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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => US Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Ian Blakesley on Monday 23 August 10 19:22 BST (UK)
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I am trying to find Bernard James Ward (born 9 January 1915) and/or his family who I believe are my closest blood relatives. Bernard visited the US for work sometime in the 1930's. He volunteered to serve in the US Army in 1942. After wartime service, he moved to Canada in 1947. I believe he then returned to the US in the mid-1950's to join his younger brother Eric George Ward. I believe they were both agricultural engineers. I believe Bernard became a naturalised US citizen in September 1965, having settled in Massachusetts. According to Ancestry.co.uk, of which I am a world-wide member, Bernard died in 2004. All the above information I have received from Ancestry. Our part of the family lost touch with Bernard via his parents James George Ward and his wife Hannah Elizabeth (nee Blakesley), who had emigrated to Canada in early 1948. Hannah Ward was my great-aunt (my paternal grandfather's elder sister). I have no address for any of them. Can anyone help, please?
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Hello Ian,
Welcome To Rootschat
Unfortunately we cannot do living people on these forums just ancestors. However, we can share information via the personal message system.
On the UK Incoming Passenger List 23 Dec 1947 SS Mauretania - two male children were mentioned under the name of Bernard but have dashes through which means they did not travel. Can you tell me if those were children of Bernards ?
On the US Naturalization Records Index the address was 3 Eubar Circle. Billerica. Massachusetts. Checking on the link below - it shows families WARD in Billerica - do those names ring any bells ? One in particular lives at Bertha Circle MA and the address for Bernard was Eubar Circle they are 3 miles apart - only 8 minutes ???
http://www.rootschat.com/links/09kv/
Have you checked on that popular networking site to see if any relatives may be on that ?
Regards.
Sandra
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Similar thread on the Canada board (so efforts aren't duplicated):
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,474312.0.html
Welcome to RootsChat, Ian.
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Ian:
I cannot view additional details, but there is a sailing to the UK (UK Incoming Passenger List) for his brother,
born 1910, arriving 1933.
Is it possible that his brother was older than Bernard? If the record might be for the correct person, there may be additional clues.
(Modified to remove his brother's name, for privacy reasons.)
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Thanks so much, Lisa, for your replies which are most helpful. The children mentioned on the "Mauretania" 1947 I don't recognise, because I believe Bernard had one daughter I think born Vin 1948/49. Thank you for confirming that there are Wards in Billerica, Massachusetts, so I will try to contact them. This is is the first breakthrough I've had in what has become a lengthy search; I'm sure it will be over soon. Many thanks again.
IAN BLAKESLEY
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Hi Lisa,
Bernard's brother was younger - E G birth registered June 1923 Brixworth. UK
BW
Sandra
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Hullo, Sandra; thank you for your two posts about my long-lost cousins. I've checked the 1947 Shipping List ; thank you for explaining the two children that I missed, which I have now included on Bernard's profile. Also I've logged onto the link you recommended and the White Pages show a Peter Ward of the right age to be Bernard's second son to be living in Billerica. I think I'm nearly there, thanks to Lisa and yourself......in only two days, after nearly a year of logging on every day on Ancestry.co.uk. How glad I am to be a member of RootsChat! I wish I'd joined months ago.
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Your most welcome Ian. My fingers are crossed that you will find some-one in Billerica and you never know, that might lead you to E G. E also seems to be a "man of mystery" I am wondering if he perhaps reversed the names and went under G E ??? Do you happen to have an exact date of bith, I think it was registered Q2 - June 1923. We may still find something. ;)
Regards
Sandra
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Hullo, Sandra, again! Lucky I check my e-mails every day. To answer your question about Eric Ward, as Bart Simpson would say: "No Problemo!" I have a copy of Eric Ward's birth certificate in front of me; his precise date of birth is 26 February 1923, place of birth Spratton, Northamptonshire, England. His birth was not registered by his mother Hannah Elizabeth Ward with the sub-district of Brixworth in the County of Northampton until 10 April 1923. Ii have checked Shipping Lists as well, and it appears he might have been a deck-hand on commercial ships in in 1952/3 (assuming I've got the right Eric Ward) OK, he might have stopped using the name Eric and just been known as George, or he might have used another first name altogether, who knows? It's all part of the enjoyment of family history research is getting the right answers to the right questions.
Thanks again, Sandra. Hope to hear from you soon Best wishes IAN.
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I don't see him on the Social Security death index. I might suggest removing his date of birth please, for privacy reasons? Actually, we shouldn't be mentioning his name, either. ;)
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Apologises Ian - I thought the guideline was a cut-off date of 1925 and I presumed he had probably died :(
Just looking through Military - Bernard was enlisted in the US Army as you said - 12 Dec 1942 in Massachusetts so you would think that we could find him crossing the border from Canada or on passenger lists to the USA. At that stage he is also married. Wondered if City directories in Massachusetts would show him up but so far I have'nt come across anything. ???
On a Border Crossing in 1947 - Bernard gave an address of last residence as Stop 19. Kingston Road. Toronto. Ontario. If you contact the Ask A Librarian Link below they may be able to tell you who was living at that address in 1947. (Grateful thanks to Debbie on the Canada Board for pointing us in a direction)
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/contact/
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Ian, do you have Bernard's exact date of birth? In your Canadian thread:
"I am trying to trace Bernard James Ward, born early 1915 in Spratton, Northamptonshire, England..."
On this thread his dob is given as 9 January 1915.
I'm wondering if we have your Bernard who settled in Massachusetts, or if we found someone with the same name and approximate dob?
