Richard Woodward, (immigrant?)

Notes:

http://www.woodward-mattson.com/woodward_history.html


The children of Richard Woodward and Mary Nayle were the following: Henry, John, Deborah, Richard, Mary, possibly Alice, unnamed child who died young, and Thomas.

Thomas, (b. 11/7/1722, d. 6/15/1785), married a widow, Elizabeth Kirk Jacobs, (b. 1/5/1721, d. 1/25/1812), on 10/26/1745 at Nottingham Meeting, Chester Co., PA. (More on Thomas Woodward).

Thomas and Elizabeth had the following children: Rebecca, Elizabeth, Samuel, Thomas, Deborah, Mary, Timothy, and Susanna.

Samuel Woodward, (b. 8/9/1750, d. 2/28/1814) had two wives. His first was Sarah Jackson, (b. 3/4/1750- d. 10/14/1791), who died leaving 9 children. They were Susanna, John, Samuel, Sarah, William, Thomas, Levi, Rachel, and Rebecca.

William Woodward was born 1/23/1782. He married Sarah Bolton, (b. 9/28/1782-9/1/1856), at Old Kennett Meeting on January 15, 1812. One of his descendants possesses the marriage certificate. The Old Kennett Meeting still stands along Route 1 near the intersection with Route 52 in Kennett Township, Chester County, PA. It is open to the public one Sunday per month in the summer. William was the first of our direct line to settle in Kennett Township. He died June 13, 1856 in Christiana Hundred, DE.

William and Sarah had three sons: John Jackson, b. 1812, Washington Bolton, b. 1814, and Isaac, b. 1817. John Jackson married Hannah Mattson , November 7, 1838 at Old Kennett Meeting.

John Jackson Woodward (1812-1875) had three sons: Albert Mattson (1839-1926); Adolphus Darwin (1841-1929); and Theodore Bolton (1843-1916). All members of the Woodward-Mattson clan are descended from any one of these three sons. Albert, Darwin, and Theodore were all successful farmers in Kennett Township, Chester County, PA

Richard married Mary Nayle in 1705 in Chester Co, Pennsylvania. Mary was born on 24 Sep 1684; died in 1748. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Henry Woodward
2. John Woodward
3. Deborah Woodward
4. Richard Woodward, (immigrant) was born on 1 Mar 1670 in Chesire, England; died before 17 Nov 1752 in West Bradford Twp, Chester Co, Pennsylvania.
5. Mary Woodward
6. Alice Woodward
7. (child) Woodward died in (died young).
8. Thomas Woodward was born on 7 Nov 1722; died on 15 Jun 1758.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Religion: Quaker
• Immigration: Abt 1686

Notes:

http://www.woodward-mattson.com/woodward_history.html

As the primary source of earlier Chester County, Pennsylvania Woodward lineage before John Jackson Woodward (1812-1875), we have relied on Dr. Lewis Woodward's Woodward Genealogy of 1879. A copy of this book is located in the Chester County Historical Society Library, West Chester, PA. The Woodward-Mattsons can thus trace our line back to Robert Woodward (abt 1638-1698). The following is written about Robert in the "Woodward of Chester Co." file in the PA Historical Society, Phila. PA: "Robert Woodward came to Chester Co., PA about 1687....Robert first settled in Lower Providence Township, [then in Chester County, PA; after 1770, in Delaware Co. and now called Nether Providence Township], but in 1696 he was of the Manor of Rockland, Brandywine Hundred, [now New Castle County, DE]. Later he was in Birmingham and East Bradford Township, Chester Co., PA. He had two children: Ann, d. 1720; m. 6/27/1698 or 7/26/1698 to George James of Springfield Township; and Richard (1673-1748), m. Mary Nayle"

Now here is the mystery. Most research agrees that Robert had a brother Richard. The two are mentioned as early as 1688 in court documents as having served as jurors. An Elizabeth Woodward, possibly a sister, married a Thomas Eavenson on 26 Jul 1688.. However, NO ONE, to my knowledge, has yet been able to link Robert and Richard Woodward definitely to England! My own conjecture is that the brothers may have originated in the Cheshire area, since many of their neighbors in Lower Providence Township, Chester County, PA came from that region. Neighbors John Simcock and John Sharpless both arrived in Upland, PA, 14 August 1682 on The Friendship out of Liverpool. Both neighbors were from Cheshire, England.

The religion of the early Woodwards, like that of their neighboring farmers, was Quaker.

The origins of the name Woodward: The American Genealogical Research Institute (AGRI) tells us that Woodward is an occupational name derived from the combination of "wood" with the Old English "weard," a guardian. The woodward (warden of the woods) was employed by estate owners to guard their private timber stands and game reserves. However, some researchers assert that "Woodward" is the anglicization of the Norman knight, Garde du Bois, "guardian of the wood." Further, the Norman Garde du Bois is an adaptation from the Norse "Videvarde." Norsemen settled in Normandy about the 8th c. AD. In England, some early variants of the name were Wadard, Wodeward (1272), and Woddeword (1379). AGRI says that the name Woodward is most abundant in the English counties of Worcestershire, Derbyshire, and Gloucestershire. The 1970 U. S. Census shows Woodward to be the 722nd most frequently occurring surname in the nation. In 1980, there were more than 40,000 adult Americans named Woodward.