*Note: One newspaper article lists Margaret's birthdate as Dec. 25, 1885.

Margaret's parents were James J. Ward, b. Mar. 1852 in Ireland (and died after the 1920 census and before 1929, according to their daughter, Mary Agnes (Ward) Duffee's obituary). &
Mary A. Sullivan, b. Apr. 1856 in Ireland and d. Aug. 18 (or 20), 1919

James and Mary Ward's children were:
1. John Ward, b. Aug. 1878 in MA.
2. * Mary Agnes Ward, b. Jul. 17, 1881 in Peabody, Essex county, MA. and d. Nov. 8, 1929 in Salem, Essex county, MA. Mary marr. Charles Alvin Rogers Duffee. (buried Nov. 10)
3. *Martin Ward, b. Jun. 16, 1883 in Peabody, Essex county, MA. and d. Aug. 15, 1942.
4. * Margaret Ward, b. Dec. 1885 in Peabody, Essex county, MA. and d. Jul. 5, 1916 in Salem, Essex county, MA.
5. * James Joseph Ward, b. Nov. 24, 1887 in Peabody, Essex county, MA. and d. Mar. 12, 1965.
6. * Patrick Joseph Ward, b. Apr. 24, 1891 in Peabody, Essex county, MA.and d. Oct. 19, 1976 in Salem, Essex county, MA.
7.

In the 1900 U. S. census, 14 yr. old Margaret Ward, b. Dec. 1885 in MA., was attending school and living at 20 Union St. in Peabody, Essex county, MA. with her
48 yr. old father, James Ward, a Leather Tanner, b. Mar. 1852 in Ireland
44 yr. old mother, Mary Ward, b. Apr. 1856 in Ireland
21 yr. old brother, John F. Ward, a Farm Laborer, b. Aug. 1878 in MA.
18 yr. old sister, Mary Ward, working in Shoe Findings/Finishings, b. Jul. 1881 in MA.
16 yr. old brother, Martin J. Ward, a Produce Peddler, b. Jun. 1883 in MA.
12 yr. old brother, James Ward, attending school, b. Nov. 1887 in MA.
9 yr. old Patrick H. Ward, attending school, b. Apr. 1891 in MA.
James and Mary Sr. had been married for 23 years.
Mary was the mother of 7 children, only 6 still alive by this census.
James and Mary immigrated to the U. S. in 1870. James was now a naturalized citizen.
James and Mary's parents were all born in Ireland.

In the 1910 U. S. census, 23 yr. old Margaret Ward, a Machine Operator in a shoe shop, b. in MA., was unmarried and living on Northend St. in Peabody, Essex county, MA. with her
68 yr. old father, James J Ward, a Curer/Carrier? at a tannery, b. in Ireland
56 yr. old mother, Mary Mary, b. in Ireland
32 yr. old unmarried brother, John F Ward, an Electrician, b. in MA.
25 yr. old unmarried brother, Martin J Ward, a Tree warden (?) for the town, b. in MA.
22 yr. old unmarried brother, James J Ward, a Tacker (?) at a leather factory, b. in MA.
19 yr. old brother, Patrick H Ward, a Tacker (?) at a leather factory, b. in MA.
This was a first marriage for James and Mary. They had been married for 36 years.
Mary was the mother of 7 children, only 6 still alive by this census.