I just want to be sure we are tracking the correct fellow (and his family). ;)
PS You also state in the first post on this thread that you found "the above" facts from An...try. Maybe if you state all of the facts that you know (not what you found on An...try), we could be sure we have the correct Bernard. Sorry to create extra work, but I've made two mistakes with my own ancestors and now I'm overly cautious. ::)
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Hullo Sandra and Lisa! Can I reply jointly to you, as you are both helping me so much. We are right to be sceptical about some of the Ancestry information, because I feel a lot of the time they misread or misinterpret the information they read. I apply the old Mikhail Gorbachev Maxim: "Trust, then verify". If I am pointed towards a particular record, I always access it and read it for myself. It's the only way I find to ensure accuracy, For example, Bernard Ward's birthdate comes from the copy of his birth certificate I got from the General Records Office, as did Eric's. Often the precise birthdate seems the only way to obtain further information, provided that was composed correctly in the first place. I am very aware of the need for confidentiality and privacy; I just want to draw up a full picture of my family without causing any embarrassment to anyone. If a member of the family is looking for me, I am happy to be approached. I hope that assures you both that I am trying to do things the right way.
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Hi Ian:
RootsChatters try to help each other with searches, so by all means reply to us in one post.
Thank you for clarifying the birthdates. It appears that the correct Bernard was found.
I'll have another look around tonight; thank you again for clarifying.
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Hello Ian,
Have'nt forgotten you, just not making any progress I'm afraid. Regarding the younger brother - were there any UK Military references to him in WW2 - just asking to try and establish when he may have left England. My other thought has been if they were both Engineers - were they working on the ships and that is why we are not picking both brothers up on passenger lists. ???
Regards
Sandra ;)
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Hullo, Sandra, again! Thank you again for your suggestions. I have an Eric Ward as a crewman in the Merchant Navy in 1943 and 1953 (he appears to have joined as a boy sailor), but it isn't clear if he is the right one. Bernard was an agricultural engineer, which would not qualify him necessarily to be looking after marine engines; in any case, I have him volunteering for the US Army in 1942, as an aircraft engineer. Of course, in wartime, the Services needed everybody with skills, but didn't always put them in their own expert fields. For example, my late father (a qualified architect) was posted to the Royal
Engineers, to service radar sets! Anyway, I'll keep on looking. I am going to try the Toronto Public Library later on today, as Canada is five hours behind us in UK. Who knows what they can tell me. Thank you again. Best wishes IAN.
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Mr. Blakesley,
I found your post doing a search for information on Bernard Ward's early life; he was my father! Imagine my surprise and excitement to come across exchange. I wish that I could give you more detailed information, but I really only know of our own family life. I would like to be able to email you, if that sounds reasonable to you please let me know. There does seem to be a family resemblance!
Warm regards,
Amy
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Welcome to Roots Chat, Amy. Hopefully, Ian will be notified of your post & come back to respond. In the meantime, new members need to make at least 3 posts to have access to the private messaging system. If you make two more posts, you will be able to send Ian a private message with your e-mail address.
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Hullo, Amy Ward! Only today I have picked up your post here and your comment on Ancestry. I have so little on my family connections in Canada and the USA that anything you can give will be vital in my research. My Ancestry profiles on your father and his brother Eric are likely to be incomplete, so I would like to complete them. I really do look forward to hearing from you.
Warmest regards
Ian Blakesley.
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Welcome to Roots Chat, Amy. Hopefully, Ian will be notified of your post & come back to respond. In the meantime, new members need to make at least 3 posts to have access to the private messaging system. If you make two more posts, you will be able to send Ian a private message with your e-mail address.
Thank you for the welcome and your help!
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Hello, Ian Blakesley!
I wonder, then, are you a second or third cousin, or similar? It doesn't matter, of course. Exciting to have new family at all. My father's brother is still living, although I haven't heard from him in ages. I believe he has two daughters, at least one of which has a son. Then my dad had two sons, three daughters (including me), and perhaps another? You mentioned a daughter born at some point in the 40's. Curious!
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Hello Ian! I am Amy's sister, Amanda. This is very exciting for us! Our dad also had a sister named Cecily who is deceased. Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Hullo, Amanda, Amy's sister! Amy has contacted me through the Ancestry Members' Message System and will be giving me, hopefully, lots of information and photographs about your side of the family. The only information I have about your father Bernard is what I have gathered through the records available to Ancestry. (which are primarily UK) and through verbal memories from my late father. These contacts are the first I have had since September 1958, when your father's parents James and Hannah visited my grandfather Harry Blakesley (Hannah's first younger brother) and Walter (her second younger brother) here in UK. It's been too long. Let us reestablish contact.
Best wishes Ian Blakesley.
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I look forward to getting to know you!
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Here is post #3, now I can join you on the message system.
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Hullo, Amanda! Thank you so much for repying to my posts.
Your sister Amy sent me a lovely e-mail, with another to follow soon, giving me lots of detail about your family, yesterday. I have updated my profiles for your father on Ancestry and have found out where he was living from 1993 in West Harwich, Massachusetts.
I know a certain amount about your uncle Eric and his family through his daughter (*) in Vancouver, Canada, who I have spoken with on SKYPE back in January this year. Gradually I am building up a picture of you all, my long-lost American cousins and, one day, I hope we can all meet up.
Best wishes
Ian Blakesley
(*) Moderator Comment:
Edited in accordance with RootsChat policy of not publishing details of living people here, or details of people who may still be living. This is to protect all concerned from spam, identity abuse, internet abuse, etc, etc.
Please use the Personal Message (PM) system for exchanging personal data.