who were James B. Ward's parents?
Replies: 102
who were James B. Ward's parents?
| Angela Zahn (View posts) | Posted: 2 Jun 2006 12:56AM GMT |
Classification: Query
Surnames: Ward, Moniac, Colbert
Rootsweb has been invaluable to me in the past, and I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this mystery. Elizabeth English Ward was on the Eastern Creek rolls. She married James B. Ward, who supposedly was born in South Carolina in 1796.
From this marriage, James and Elizabeth had the following children: Thomas Jefferson Ward, John Jackson Ward, James Madison Ward, William Joe ("Diamond Joe") Ward, Benjamin Franklin Ward, Mary Ward Davis and Monroe Ward.
No one seems to dispute that James B. Ward joined the Georgia Militia as a spy on December 22nd of 1814. I also have a copy of a muster roll from the National Archives showing he enrolled in the Creek War in 1837.
Here is the big mystery: it appears that no one in my family has any evidence that James B. Ward even existed prior to these dates. No one seems to know for sure who his parents were. The only "hunch" as to who his parents might have been is from a document listing his name, along with 13 other children, as being the son of Jack "White Cloud" Ward and Nahoga Moniac-Ward. This particular document listing all the children of Jack and Nahoga's marriage came from the Alabama Archives, but it does not state the source, and it is not an affidavit or otherwise legal type document. The document lists their 14 children as being: Elijah, James, William, Jackson, Susan, Eliza, Nancy, Peggy, Polly, Tolbert, Tarlton, John, Moses and Nathan. There are no dates of birth, it only references that the children were born in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, because Jack and Nahoga were fur traders that travelled extensively. Seems pretty straightforward so far.
Because Jack "White Cloud" Ward was killed in the Creek Ward (1814 or 1815), he was given a land grant in Montgomery County, Alabama. Several years later, Samuel Moniac (brother of Nahoga) provided a sworn affidavit stating that he knew Jack Ward, etc. etc, etc and that "John Ward and Susan Ward are the only children now living of the said Jack Ward". Apparently this was to confirm who the heirs to the estate would be. Well, some family members insist that the ONLY children of Jack and Nahoga were John and Susan because of that affidavit. After all these years, it seems reasonable to me that James B. Ward could be one of Jack and Nahoga Ward's children, especially considering that no other potential parents have been revealed.
Does anyone have any additional information that might shed some light on this mystery? There is great debate in our family as to whether his parents were in fact Jack and Nahoga Ward. Nahoga (daughter of William Moniac and Polly Colbert, Tuskegee woman of the Wind Tribe) is listed on the 1832 census at Hickory Ground town as being the head of household.
James B. Ward was my GGG Grandfather. His wife, Elizabeth, my GGG Grandmother, was adopted as a small child after having been found abandonded on the banks of a river. Because of those circumstances, we can't trace our Native American ancestry on Elizabeth's side any further. It would be incredibly sad and disappointing to think that our history must also stop with James as well. He had to have parents... had to come from somewhere...... I'm just trying to find out the truth. Thanks for reading, and thanks for trying to help solve this mystery.
From this marriage, James and Elizabeth had the following children: Thomas Jefferson Ward, John Jackson Ward, James Madison Ward, William Joe ("Diamond Joe") Ward, Benjamin Franklin Ward, Mary Ward Davis and Monroe Ward.
No one seems to dispute that James B. Ward joined the Georgia Militia as a spy on December 22nd of 1814. I also have a copy of a muster roll from the National Archives showing he enrolled in the Creek War in 1837.
Here is the big mystery: it appears that no one in my family has any evidence that James B. Ward even existed prior to these dates. No one seems to know for sure who his parents were. The only "hunch" as to who his parents might have been is from a document listing his name, along with 13 other children, as being the son of Jack "White Cloud" Ward and Nahoga Moniac-Ward. This particular document listing all the children of Jack and Nahoga's marriage came from the Alabama Archives, but it does not state the source, and it is not an affidavit or otherwise legal type document. The document lists their 14 children as being: Elijah, James, William, Jackson, Susan, Eliza, Nancy, Peggy, Polly, Tolbert, Tarlton, John, Moses and Nathan. There are no dates of birth, it only references that the children were born in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, because Jack and Nahoga were fur traders that travelled extensively. Seems pretty straightforward so far.
Because Jack "White Cloud" Ward was killed in the Creek Ward (1814 or 1815), he was given a land grant in Montgomery County, Alabama. Several years later, Samuel Moniac (brother of Nahoga) provided a sworn affidavit stating that he knew Jack Ward, etc. etc, etc and that "John Ward and Susan Ward are the only children now living of the said Jack Ward". Apparently this was to confirm who the heirs to the estate would be. Well, some family members insist that the ONLY children of Jack and Nahoga were John and Susan because of that affidavit. After all these years, it seems reasonable to me that James B. Ward could be one of Jack and Nahoga Ward's children, especially considering that no other potential parents have been revealed.
Does anyone have any additional information that might shed some light on this mystery? There is great debate in our family as to whether his parents were in fact Jack and Nahoga Ward. Nahoga (daughter of William Moniac and Polly Colbert, Tuskegee woman of the Wind Tribe) is listed on the 1832 census at Hickory Ground town as being the head of household.
James B. Ward was my GGG Grandfather. His wife, Elizabeth, my GGG Grandmother, was adopted as a small child after having been found abandonded on the banks of a river. Because of those circumstances, we can't trace our Native American ancestry on Elizabeth's side any further. It would be incredibly sad and disappointing to think that our history must also stop with James as well. He had to have parents... had to come from somewhere...... I'm just trying to find out the truth. Thanks for reading, and thanks for trying to help solve this mystery.