John Ward ²

  General Notes:

John Ward was one of the Welhersfield colonists who settled at Branford, Connecticut in the Spring of 1644.

In 1665, Puritans in the towns of Milford, Branford and Guilford began to talk about emigrating and founding a new Colony "to establish a purer Church and Commonwealth". John Ward was one of the 23 signers to the agreement to move to East New Jersey, and with his family, accompanied the other Branford emigrants there in 1666.

He had been Sergeant of the Branford trainband, and upon the organization of the first trainband in Newark he was chosen Sergeant of it.

August 24, 1673, the Deputies from "New-worke" (Newark) elected "Serg't" John Ward to be one of six "Scliepcns," or magistrates of New-worke, "New Yarsey".

A few weeks later various militia officers were elected in "New Yarsey" and duly sworn into the service of the Dutch Republic. John Ward was named Lieutenant.

In November, l675 , Lieutenant Ward was sent as one of the two Deputies from Newark to the General Assembly of East New Jersey, at Elizabethtown, and in May, 1680, he returned.

Sometime before 1688, he became a Deacon of the First Church, and he held this office until his death. ^{2 3}

John married Sarah in 1648.¹

John next married Hannah Crane.