This thorough investigation of the Ward family by William Hurley, one of Maryland's most prolific authors of genealogy, begins with James White Ward, a Revolutionary War veteran born in 1759 and the father of Ignatius Pigman Ward, whose three sons then contribute the remaining family history. One of them, Enoch George Ward, married three times and was the father of twenty children. The descendants are followed to the present time with information from land, church and cemetery records, census returns, family files, and any documents that could be found through the Montgomery County Historical Society. As always, the interesting and straightforward presentation of the data makes Mr. Hurley's books valuable to both seasoned and novice family hunters. This volume is completed by a twenty-eight-page index full of local family names, including Allgood, Baker, Brown, Burdette, Day, Dunn, Duvall, Fulks, Gingell, King, Nicholson, Pearce, Ricketts, Schneider, Sullivan, and six pages of Wards alone. The Wards of Maryland provides all kinds of interesting details when available such as occupations, personal belongings, military service and legal proceedings. The author points out that in the Ward families of Montgomery and Frederick counties a number of lineages appear to be involved, including German and English. Although Mr. Hurley concentrates on traceable lines of descent, all of the information uncovered in his research is included in this text so that it will not be lost, and can be of value for other researchers.