Jean Templeton Ward, Lady Ward CBE

DStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

( Reid; 13 July 1884 – 1 May 1962) was an American-born philanthropist and society hostess. The only daughter of Whitelaw Reid, the American Ambassador to the United Kingdom, she lived in London after her marriage to Sir John Hubert Ward, second son of the William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley.

Early life

Ward was a daughter of Whitelaw Reid and Elisabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Mills) Reid (1857–1931), Her older brother was New York publisher Ogden Mills Reid, who married Helen Miles Rogers. Her father served as the

U.S. Minister to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

(under President Benjamin Harrison) and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft) until his death in 1912. Her parents were social people known for throwing lavish parties, including a musicale at their residence in Manhattan, at Madison Avenue and 50th Street, for 400 people, in 1901. Shortly before her father's death, he hosted the Duke and Duchess of Connaught at his New York home. Her maternal grandparents were financier Darius Ogden Mills and Jane Templeton (née Cunningham) Mills. Her maternal uncle was financier and Thoroughbred racehorse owner Ogden Mills. Her cousins included Gladys Livingston Mills (wife of Henry Carnegie Phipps), Beatrice Mills (wife of

Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard, (17 September 1874 – 10 September 1948), styled Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Liberal politician. Background Granard was the son of ...

), Ogden Livingston Mills (the 50th United States Secretary of the Treasury who married Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd).

Personal life

Ward’s engagement to the 38-year-old Hon. Sir John Hubert Ward (1870–1938), was announced in April 1908. He was a son of William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley and Georgina Ward, Countess of Dudley. His paternal grandfather was William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward and his maternal grandfather was Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet. They were married on 23 June 1908 at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace in a ceremony attended by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The wedding was celebrated at Dorchester House, and was considered one of the greatest society events of the year. Together, the couple had two sons: Together, they were the parents of: * Edward John Sutton Ward (1909–1990), who married Margaret Susan Corbett in 1934. After her death in 1981, he married Marion Elizabeth Jessie Clover, the former wife of William Romilly, 4th Baron Romilly, in 1986. His godfather was King Edward VII. * Alexander Reginald Ward (1914–1987), a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Berkshire between 1941 and 1947, who married Ilona Hollos in 1946. They divorced in 1959 and he married Zena Moyra Marshall in 1967. They divorced 1969 and he married Constance Cluett Sage. Ward was an "accomplished horsewoman... excellent musician" and fluent in several languages including German and Italian. In 1912, Sir John paid £10,000 for Dudley House, a 44,000 square foot London townhouse that was built for his ancestor, the

6th Baron Ward John Ward, 1st Viscount Dudley and Ward (6 March 1704 – 6 May 1774), known as John Ward until 1740 and as the 6th Baron Ward from 1740 to 1763, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1734. Life Ward was the s ...

. The house, where the Wards hosted the King and Queen in 1914, was bombed during the War. The Wards also had a country estate, known as Chilton, in Hungerford, Berkshire. For her charitable work during World War II, Lady Ward was made a Commander of the British Empire and was a Dame of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Sir John died at their home, Dudley House in London, on 2 December 1938. Lady Ward died in May 1962.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

Jean Templeton Ward (née Reid)
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

Codicils to the will of the Hon. Jean Templeton Ward (Lady Ward), CBE of Chilton, Hungerford, Berks. Dudley House, London and Kinnaird, Ballinluig, Perthshire
at The National Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Jean Templeton 1884 births 1962 deaths Jean Templeton Jean Templeton American emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom American socialites British socialites British people of American descent Gilded Age People from Manhattan Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Wives of knights