Weather: Mostly Sunny, 43/56F.
Route: From Philadelphia 85 miles NNE on I-95 N.
Nickname: Brick City, The Gateway City, City By the River.
Places to Visit: Newark Museum, Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
Genealogy: There are some places that I'm visiting that are related to my ancestors. I started getting into genealogy about 10 years ago. What I find interesting about it is taking something from history and viewing it through the eyes of people who are my direct ancestors. There have also been a lot of interesting surprises as I've looked into my own genealogy - like the fact that I had ancestors who lived for over 100 years in Newark.
My great-grandmother Mabel was born in 1896 and alive until I was 13. She was my paternal grandfather's mother - her maiden name was Ward. The Ward's were interesting folks. She had an uncle who was in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. My dad remembers visiting the Ward's in western Nebraska as a child. They all had colorful nicknames apparently.
What we didn't know before getting into genealogy is that Mabel's great-grandfather was born in Newark, NJ in 1767 (her father and grandfather were born when their fathers were in their 40's and 50's). The Ward's were actually one of the first European families to settle in Newark, with John Ward moving from Branford, Connecticut, which was part of the New Haven Puritan Colony, to New Jersey in 1670. His father, also named John, migrated from England in 1649 to join the New Haven Colony.
So my branch of the Ward family spent over 100 years in Newark before starting to move westward in the early 1800's. When they moved from Newark it was still a relatively small town of less than 10,000 people - the industrial revolution of the mid and late 19th century changed Newark quite a bit from when my ancestors lived there. The changes they would have seen during their time there were still relatively significant. It was originally a puritan town. The name was taken both from Newark-upon-Trent in England - but also from the concept of a "New Ark of the Covenant." They would see the breaking up of the puritan theocracy in 1746 and of course the American Revolution and the War of 1812. I don't have any great stories about any of the Wards when they were in Newark - but I'm looking forward to visiting sometime and digging a little deeper!
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