The Boston Evening Globe (Boston, MA.), P.1, Col. 7-8, and P. 4, Col. 6 - 7
Wed., Jul. 5, 1916
6 MEN TAKEN WITH BODY OF GIRL
3 BOSTON WOMEN QUESTIONED
MARGARET WARD, PEABODY, DEAD
Remains Carried From Roxbury To Salem, Early Today
Another Person Sought on Charge Of Criminal Operation
Driving through the night in an automobile with the body of a woman who is believed to have died in Roxbury after an illegal operation, six men were arrested in Salem early this morning, as they were trying ti deliver the body there, to relatives of the woman.
With prompt police action the trail was traced back to Roxbury, and before noon, three women, sisters, taken from the building 40-44 Warren St., were being questioned at the Roxbury Police Station, and the detention of a fourth person was expected.
The dead woman is Miss Margaret Ward of Northland St., Peabody, about 27 years of age.
In the automobile in which her body was found at 4 a.m. were William Conlin of Beaver St., Salem, reported to have been her lover; Ex-Representative Charles R. O'Connell, a lawyer, of 18 Emerson St., Peabody; James O'Connell of Pleasant St., Lynn, his brother; Daniel J. Dinner of 167 Boston St., Salem; George A. Bardwell of the U. S. S. Kearsarge, now at Charlestown Navy Yard, and Thomas J. Sexton of 42 Clement Av., Peabody, the chauffeur.
Girl's Sister Refused Body
They first appeared about 4 a.m. at the home of Serge. Charles A. R. Duffee of 130 Boston St., Salem, whose wife is said to be the sister of the dead woman. They then called, or attempted to call, and leave the body, but the family refused to accept it, and the men were advised to go to the undertaking rooms of George W. Full, at 21 Church St.
On the way there they were arrested on Boston St. by patrolman Healy and another policeman, and were taken to the station. The woman's body was taken to Full's morgue, where it now lies.
At the station, the men, charged as an accessory to an illegal operation, were told to provide $2,000 recognizance apiece for their release. Only Charles O'Connel, Conlin and Sexton were able to do this, the other three remaining at the station house.
Capt. Edwin W. Dennis of the Salem police, learning that the operation had been performed in Boston and that at least three of the men - Conlin, James O'Connell and Bardwell - had gone from this city with Saxton, started the inquiry here.
Chauffeur Points Out House'Acting City Marshall Cornelius F. Begly of Salem, with Sexton, the chauffeur, who appeared anxious to tell all he knew of the case, drove to Boston Police Headquarters.
Sexton said that he could point out the house in Roxbury from which the girl- then living, as he believed - was taken, and Inspector James A. Dennessey of headquarters and Serge. William J. Irwin of Station 5, the latter because of his familiarity with cases of the kind, were added to the party.
As the house was in Division 9, the officers went to that station, and Sergts. Flynn and Lyons, with special officer Daniel Hines, were sent to the block at 4-44 Warren St., Roxbury, close to the Dudley St. Elevated Terminal, to bring to the station three women, reported friends of the dead girl, who was taken from the same house.
Women Self on Suspicion
It was soon after 8:30 a.m. that they reached the station house, and there in the captain's room they were closely examined for hours by officers Begler, Irwin and Dennessey, who's stenographer was with him, and Capt. Herbert W. Goodwin of the division.
One officer says the women are sisters and another says they are not. As they are not under arrest, but are only held on suspicion, their names have not been given out by the police.
The apprehension of a fourth woman is sought. She was not at the house this morning, and police inquiry at the Boston department store where she has been employed brought the information that she had been reported as sick today.
The three women denied not only any wrongdoing, but even any acquaintance with the Ward girl.
Girl Alive on Entering Car
Their story, however, is in conflict with that told by chauffeur Sexton, who, the officers think, has told them all he knew, if not more.
He had been engaged at the North Station, he says, by James O'Connell to take him and his companions to Roxbury and to carry back a sick woman to Salem or Peabody.
He had gone to Warren St., near Ziegler St., where he stopped the car, and from the back entrance of a house, there a woman came out. He did not notice her closely, he says, but saw that she held a handkerchief to her face and that she seemed to be weak and exhausted, so that, after passing through the gate, she had to be helped into the car.
Roxbury Police Believe Chauffeur
According to his story, she died in the car on the way to Salem, though he does not know just when or where. Her body remained on the rear seat in the tonneau, propped up between two of the men. Frantic with fear of discovery and resulting trouble, they sought to dispose of it on reaching Salem.
Sexton's account is so satisfactory to the Roxbury police that he has been released, so far as they are concerned, though still under bonds to appear at a Salem court hearing.
At 11:45 a.m. Sergt. Flynn of the Roxbury Station, who went out in civilian clothes, brought there a young man of about 25, a brother of one of the girls detained and he was also questioned.
Charles R. O'Connell, best known of the men arrested, was a member of the House from the 11th Essex District in 1911 and 1912. Born in Peabody in 1874 he learned the printer's trade after leaving school and was for many years on the Lynn Item, though subsequently he joined the bar.
There is no George A. Bardwell known on the U. S. S. Kearsarge, but the Boston directory gives the name as that of a chauffeur living at 11 Allston St., West End.
District Attorney Investigates
Acting under instructions from Dist. Atty. Pelletier, Asst. Dist. Atty. Daniel V. McIsaac began an investigation of the cause of the death of Miss Ward. Inspector Hennessey and Salem officers are at work in the Roxbury district, seeking to secure evidence against a physician alleged to have performed an illegal operation on the girl.
If the inquiry discloses that the operation was performed in this city or any act was done here in connection with the operation or death of the young woman, speedy action will be taken by the district attorney's office.
The Grand Jury is sitting this week. It is its first session, having been drawn for a six months' term beginning this month. Asst. Dist. Atty. McIsaac will confer with the policemen at work on the case, and any evidence secured will be presented forthwith to the Grand Jury, and an indictment will be returned as quickly as possible.
Dr. Augustus W. Turner is the last to stand trial and receive sentence for a criminal operation here.
Brother of Women Questioned
The brother of two sisters, who with their cousin are being held by the Roxbury police pending word from the Salem authorities, left Station 9 shortly before 1 this afternoon, accompanied by Sergt. William J. Flynn, who had brought him to the station half an hour before.
