THE BARD FAMILY
Genealogy Web Page

Archibald Beard (Bard) (birth date unknown; died in February 1765) immigrated from Ireland to the United States and settled in Miln (later Mill) Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware sometime prior to 1741, where he built a mill on a stream called Mud Run. In 1741 he purchased (along with Jeremiah Lochery, John Witherow, and James McGinly), and removed to, a 5,000 acre tract titled "Carroll's Delight" in Adams County (now York County), Pennsylvania. Archibald and his wife (her name unknown) had four children; Richard Bard (8Feb1736-22Feb1799), William Bard (7Jun1738-31Jul1802), a daughter (name & birth date unknown, who died young), and (Rev.) David Bard (1744-12Mar1815). We have a rather extensive family genealogy, much of which centers around a book we refer to as the "Bard Book". The original Bard Book (1908) is a 507 page volume, fully titled: THE BARD FAMILY A HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE BARDS OF "CARROLL'S DELIGHT" TOGETHER WITH A CHRONICLE OF THE BARDS AND GENEALOGIES OF THE BARD KINSHIP

It was researched, compiled, and written by George Overcash Seilhamer, Esq. G. O. Seilhamer was commissioned to do the necessary research, and write the book by Senator Thomas Robert Bard. Approximately 300 original books were printed and distributed, some to Bard family members, and many to libraries in California and in other states. If you wish to purchase an inexpensive reprinted edition of this "Bard Book", leave E-mail , or otherwise contact us via one of the means listed below. The reprints sold from this site will now be officially numbered, and entered into our on-line Bard Book Registry database.

One of the ways you might recognize your family as being related to our Bard line may be by way of the mention of a Son of Archibald Beard (Bard) namely; Richard Bard (b. Feb. 8, 1736, d. Feb 22, 1799) who was, along with his family, captured by Delaware Indians on April 13, 1758. Richard's small son John Bard (b. Sep. 27, 1757, d. Apr. 13, 1758) was killed by the captors, and his wife Catharine Poe Bard (b. Jun. 3, 1737, d. Aug. 31, 1811) was taken hostage and later ransomed by Richard after his escape. Richard wrote a poem entitled; "THE RICHARD BARD BALLAD" otherwise known as "THE WOEFUL BALLAD" or "BARD'S LAMENT" that describes the ordeal.  

Although this site may seem a little confusing at first, it really is quite straight forward. Once you view the starting pages (replicas of the printed Bard Family book's first few pages), which is the way almost everyone first accesses this site, you will not need to view those pages again, so you will probably want to bookmark the Table of Contents page, this Main Menu page, and the What's New page , and enter the site one of those ways in the future. You may also want to fill out the URL Minder registration form - on the pages listed above, so that you will not have to manually return to the site periodically to search for changes. Click on "Site Introduction and Overview" below to access a brief site description which explains what everything is, and where everything is: