The Waite Family

James M. Waite (1836-1914) appeared in the 1870 and 1880 Hornby censuses. After 1880 he moved to Erwin where he and most of his family are buried in West High Street Cemetery. His wife was Martha M. Thurber, her maiden name known because her mother, also Martha M. (believed to be Heckart), lived with them. Based on the age of their oldest child they were probably married about 1864. Martha's father was Abner Thurber, Jr. of Lindley and her grandfather Abner was a Revolutionary War veteran who settled in Lindley in the 1790s. It is not known who James' parents were but he had a brother Neville b. 1838 and they lived in 1850 Addison.

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Updated 20 July 2005
 



 

The Ward Family

Jonas Ward born 1795 first appeared in the Hornby 1840 Census with his wife and eight children, four male and four female, living with him.

1 Male under 5 (Born 1836-1840) Gertham
1 Male 5 & under 10 (Born 1831-1835) Morgan
2 Males 15 & under 20 (Born 1821-1825) Abijah and ?
1 Male 40 & under 50 (Born 1791-1800) Jonas
1 Female under 5 (Born 1836-1840) Laura
1 Female 5 & under 10 (Born 1831-1835) ?
1 Female 10 & under 15 (Born 1826-1830) Didama
1 Female 15 & under 20 (Born 1821-1825) Sarah
1 Female 30 & under 40 (Born 1801-1810) Sarah

Jonas and his wife Sarah are buried in Hill Top/Irish Cemetery but the dates on Jonas'
stone are unreadable so his date of death is not known. It was between 1860 and 1870 as he was in the 1860 Hornby Census but Sarah was living with son Morgan in 1870.

His first generation descendants intermarried with many other Hornby families including
Clark, Pond, Remington, Snow and Bixby. Second generation descendants married into the Hyslop, Harrison and Easling families; third generation into the Kniffen and Hurd families.

From Millard F. Roberts, "Historical Gazetteer of Steuben County, New York", 1891

"Jonas Ward who moved into the northwest part of the town came
from Schoharie, N.Y., about 1824 or 1825, and commenced to clear
the farm now owned by Albert Duvall, suffering the many hardships
incident to the life of the frontiersman of that time. He reared a large
family of children of whom Abijah and Morgan Ward and Mrs. Egbert
Pond are now respected citizens of the town."
There was a Jonas Ward in the 1820 Painted Post Census Index page 183 which then included Hornby and may well be the same person although that would conflict with Roberts above.  Since he had a child born in 1820 it is likely that he was listed somewhere in the 1820 Census. A look at the Census Index for Schoharie County reveals two Abijah Wards in 1800 and 1810; no Abijah or Jonas in 1820. The Census Index for Steuben County has an Abijah in 1820 Painted Post page 183, the same page as Jonas.  An additional clue as to Jonas' parentage is in a biographical sketch of his granson Francis E. Clark in PRESIDENTS, SOLDIERS, STATESMEN Volume II - Steuben Co., NY edition
"His great-grandfather WARD was a soldier in the War of 1812."
Another clue from Milbrey Otto Burgett <mottob@worldnet.att.net>
"Margaret Ekkerson married Lambert Burget.  They  migrated with their family fromSchoharie Co., NY to Steuben Co., NY ca. 1819 accompanying the family of Abijah WARD, who married Lambert's twin sister, Rachel. All four are buried in the Erwin-Townsend cemetery at Erwin, Steuben Co., NY. Both Lambert Burget and Abijah Ward served the colony of NY during the Revolutionary War."
A likely scenario is that Abijah and his family, which included Jonas, moved from Schoharie County to what is now Campbell, Steuben County between 1810 and 1820. Jonas married about 1819 Sarah (possibly Cooper) who was born in Pennsylvania and they lived near his father in 1820. He named his first son Abijah born 1824 after his father. In about 1824 or 1825, as Roberts indicated, Jonas moved north to Hornby.

Jonas cannot be found in the 1830 Census. There were several other Wards in 1830 Steuben County; however, including an Abijah in Erwin.

A Diana Ward born 1823 in New York was listed in the 1850 Census in the household of Egbert Ambrose Pond who in 1859 married as his third wife widow Sarah Ward Clark, daughter of Jonas above. The Ponds lived close to John Ward below; however, so she may be related to him.

John Ward who first appeared in the 1850 Census was born 1822-25 and according to Donald Bedient, "The Bedient Family", in Dutchess County. He married Catherine Bedient.

A theory which ties them neatly together is that John is the son of Jonas and the missing male in the 1840 Census. Didama/Diana  may be the same person in spite of the fact that she appeared twice in the 1850 Census with different ages. It was not unusual for a child who was working in a nearby household as a domestic or laborer to be counted by both the parents and the employer of that child. Didama married George Simpson Snow, a widower from St. Lawrence County in 1851. The 1855 NY Census may provide a clue by indicating a county of birth for the various Wards.  There is a chance that Abijah may have still been alive in Campbell (where he was listed in the 1850 Census) in 1855. Jonas, John and Diana (if she was not Didama) would have been in Hornby.

John Ward's descendants are included under Charles Bedient.

Another Ward who was a contemporary of Jonas was Lucy Maria Ward born 1805 whose father was Elisha Ward from Vermont. This seems to be a different family. Her granddaughter was Maria Erwin who married Frederick Rogers. Her descendants are included under Peter Rogers.
 

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Updated 25 June 2000