde, gent., 23 January, 1615, * who was probably the son of that Richard Ward of Homersfield and Gorleston, Suffolk, who was so lightly accepted as the American Emigrant without a scintilla of evidence beyond the Christian name.

• Harl. Sac, Psh. Reg. Series, vii, 219.

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Discussion on the parents of Andrew Ward of Fairfield

from: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~katy/ward/b1035.html

Families of Old Fairfield makes the following statement on p.643:

"....family of Richard Ward of Gorleston or Homersfield have been investigated. No such person as Richard Ward, of Homersfield and Gorleston, Suffolk was found; no "Anne" Ward, {fictional profile} Gunville family existed in that vicinity as lords of the manor; and every reference given has proved to be fictitous. It is likely that these statements were the invention of a fraudulent genealogist, innocently accepted by members of the Ward family, through whom they found their way into the book."

From http://nefamilies.com/fam/groupsheetI1000014120.aspx

Source 1: Will of father, Richard Warde whose will was probated in 1598 in The Bishops Court in Suffolk Co. England; Andrew was mentioned in his fathers will and inherited 333 pounds from his father Richard; The supposition that this Andrew Warde B; about 1570 is father of our Andrew Warde is not proven; Unfortunately, a most careful search, instituted by learned genealogists of the present day, has failed to reveal any positive facts regarding Andrew Ward, the supposed father of Andrew Warde, of Fairfield, Conn. This much, however, is known: That a Mr Andrew Warde, gentleman, was buried January 23, 1615, at St Michaels Cornhill, London.

Source: Harleian Collection, Parish Register Series, vol vii, pg: 219;

It appears, also, that a certain Ralph Ward (which is the name of a brother of Andrew, son of Richard, & supposed father of our Andrew, was buried at the same place. The two names coming together are suggestive features of this discovery. Investigation is continuing along the above line, and it is hoped that information may soon be secured which will set the matter at rest. Until such time, we are left to conjecture, supported by plausible theory, in regard to the pedigree of our honored ancestor Andrew Ward, the imigrant to New England;

Source 2: Ancestry of Joseph Smith, The Prophet & Emma Hale, His Wife :

Source 3: Andrew Ward and His Descendants, George k. Ward, 7-10: The first of our line in America was Andrew Ward, whose more immediate ancestro was Sir Richard Ward, Knight, of Homersfield and Gorleston, county Suffolk, England, though genealogists have differed as to whether Andrew was his son or his grandson.

Additional notes

From http://armidalesoftware.com/issue/full/Thaler_343_main.html#N14

"We do not know that Richard Ward was the son of Thomas Ward, of Homersfield, in the northeast corner of Suffolk... Although we do not know for certain the ancestry of Thomas Ward, his father, it is quite likely that it may be connected with the Ward family which is contained in the published pedigree... Many persons have attempted to prove this, but the actual proof has not yet been found."

However, a decade later in 1921, Wm. H. Powers writes:

"Sir Richard Ward of Homersfield ... was the son of Thomas, his mother a daughter of Dr. John Hare." and regarding his son Andrew (d.1615):

"It is assumed that the immigrant Andrew was the son of the Andrew who died in London, 1615. Confirmatory of this is quoted from the manuscript of a journey through Suffolk in 1657 by Mr. Leverland: "Descendants of Andrew Ward, son of Richard of Homersfield, were in New England.""[6, 19] "The statements in the preface to the Andrew Ward Genealogy with regard to Andrew's being of the family of Richard Ward of Gorleston or Homersfield have been investigated (by Col. Charles E. Banks for Mrs. Finley J. Shepard). No such person as Richard Ward was found; no Gunville family existed in that vicinity as lords of the manor; and every reference given has proved to be fictitious. It is likely that these statements were the invention of a fraudulent genealogist, innocently accepted by members of the Ward family, through whom they found their way into the book."[42]