Um, HOLY COW!

Published on November 7th 2012
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Earlier this afternoon my father and I had a conversation over the phone about our Ward ancestry. He told me how it is traced back to William Ward from England. That piece of information was actually new to me. I must know more! I asked my dad if he could get a hold of more information for me; and he did.

After a decent siesta, I awoke to find an email from my father containing a link to "The William Ward Genealogy" website. The website is the electronic copy of:

THE HISTORY OF
THE DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM WARD
OF SUDBURY, MASS., 1638-1925
BY
CHARLES MARTYN

Author of
"The life of Artemus Ward,
the first Commander-in-chief
of the American Revolution"

PUBLISHED BY
ARTEMAS WARD
OF THE SEVENTH GENERATION
NEW YORK
1925
Copyright, 1925, by
ARTEMAS WARD

I was saddened to find that even after extensive research done by others, the part of England where William emigrated from is still unknown. Wanting to still know more of my English ancestry I pulled out the book my father published and grabbed some general information about Stephen Hopkins.
Stephen Hopkins was my ancestor who came over on the Mayflower, that was all I could remember.  The book my father published said he was born in Wortley, parish of Wotten-under edge, Gloucestershire.  With this little information I decided to start browsing the web.

To my wonderful surprise, and I really do me WONDERFUL, I read:
"Stephen's friend, William Shakespeare, it is purported, hearing of his friend's story, wrote the play, “The Tempest.” It depicted Stephen as the character Stephano. The play was performed before King James I and his royal court at Whiteball on Hallomas Night or All Saints Day, November 1, 1610. It was revitalized to decorate for the wedding festivities of Princess Elizabeth in 1613 and was incidentally the last play performed in London in 1642 when the Puritan Party closed play houses until restoration from the Stuarts in 1660."

I was beside myself with excitement. One could say, I was "uncontrollably excited." ;)

I started checking every source I could find and they all report the same information. That the story of my ancestors voyage to Virginia, which got re-routed to Bermuda due to a storm and shipwrecked, is most likely what inspired Shakespeare to write his play "The Tempest" with Stephen Hopkins being depicted as Stephano.

I feel extremely fortunate to have who I have as ancestors. My blood line is rich. I have Stephen Hopkins, as mentioned above. For more information on this man you can click here.  He is known for much more than "The Tempest."

There is General Artemas Ward who is my several times great grandfather, was second in command to George Washington, and helped lead the Revolutionary War and the Battle at Bunker Hill. To read more about him and the Ward ancestry, click here. 

I am also related to Mary (Towne) Easty, Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Sarah (Towne) Cloyse, Mary (Hooker) Osgood, Rev. Increase Mather, and his son, Rev. Cotton Mather. All of whom are known for the Salem Witch Trials.

There was even mention that I could be related to John Lennon (yes, from The Beatles) through our Ward ancestry. That is still under investigation.