Lois Ward, 1723-1804

Lois Ward, born September 21, 1723, was a great-granddaughter (on her paternal grandfather's side) of John Ward and a great-granddaughter (on her paternal grandmother's side) of Samuel Kitchell. John Ward (1620-1694) and Samuel Kitchell (1635-1690) were among the original white settlers who had come from the New Haven colony with Robert Treat to settle in Newark in 1666.

Lois was married in 1748 to William Hand. The couple had 11 children. For a time, the family lived at the Hand House (still standing) in present-day Maplewood. Both died in Livingston in the early 1800s.

Hand House, Maplewood

At the south side of Valley Street, in between Harvard Avenue and Tuscan Road, there is a house that has stood for nearly 200 years more than the vast majority of homes that have since sprung up around it. According to Images of America: Maplewood, the house "may have been built as early as 1730. Records indicate that William Hand sold part of his farm to Samuel Pierson in 1762." Chief Tuscan's encampment may have been just behind the house, on the bank of the stream, and he may be buried there along with his horse.

William Hand was born September 9, 1721, in East Hampton, New York. He married Lois Ward (born September 21, 1723), of Newark, in 1748. The couple had 11 children. William Hand died in Livingston on August 20, 1806. Lois died December 28, 1804, also in Livingston.