Kammala wannan jumla: An haife ta a Thorp, Norfolk a 1808 ga Kanar da Mrs Francis Skelly Tidy, "née" Miss Pinder, 'yar Babban Alkalin Barbados. Bayan makaranta a Faransa da London ta auri John Ward a 1831. Ya kasance jami'in soja daga Waterford, Ireland kuma matarsa ta bi shi a wurare daban-daban. Suna da 'ya daya, Isabel. Iyalin sun zauna tare a St Helena a ƙarshen 1830s. A cikin 1842 sun yi tafiya daga Cork zuwa gabashin iyakar Cape kuma sun shafe shekaru biyar a cikin mulkin mallaka na Burtaniya a can, a Fort Peddie da Grahamstown, a cikin abin da ake kira
"Yankin da aka Ba da". Ward ya koma Birtaniya a 1848. Wannan shine lokacin da ta fara buga littattafai masu tsayi, ta gina kan labaran da suka gabata da gajerun labaru. Wards na iya zama a Dover kafin ya koma Boulogne-sur-Mer a kimanin 1851, amma bayanan tarihin ba su da yawa. Ta mutu a shekara ta 1873.