West Virginia Genealogy Source

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History has information on West Virginia records in their "Archives and History News" Subject Index.  Here you can find tips and clues for researching West Virginia or pre West Virginia folks who were Virginians.  The subjects include: Adjutant General Papers,  Archival Collections, Birth Records, Cemeteries,  Civil War, County Records, Death Records, Deeds, Statehood and many more subject of interest to genealogists.  "Archives and History News" is the newsletter for the WV Division of Culture and History. 
http://www.wvculture.org/history/ahnews/ahnewssubjectindex.html

I am researching William Ward of Hardy County Virginia who I believe was possibly born in 1782 and who married Sarah Shobe 19 February 1804.  Hardy County was created in 1786 from Hampshire County, Virginia.  Hardy County became part of West Virginia on October 24, 1861.


I followed the trail of land records from the BLM GLO.

 In 1808 William Ward of Franklin County purchased land in Amelia, Fairfield, Ohio.

William is also found on the 1830 Census for  Amelia, Fairfield County, Ohio.

WIlliam Ward  of Fairfield County, Ohio purchases land in Putnam County in 1838. (Note that is also where my ancestor Edward Ward resided). Also, found in the same section at the same time is Christian Miller.  Christian Miller is also found in the section just North of where Margaret Miller (Edward Ward's wife) is buried.  It is unknown whether Edward Ward is buried there and Margaret Miller's stone has been badly damaged.  Also in the same cemetary isburied John M. Ward who died Dec 19, 1878 aged 20 years 3 months.   The cemetary is "Wisely Cemetery" 40.9428,-84.018 (GPS coordinates) it is near Cranberry Creek.

Christian Miller records from BLM GLO are as follows:  1807 Military Warrant of 100 Acres in Lot 50 in the Military District. 7 North, 16W Section 2.

1820 Christian Miller of Perry County, Ohio in Ohio River Survey.
1835 Christian Miller of Perry County buys land in Fairfield County, Ohio.
1837 Christian Miller of Fairfield County, Ohio buys land in Putnam County, Ohio.

Also in Putnam County at the same time was James Ward also of Fairfield County, Ohio in 1838 same date as William Ward.

Edward Ward was born about 1794.  Could William possibly be his brother or other relative?

My next steps are to figure out who Williams parents were.

For the history of Putnam County, Columbus Grove (Pleasant)
see http://www.columbusgrove.org/history.htm

Genealogy Achievements for 2010

1. Joined ProGen Study group in August. It is a nineteen month commitment.
2. Published "Ballaymeath?" on my website after a year of research
3. Got to know fellow genealogy enthusiasts at the North San Diego County Genealogical Society and volunteered at an event to greet and hand out programs. Part of the genealogy "Lunch Bunch".
4. Wrote an article for the North San Diego Genealogical Society Newsletter, Paths to the Past on the SCGS Jamboree Experience (Vol XL, Number 9, Sept. 2010) and Santa Barbara Trip, Spanish Heritage Anyone? (Vol XL, Number 8, August 2010,page 8)
5. Brick wall buster. Thanks to the Obituary Index at the Rutherford B. Hayes Library in Ohio I found a lead on my elusive ancestor Edward Ward.

Edward Ward, Columbus Grove, Putnam County, Ohio

see post at: http://gsgenealogy.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/edward-ward-of-columbus-grove-putnam-county-ohio/ for my post on this elusive ancestor.

Ward Ohio on Family Search Beta part 2

I was thrilled to find my Ward Ohio ancestors on http://fsbeta.familysearch.org/.
I was able to locate the following:
Death Certificate Scans for:

Herman W. Ward, Knox County, Miller Township, Ohio. Death date: June 29, 1919
parents were Joel M. Ward and Althea Rowland.

John Edward Ward, Knox County, Mount Vernon, Ohio. Died December 24, 1932. parents were Joel M. Ward and Althea Rowland.

Glays Ward. Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio. February 1, 1911. Parents were William L. Ward and Anna Graham.
Family tradition said that she was standing too close to the fireplace and her nightgown caught fire and she died of her burns. The scan of the death certificate says "accidental burn".

Preparation for Library Trip Next Month

In order to prepare for my research trip in October, I have downloaded research guides from the Georgia Cole Library (Carlsbad, CA) Genealogy website and now I am in the process of looking at the electronic catalog for items pertaining to my research. I just barely started Ashland, OH and the Ward and Malcolm families. The Ward family is still stumping me. I can't seem to be able to go back any further than Ohio. I found a database reference to a marriage record for Edward Ward and Margaret Miller in Allegheny county, Maryland but that is all I have so far. My aunt claims that the Wards were from Lynchburg, Virginia and that they were confederates. I looked for the supposed confederate ancestor "Joel Ward" but he was in Ohio by the time of the Civil War were there people who fought on the confederate side from Ohio? I thought most Ohio folks of the Civil War era were either neutral or Union sympathizers. Anyone who could shed some light on this problem?