Cloward Family History
I decided to start this blog to let all of you know what I have found so far on our Cloward Family History lines. I'm just starting but have been learning a lot and have found some interesting information as I have gone along. Wendy and I have taken a few trips now to Pennsylvania in the past year, and this last one we took dad and mom with us. We saw some beautiful country, how hard it must have been for Jacob and Ann to leave these beautiful surroundings and family for their beliefs. They were strong people, I will share pictures and information that I gather so that you can learn more about our ancestors as well.
Monday, August 31, 2026
More to Come and some YouTube Videos I Made
I'm going to work on being better at updating this blog regularly. Also, I decided to start a YouTube channel not long ago. I have my intro video, and first episode up, that i will post links to here in case you are interested. I will be making videos of the Cloward family, the first one will be up hopefully this weekend or the first part of next week. It will be about the Thomas and Margaret Cloward family, who had to indenture at least one of their children, (that's all I've found so far, it seems unlikely to me that they would have only had to indenture one child...and he was eight years old! Then their son John passed away young, and his wife had to indenture three daughters, two at the age of 9 and one of them at 13! Those were tough times...I will post here as soon as that episode is live. This is the introduction video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Xrv_GhoME and this is the first episode about my Grandpa Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbwgb25tqxU
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Sunday, September 17, 2017
William Cloward, Indentured Servant?
William Cloward, Indentured Servant?
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2389520/william_cloward/#
Check this out! The Pennsylvania Gazette dated May 13, 1762, tells of a William Cloward who had escaped his master, having been given the responsiblity of driving a wagon from Lancaster to Philadelphia and never returned. Could this be our William? Could he have headed to Maryland, become a landowner, and raised a family there? In those days indentured servants were sometimes treated poorer than slaves. Indentured servants were under contract to their master for 7 years and at the end of those 7 years, the master would relinquish ownership and give the indentured servant a parcel of land. So...if the indentured servant didn't survive, the master didn't need to give him anything. So this makes William's desire to escape and start a new life pretty plausible.
What do you think? Does anyone out there know otherwise?
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2389520/william_cloward/#
Check this out! The Pennsylvania Gazette dated May 13, 1762, tells of a William Cloward who had escaped his master, having been given the responsiblity of driving a wagon from Lancaster to Philadelphia and never returned. Could this be our William? Could he have headed to Maryland, become a landowner, and raised a family there? In those days indentured servants were sometimes treated poorer than slaves. Indentured servants were under contract to their master for 7 years and at the end of those 7 years, the master would relinquish ownership and give the indentured servant a parcel of land. So...if the indentured servant didn't survive, the master didn't need to give him anything. So this makes William's desire to escape and start a new life pretty plausible.
What do you think? Does anyone out there know otherwise?
Grateful
I have been watching a DVD series that I purchased last week from Deseret Book entitled History of the Saints, Gathering to the West. It tells the story of the "Mormon" pioneers (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) I have learned so much watching these DVD's and the stories that they share have more meaning for me knowing that our ancestors were a part of this time period. My interest in the Cloward family in particular is that my husband and I actually share this family line, DeeRay's great, great, great grandmother is Charlotte, Jacob and Ann Clowards second oldest child, and my great, great grandfather is Jacob and Ann's fifth child, Thomas Poulsen. The Clowards joined the Mormon Church around 1842, my records show that Catherine Ann Pluck Cloward was baptized in June of 1842, Thomas was baptized on August 1, 1842,(a letter in his own handwriting that I have a copy of says he was baptized in 1844 by William A. Moor) and his sister Charlotte joined the church in June of 1843. Even though I can't find a baptismal date for Jacob Cloward, their father, he obviously was baptized around this same time, as church records show he was sealed to his wife in the Endowment House in 1861. I am assuming that they lived in Delaware at the time that they joined the church as they had their last few children in this area. Jacob Cloward had a brother, Thomas, who lived in Wilmington, Cecil, Delaware at that time, and some of his descendents still live in that area. I was able to contact them a few years ago and we had tried to coordinate meeting, but it didn't work out. I'm hoping to make another trip out to that area and hopefully hook up with them. According to Thomas Poulsen Cloward's own writing, his family came to Nauvoo in 1844.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Kendall Children
Kimberley also shared that "The Cloward family must have been close to the Day, Kendall and Rolleston families. As I mentioned, my grandmother's sister Ella was given the surname as her middle name "Ella Cloward Kendall". Ella was very proud of the fact that she was an honours graduate of Colombia University. (she was clever ! and her son was a judge in Canada, also clever !) Ella had 6 fingers and 6 toes (fully functional). This is a reoccurring birth defect with the Kendall line"
Friday, September 8, 2017
Photo Collection of the Cloward Family
On Monday, Kimberley Walsh contacted me through this blog and shared that she had photos!! So these are photos that she has shared with us. These are part of the private collection of Kimberley Walsh, 4 x great granddaughter of Thomas Cloward and Eliza Jane DuShane Cloward. This Thomas Cloward would be a nephew to Jacob Cloward and cousin to Thomas Poulsen Cloward. Thank you so much Kimberley for sharing these photos with all of us!!
