Duke Ward

Find a Grave

Birth: 1803 Ashe County North Carolina, USA

Death: 1880 Watauga County North Carolina, USA

Son of Benjamin WARD and Catherine HARMON. Married Lucinda TESTER.

When Duke's father felt that what would become Watauga county was starting to get a bit crowded and not fit his lifestyle (1824), he decided to sell his 240 acres in Cove Creek and move the family further along west into Tennessee. One of the not-so-small motivations for this move was that he noticed his son Duke falling in love with Lucy Tester. Apparently, Benjamin could not stand her father, Samuel, and forbid Duke from marrying her and told him that if he did, he would be cut off from the will. Duke reluctantly went west with his father, and the story is that they sent each other love letters so that Duke turned around during the sojourn and came back to Watauga county to start anew with nothing but the love of his life. Unfortunately for this story, the census records that he can neither read nor write. He also would go on to fight in the Union Army-- an extremely unusual (and probably also unpopular) decision.

Family links:

Parents:

• Benjamin Ward (1784 - 1847)

Spouse:

• Lucinda Tester Ward (1804 - 1880)*

Burial: Ward Cemetery Vilas Watauga County North Carolina, USA

When Duke's father felt that what would become Watauga county was starting to get a bit crowded and not fit his lifestyle (1824), he decided to sell his 240 acres in Cove Creek and move the family further along west into Tennessee. One of the not-so-small motivations for this move was that he noticed his son Duke falling in love with Lucy Tester. Apparently, Benjamin could not stand her father, Samuel, and forbid Duke from marrying her and told him that if he did, he would be cut off from the will. Duke reluctantly went west with his father, and the story is that they sent each other love letters so that Duke turned around during the sojourn and came back to Watauga county to start anew with nothing but the love of his life. Unfortunately for this story, the census records that he can neither read nor write. He also would go on to fight in the Union Army-- an extremely unusual (and probably also unpopular) decision.

Burial: Ward Cemetery Vilas Watauga County North Carolina, USA

GEDCOM Source

@R1000525017@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=109583074&pi...

Son of Benjamin WARD and Catherine HARMON. Married Lucinda TESTER.

When Duke's father felt that what would become Watauga county was starting to get a bit crowded and not fit his lifestyle (1824), he decided to sell his 240 acres in Cove Creek and move the family further along west into Tennessee. One of the not-so-small motivations for this move was that he noticed his son Duke falling in love with Lucy Tester. Apparently, Benjamin could not stand her father, Samuel, and forbid Duke from marrying her and told him that if he did, he would be cut off from the will.
Duke reluctantly went west with his father, and the story is that they sent each other love letters so that Duke turned around during the sojourn and came back to Watauga county to start anew with nothing but the love of his life. Unfortunately for this story, the census records that he can neither read nor write.
He also would go on to fight in the Union Army-- an extremely unusual (and probably also unpopular) decision.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jun 17 2023, 15:29:16 UTC