MacWard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the MacWard family

Early History of the MacWard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacWard research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1749 and 1794 are included under the topic Early MacWard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacWard Spelling Variations

In the days before Gaelic or English gained any significant semblance of standardization, the scribes who created documents simply recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research into the MacWard family history revealed numerous spelling variations of the name, including MacWard, McWard, Macanward, MacCanward, MacAward and many more.

Early Notables of the MacWard family

More information is included under the topic Early MacWard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the MacWard family

Often leaving from racial discrimination and colonial oppression, thousands of families left Ireland in the 19th century for North America aboard passenger ships. Many early immigrants found a plot of land to call their own, something unimaginable for most Irish families. Those that arrived later were often accommodated as laborers since there was a large demand for cheap labor. This was the fate for many of the families that arrived in North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Whether they became agrarian settlers or industrial workers, the Irish that came to North America were invaluable for rapid development of the infant nations of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name MacWard or a variant listed above: Elizabeth McWard, who arrived in Philadelphia from Londonderry in 1851; William McWard, who settled in Philadelphia in 1860; Anabella Ward, who came to Philadelphia in 1857.