I have found our branch of Ward’s to be a frustrating branch to research. Beside’s the fact that Ward is a common name, my husband’s line liked to move around. It wasn’t hard to get back to his great great grandfather – Frances Frederick Ward following the census records. After that it took awhile to come to the conclusion (still unproven) that William Ward and Mary Wheat were his parents. I found them in the right county in Arkansas in the 1850 census, William says he was born in Ohio and that is where the trail ends. There are several Ward families in Ohio in the 1840 census but since individual family names are not enumerated I haven’t figured out if William is there anywhere. I know that I am going to have to make a trip to Sevier County, Arkansas sometime soon. But after my last foray into Arkansas research I am just not looking forward to it. I sure would like to connect my William Ward and trace them back to when and where they came to America and where they came from.
Robert Elmer Ward
Francis Frederick and his wife Texannah Dyer and their 9 children ended up in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. Their son Robert Elmer Ward was born in 1894 in Indian Territory, Oklahoma. Elmer married Nancy Bluford Broughton and they had five children. The oldest, Mike, was my husband’s grandfather. We have few pictures and even fewer stories but I believe their story was much like other pioneer Oklahoma families.
