According to a tradition held by one branch of the Ward family of Sassafras Neck, Cecil County, Maryland, the progenitor of the family was descended from a branch of the English family to which the Wards of "Dudley" in England belonged. A member of that family is said to have emigrated to France and thence to America, his descendants finally making a settlement in Cecil County. 

A coat of arms which somewhat resembles that of the "Dudley" family has been used for many years by several branches of the Cecil County Wards and is described, as follows:

Arms - Azure, a cross flory
Crest - A wolf's head
Motto - Comme je fus

In common parlance the coat of arms may be described as a blue (azure) shield on which is a gold colored cross which has arms of even length and at the end of each arm three small arcs or quarter circles to represent fruits or flowers (a cross flory). The wolf's head in the crest is half gold colored and half blue, the colors being divided horizontally, the upper half gold colored, the lower half blue.

In connection with the very early history of this family, it is interesting to note certain inferences to the name in works that may be regarded as early chronicles concerning America. In Brown's "Genesis of the United States', a copy of which is in the Peabody Library, the name of William Ward is found among those who subscribed to the Adventure of Virginia (The Virginia Company) Vol.2, page 1042, paid 37 pounds ten shillings. He was Marshall of the Admiralty Court of the Cinque Ports and it is interesting to note the name in connection with it - especially as William Vesy purchased, two shares in 1622 and is believed to be an ancestor of those who intermarried with the generation of Wards. 

In " Holten's Emigrants ", a copy of which may also be seen in the public libraries, it is stated on page 180 that among those living in Virginia Feb. 16, 1623 were William Ward at a plantation over against James City and William Ward at James City - apparently two persons but possibly the same person. On page 233 among the master inhabitants of Virginia in 1624 and 1625 is found William Ward, aged 20 years. On page 260 is John Ward, his muster in the Elizabeth (vessel) seven persons. The writer has seen a statement that the first grants of land in Virginia were made in 1621, three grants the first day and one of the three to John Ward. this agrees with the statement in Holten that John Ward was living near James City in 1623. 

A William Ward was living in Northhampton County, Va., on the Eastern Shore of Virginia., a few years after. There were Wards also in Charles County, Maryland, children of John and Damaris Ward. Many tracts of land were held in Kent County, Md. by Matthew Ward and a Thomas Ward was in Kent County in early days. Matthew Tilghman Ward lived in Kent county and for a time in Cecil County but nothing has been found to connect him with this family. 

The probability is that the immediate ancestors of the Wards of Cecil went from Virginia to the Eastern Shore and thence to their final settlement in Cecil County.

As a result of the revolution of 1686 and 1688 King William III deprived Lord Baltimore of his rights and powers and privileges as a ruler in Maryland and sent a Royal Governor in 1690. In 1692 the Act dividing the Province of Maryland into parishes was passed and William Ward was one of the Justices and Commissioners who divided Cecil County into the parish of North Sassafras on Saint Stephens and South Sassafras on Shrewsbury. 

Lord Baltimore, however, retained his rights as a Landlord of all Maryland and in 1707 and 1708 a rent roll was made of every tract surveyed and patented to settlers. This was the highest title of freehold a settler could usually have, with the exception of a few manors, and every tract paid rent to Lord Baltimore of from four to five shillings for each hundred acres every year. 

The original Rent Rolls were in London for many years but within about twenty years they were obtained and brought to this state and placed in the custody of the Maryland Historical Society where the writer examined the Rent Roll for Cecil and Kent Counties carefully and noted the tracts of land held by the early generations of Wards and Veazeys.

Whatever interest and bearing the foregoing note and traditions may have in the history of the Ward family, it is indisputable that at the time the Rent Roll was made, that is 1707, three of the Ward family had been long resident in Cecil County. These were William (2), Henry (104) and Colonel John Ward (106), besides a Miss Ward who is said to have been the second wife of Augustine Herman of Bohemia Manor.

The relationship of these persons to each other has not been definitely proven but it is supposed that they were near relatives and in these notes it is assumed that a common ancestor existed who is marked Number 1. William is marked No. 2 and his descendants are traced in regular order, each one being numbered according to the law of primogeniture including the daughters. The daughters' children are numbered in Roman numerals, their grandchildren in capitals and so on. After William's descendants, come Henry's and then John's.

This family has been long resident in Maryland beginning in Provincial or Colonial times. The following record is taken from that made by the writer for his son, George Ross Veazey whose great grandmother was Sarah Ward (17), a descendant of William Ward and who also descends from Colonel John Ward through both his father and mother. It has been made with a view to preserving the memory of our forefathers and keeping before other generations the example of these honorable ancestors.

Last Update: March 5, 2002.