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| Thomas and Eliza Jane DuShane Cloward Thomas is the son of Thomas Cloward, Jacob Cloward's brother |
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| Thomas and Eliza Jane with their children, William Henry, Ella Mary, and Emma |
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| This was on the back of the photograph just above |
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| Ella Mary Cloward, daughter of Thomas and Eliza Jane |
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| Ella Mary Cloward |
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| Alceus Day, Ella Mary's husband |
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| Ella Mary Cloward |
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| Inscription written on the back of the above photo by Ella Mary Cloward |
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| The house that Ella Mary Cloward and her husband Alceus Day lived in while he worked as the manager of a mine. The inscription on the back of the photo is just above |
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| Ruthella Moore Day Kendall, wedding photo, daughter of Alceus and Ella Mary Cloward Day |
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| Wedding Photo of Ruth Kendall Rolleston, Kimberley's grandmother, granddaughter of Alceus and Ella Mary Cloward Day |
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| Ruthella Moore Day Kendall, Alceus and Ella Mary's daughter |
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| Kimberley is not sure who this man is, if anyone sees this and happens to know, please comment on the blog! |
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| Unknown who these people are either, any help would be appreciated. |
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| Same family it looks like with the parents included, again, if you have any idea who these people are, let us know |
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Family History Trip w/Dad & Mom
Taking a trip out to Pennsylvania has been of dream of mom's for quite a while, so Wendy and I decided to take her and dad out there to visit some of the places where mom's ancestors had lived and to see if we could find any new information while we were there.
Lancaster County is so breathtakingly beautiful! We stopped there first on our trip.
These are some pictures of St. Mary Anne's Church in North East, Maryland, where William Cloward, Jacob's grandfather, attended church, he is the earliest known Cloward in the United States
We stopped again on this trip in Chadds Ford and visited the Friends Cemetery there as Wendy found a link to her husband Bob's family, can you believe Wendy was able to do
a crayon rubbing and get the information off of this gravestone!
a crayon rubbing and get the information off of this gravestone!
At the Wilmington Delaware Historical Society looking for new leads
...and at the Cecil County, Maryland Historical Society,
we found cameras work really well and a lot cheaper than photocopies,
and most places will allow you to use your cameras.
We drove out to Elk Neck, Maryland and visited Elk Neck State Park, where William Cloward owned land according to the land records of Cecil County back in the 1700's, I got to go view the original records in the Cecil County Courthouse, it was awesome! Can you imagine living in such a beautiful place right out on the Chesapeake Bay! Wendy and I walked up the trail a ways but didn't want to leave dad and mom alone in the car for too long...there is a beautiful lighthouse at the end of the trail...didn't quite make it that far.
We went in to Philadelphia the next day with Alisha and visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, a must see when you visit out here.
then we had to stop at Reading Market to try a Philly Cheesesteak
and get some Amish Sticky Buns
There are over twenty covered bridges in Lancaster County, we saw about half of them
The dogwood trees were out in bloom and everywhere, beautiful!
We went to church on Sunday in Pottstown, where Jacob and Ann Cloward were married and had their first three children, the Meads, good friends of Ryan and Shanda's (my brother and his wife) had us over for dinner after church.
The Winter Encampment at Valley Forge

We visited Valley Forge on the last day before we headed home,
above is George Washington's quarters at Valley Forge
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