Dudley Castle, in Dudley, England

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Rie Walton on July 12, 2009 at 6:15am

Hi Candi
I live about 5 miles from Dudley Castle. What particular period are you looking at? Is there any particular research you are interested in? There are lots of local industries associated with Dudley (and its castle) like glass making, iron working, limestone quarrying, open cast coal mining and eventually steel making. The castle is still open to visitors and is surrounded by Dudley Zoo and just below it sits the Black Country Heritage Museum with lots of examples of buildings and crafts from the early 1800's onwards.
Let me know what you would like to know and I'll see if I can help.

regards

Jen Walton, Stourbridge, Dudley, West Midlands, England

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Permalink Reply by GaryRea on July 18, 2009 at 5:36am

There was something familiar sounding about the name Dudley Castle, so I just checked my database and found that my 28th great-grandmother was Beatrix Ansculf, born about 1080 in Dudley, Worcester, England. By the way, I also have tons of ancestors in Dudley, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

So, it looks like your husband and I share some very old ancestry. Beatrix's father was Fritz Ansculf (possibly Fitz-Ansculf, according to Wikipedia's page on Dudley castle), according to my rather sketchy data. Beatrix married Fulk Paynell (Paganel). Their great-granddaughter, Hawise Paynell (Paganel) married John de Somery, Baron of Dudley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Castle

My line is as follows:

Fritz (Fitz?) Ansculf, b. abt 1050
Beatrix Ansculf and Fulk Paynell (Paganel)
Ralph Paynell (Paganel), b. abt 1100
Gervase Paynell (Paganel), Baron of Dudley
Hawise Paynell (Paganel) and John de Somery
Ralph de Somery, b. abt 1158
Roger de Somery, b. abt 1214
Roger Somery, b. abt 1239
Margaret Somery and Sir John de Sutton
Maude de Sutton and Geoffrey Jocelyn
Ralph Jocelyn, b. abt 1340
Geoffrey Jocelyn, b. abt 1374
Geoffrey Jocelyn, b. 1423
John Josselyn, b. 1449
Ralph Josselyn, b. 1475
Ralph Joslin, b. 1503
John Josselyne, b. 1525
Ralph Josselyne, b. 1556
Thomas Josselyne, b. 1591
Nathaniel Joslin, b. 1627
Nathaniel Joslin, b. 1658
Israel Joslin, b. 1692
Israel Joslin, b. 1719
Edward Joslin, b. 4 December 1746
Azubah Joslin and Ira Jacobs
Mary Ann Jacobs and John Bates
Allen Bates, b. 15 July 1845
Clara Isabel Bates and Orvin James Rea
Noel Bates Rea, b. 22 April 1900
Russell Allen Rea, b. 31 December 1924
Me, b. 1952

So, which one of us gets to move into the castle? I think it needs some remodeling first. ;)
Then again, I just read that the castle passed from the de Sutton family to John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, so it left my lineage's possession at that point. :(


Gary Rea

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Permalink Reply by Stacye Mehard on July 18, 2009 at 2:41pm

I'm researching the Ward family of Dudley Castle. I've been searching for years for the origin of my 16oo's ancestor Robert Ward who came to America in the 16oo's. That has led to a one-name study on all the Ward families from that period in England.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Ward on August 9, 2009 at 3:42pm

Hi Stacye,

I have a family history for which the original research was done in the 1890s about "my" Ward family. They also arrived in America in the 1600s. The research suggests that they might also be from the Wards of Dudley since the coat of arms we use is similar to that used by the "Dudley" family. The Wards I am sure of are Henry (born abt 1638), William (born abt 1646) and John (born abt 1666). Maybe we should see if we can find a connection. I just joined Genealogy Wise.

A coat of arms which somewhat resembles that of the "Dudley" family has been used for many years by several branches of the Cecil County Wards and is described, as follows:

Arms - Azure, a cross flory
Crest - A wolf's head
Motto - Comme je fus

In common parlance the coat of arms may be described as a blue (azure) shield on which is a gold colored cross which has arms of even length and at the end of each arm three small arcs or quarter circles to represent fruits or flowers (a cross flory). The wolf's head in the crest is half gold colored and half blue, the colors being divided horizontally, the upper half gold colored, the lower half blue.

Ellen Ward

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Permalink Reply by Stacye Mehard on August 17, 2009 at 3:11am

Hi Ellen,

I don't know where Robert Ward landed or initially settled. What I do know is that he appears in Princess Anne County, Virginia in the 1600's, and settled there for the duration. My direct "Ward" family left Princess Anne after they sold the land for taxes in the late 1800's. They moved to Norfolk, Virgnia. My mother's maiden name is Ward. I've recently moved and haven't gotten to my Ward materials yet. When I do I'll post to you more of the info I know. I have quite a bit on the Dudley Castle branch of the Wards.
Stacye

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Ward on August 17, 2009 at 4:56am

Hi Stacye,

My Wards lived in Cecil County, Maryland since the mid to late 1600s. Lately I've been trying to see if they originally settled in Virginia and then moved up the Chesapeake Bay as opposed to coming down from New York or Massachusetts. I'll try to gather together the information I have on Robert Ward who appears in Maryland. I haven't been able to connect to him but who knows? What led you to Dudley Castle? My brother (a Ward) took a DNA test. Have you done that for any Ward males in your line?

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Permalink Reply by Stacye on January 3, 2010 at 3:00am

Hi Ellen,

I'm almost to being able to gather up all my Ward materials and get organized & going forward with them again. I'm guessing within the next 2 months. I'll let you know when my first definate date on Robert Ward appearing in Princess Anne, Va was. Perhaps my Robert Ward, and yours from Maryland are the same! I'll be able to get to the Dudley Castle Ward family information then as well!! I believe one of my male Ward relatives said something about pursuing the DNA Testing. I'll ask him when we talk next. Stacye

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Ward on January 4, 2010 at 8:49am

Great! Looking forward to it! Happy New Year!

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