History of Michigan, / by Charles Moore. [Vol. 3]

1388

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN

Killingsworth, Connecticut. William Phelps, the emigrant of the family,
was born at Gloucestershire, England, August 19, 1599, came to America
in I630, in the ship Mary and John, which was the first of the Winthrop
fleet to arrive, and first settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. In the fall
of 1635, with others of the Dorchester colony, he came through the woods,
enduring many hardships, and founded "Old Windsor," the first town to
be founded on Connecticut soil. He was a member of the first court held
in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636, and was also one of the first magistrates
appointed. The first election held in the colony was in April, 1639, at
which time John Haynes was chosen governor, and Roger Ludlow, George
Wyllys, Edward Hopkins, Thomas Wells, John Webster and William
Phelps, Esquires, were chosen magistrates. Previous to this election he
was one of the six magistrates governing the colony. William Phelps
in 1636 was married in Windsor, Connecticut, to his second wife, Mary
Dover.
The genealogy of the Ward family and its connections is as follows:
Delia L. Ward, wife of Frederick M. Cowles, was the daughter of Alanson
and Olive (Perkins) Ward, of Warsaw, New York. Alanson Ward,
who came to Lansing in May, 1847, and was the first justice of the peace
in that town, was born at Pittsfield, Otsego county, New York, October
17, i800, and died at Lansing, Michigan, February I9, I870. He was the
son of Caleb Ward,'a native of Buckland, Massachusetts, who married
Ann Rice. Caleb was a son of Josiah, who was born at Upton, Massachusetts, January 20, I748, and married Polly Wiswall, who was born
at Upton, October 6, I744. Josiah died a soldier during the Revolutionary war, September 25, 1780. He was a son of John and Molly (Torrey)
Ward, the former of whom was born at Newton, Massachusetts, August
I2, 1720, and died at Buckland, Massachusetts, in I8o5. He was likewise
a Revolutionary soldier. His father, John Ward, whose wife's name was
Deborah, was born at Newton, Massachusetts, February 23, I69I, and
died May 24, I747, at Grafton, Massachusetts, where he was a schoolmaster for many years. He was the son of William Ward, who was
born at Newton, November I9, I664, and on December 3I, I689, married Abigail Spring, who was born February 20, I667, a daughter of
Lieutenant John Spring, of Watertown, Massachusetts. William Ward
was a son of John Ward, who was born in England in I625, was a proprietor of Sudbury in I651, and married Hannah Jackson, whose father,
Edward Jackson, bought the old Simon Bradstreet farm and gave it to
help found Harvard college. John Ward was the first selectman of
Newton when that town was set off from Cambridge in I685. He was
also the first representative from Newton to the general court, and died
July 8, I708, while his wife passed away April 24, I704. His military
record included service in King Philip's war, and his house was used as
a garrison house during King Philip's war. It was taken down in
I821, after having stood 170 years and having sheltered seven generations.
John Ward was the son of William Ward, who was born in England,
came to Sudbury, Massachusetts, in I639, was one of the incorporators
of Sudbury and Marlborough, Massachusetts, and represented Sudbury
in the general court in I644, removing to Marlborough in I66o, and
dying August 10, 1687. This last William was the founder of the Ward
family in America.
Alanson Ward was married January 13, I823, to Olive Perkins, who
was born at Rutland, Vermont, April 24, I807, and died at Lansing,
April 1, 189I. She was a daughter of Philip Perkins, who was born at
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1770, and died August 25, I847, at
Owosso, Michigan. He was married at Boston, Massachusetts, December 3, I790, to Sallie Gibson, who was born there in I77I. Philip was