Brief Life History of Rebecca
When Rebecca Ward was christened on 16 July 1769, in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, England, her father, James Ward, was 33 and her mother, Mary Swanell, was 11766. She married Rich Islip on 26 January 1796.
Photos and Memories (1)
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Family Time Line
Sources (5)
- Rebecca Ward, "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Rebecca Ward, "England Marriages, 1538–1973"
- James Ward, Jr. 1799 Will
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
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World Events (2)
1770 · Boston Tea Party
Thousands of British troops were sent to Boston to enforce Britain's tax laws. Taxes were repealed on all imports to the American Colonies except tea. Americans, disguised as Native Americans, dumped chests of tea imported by the East India Company into the Boston Harbor in protest. This escalated tensions between the American Colonies and the British government.
1775 · The Shot Heard Around the World
On April 18, 1775, a shot known as the "shot heard around the world" was fired between American colonists and British troops in Lexington, Massachusetts. This began the American War for Independence. Fifteen months later, Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. The Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783 which ended the war. The colonies were no longer under British rule. Many who fought for the British fled to Canada, the West Indies, and some to England.
Name Meaning
English: occupational name for a watchman or guard, from Middle English ward ‘watchman, guard’ (Old English weard, used as both an agent noun and an abstract noun).
English: occupational name from Middle English warde ‘armed guard’ (Old English weard ‘watching, guarding’), with the same meaning as 1 above.
Irish: shortened form of McWard, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Bhaird ‘son of the poet’. The surname occurs throughout Ireland, where three different branches of the family are known as professional poets.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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