But much more probative is the notion that the man next to John Ward and Thomas Barton in the early 1740s is a Joseph Ward JR. This, of course, sets us off in search of Joseph Ward SR. And that's a pretty straight-forward task.
The very first posting of this blog shows Joseph Ward's initial land acquisition in 1720, named Ward's Adventure. Several years later, he can be found acquiring a prime lot in the newly developed town of Joppa. He is listed as "Innkeeper." About that time (1724), he decides to sell Ward's Adventure to Jacob Robinson:
The document is important in that you can see Joseph's wife agreeing to the sale in the last paragraph. Her name is stated to be "Bridgett."
Jacob Robinson doesn't hold the land for long. Instead, he turns around in 1728 and sells this same parcel of land back to Joseph Ward's son, John Ward--who is a minor! John is stated to be 'son of Joseph and Bridgett Ward of Joppa Town." The first page of the deed, containing these details, is below:
So we have Joseph, and now we've found his son John who appears to be John Sr. A visit to the Parish records is then in order...
(A note for John Whitaker researchers. As many know from his will, John's second wife was named Mary. After John's death she married the above Jacob Robinson. These two transactions for Ward's Adventure look to some like a legal maneuver for Joseph to somehow avoid a debt. (This becomes more likely as one sees just how poorly Joseph conducted his affairs). Because of the nature of these deeds, there is the deep suspicion that John Whitaker's second wife, Mary, was quite likely a close relative of Joseph or Bridgett.)
(Kevin)
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