South Yorkshire Times November 8, 1947

Oldest Woman Resident
A Mexborough Nonagenarian

Believed to be Mexborough’s oldest woman resident, Mrs. Janet Ward. of 16, Carlyle Street. Mexborough, celebrated her 92nd. birthday on Sunday.

Youngest of a family of 12, Mrs. Ward, was born in a house in High Street. Mexborough. Her father, Thomas Barron, came to Mexborough from Hunslet, and started Barron’s glassworks.

Mrs. Ward has spent nearly all her life in Mexborough, and has been married three times, her late husband Mr. Christopher Ward, a former member of Mexborough Urban Council dying 10 years ago. In one branch of her family there are five generations, and her youngest great great grandson, 18 months old Bernard Pryor lives at Grimethorpe. She has had three children, has 13 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, and eight great-great-grand-children.

Mrs. Ward gets up for her tea every day, staying up for a fear hours, talking with her son and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. William Grant, with whom she lives.

Asked if she wished to live to be a 100, Mrs. Ward said “I would rather not.” Mrs. Ward doesn’t see much of the outside world nowadays, but when the weather is fine she has a walk to the garden gate.

Mrs. Ward remembers when Church Street, Mexborough, was known as “Sack Street.” This part of Mexborough was known as old Mexborough, new Mexborough being the Adwick Road district. Mrs. Ward wonders what people would do nowadays if they had to queue for drinking water as they used to do at the old “Tap steps” situated near Mexborough Library in Bank Street.