The brother, who is about 25, was questioned by Inspector Dennessey, and Capt. Goodwin in the presence of a police stenographer, and according to the police he denies all knowledge of the Salem death case. He told the officers that he did not come home until about 3 this morning and knew nothing of the death mystery until he was accosted by the police and taken to the station.
When the young man left the station this afternoon, he walked along unattached to the sergeant. While the police would not say where they were going, it is supposed that the brother was accompanying the sergeant to places where his missing sister, the oldest of three, might be found. The brother is not being held in any way, though the girls are detained at the station as suspicious persons. At 2 this afternoon the girls had not been formally booked and Capt. Goodwin said he would not take this step unless the Salem police requested that the girls be turned over to them.
Clothing on Line Was Seized
At the station house the police have some clothing which was hanging to dry in the yard in the rear of the house where the girls made their home at 42-44 Warren Av., a three-story wooden house, occupied on the street floor by a liquor store and above on the first floor by the girls, who lived on the Zeigler St. side of the house.
The opposite apartment is occupied by a dentist, who does not know the young women, one of who, kept house for the others, who are employed in department stores in town. The police say that the girls admit that the washing being held at the station is theirs and that they have had it out to dry since Monday. There are said to be some spots on the washing and it is likely that the police will have these spots examined to see what the stains are.
The three girls deny ever knowing the Ward girl at all. They further say that there has been no visitor at their house for several weeks. Sergt. Flynn, in civilian clothing, visited the Washington St. department store where the elder sister is employed and there he was informed earlier in the morning the department head had been telephoned that the girl had been taken sick on a car ride while she was on her way to work. The other girls say that they do not know where the missing sister is, and the brother said he did not know that she was not at work until the police so informed him.
The girls have lived at the Warren St. house a little more than a month or six weeks. They say they came from the South End, having lived on Shawmut Av., near Dover, at for several months previous. Before that they lived in St. John and when they came to this city they took up a residence at the South End. According to what the two sisters told the officers, their parents are dead, but it is understood that the police learned from another source that the mother of the three girls in alive.
Met O'Connell at North Station
Sexton, the chauffeur of the auto, is said to have told the police that he met the man known as O'Connell at the North Station after he (Sexton) had come over the road in his machine from Peabody.
Sexton says he stopped his auto on Warren St. opposite the side of the street where the girls live, near the Warren St. entrance to the Dudley St. Terminal, and about 100 yards from the corner of Washington St. His passenger walked toward Dudley St., but he went into a lunch room and ate. Returning some time later, he drove his car into Zeigler St. and within a few minutes after midnight, two men came fro, a narrow passageway, assisting on either side the girl who was said to be ill.
PEABODY PHYSICIAN IS SAID TO BE INVOLVED
SALEM, July 5 - Miss Margaret Ward, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. James Ward of 53 North End St., Peabody, lies dead in Full's Morgue on Church St. at this city. Her lifeless remains were found in automobile 76,060 on Boston St., at 4 a.m. today. The death of the unfortunate woman, it is learned from reliable authorities, occurred previous to the noon hour yesterday, in Boston.
A Peabody physician is said to be involved in the case. The death of Miss ward involves what promises to be one of the most sensational cases of illegal operation in the annals of Massachusetts.
Saturday Miss Ward informed her parents, just previous to leaving home, that she was going to the home of a friend on the shore of Canoble Lake, New Hampshire, to enjoy a vacation. Today her parents learned that their beloved daughter was dead under circumstances that have nearly crazed them with grief.
Just who it was first advised relatives and friends living in this city or Peabody of the tragic death of Miss ward is unknown. It is certain, however, that definite information regarding her demise was known to at least one person as early as yesterday afternoon, as it now appears to the Police Department and others that endeavor was planned to cover up the tragedy. Be that as it may, there are peculiar phases in the case not yet fully defined that involve numerous individuals and may reopen tacitly closed chapters of the police history of Salem.
Men in Custody
William Conlin, aged 28 years, single, a leather worker, who lives at 4 Beaver St., and who has kept company the past three years with Miss Ward.
Thomas J. Sexton, chauffeur, Charles O'Connell, lawyer and formerly a Representative of the 11th Essex District, Peabody, James O'Connell, barber, Daniel J. Dinner, 37, single, and George A. Bardwell, aged 25, single, watchman on the U. S. S. Kearsarge were taken to the police station and were locked up, charged with being accessories to an illegal operation.
In the meantime, Dr. Frank S. Atwood, medical examiner for the Second Essex District, conducted an autopsy at Full's Morgue.

The Cape Girardeau Weekly Republican (Cape Girardeau, MO.), P. 3, Col. 6
Fri., Jul. 7, 1916
FIND DEAD WOMAN IN AUTO
SIX MEN IN MACHINE WITH THE CORPSE
Former Massachusetts Representative Among Those Accused of Being Accessories to Crime
Salem, Mass., July 6 - Attracted by the mysterious movements of an automobile which had sped up and down Boston street for half an hour, Policeman Dennis Healy stopped the car and discovered in it the body of Miss Margaret Ward, 26 years old, a former employe of a store in Peabody.
Six men who were in the car, one of whom was a former state representative, Charles R. O'Connell of Peabody, were arrested by Healy. At police headquarters a charge of being accessories to illegal medical practices was placed against the men.
Those arrested in addition to the former representative were his brother, James O'Donnell of Lynn, George A. Bardwell, a member of the crew of the United States cruiser Kearsarge; Daniel J. Dineen and William D. Conlin of Salem (- reported to be her lover in another article) and Thomas J. Sexton of Peabody, who had driven the car.
Police Sergeant C. A. R. Duffee identified the dead woman as his sister-in-law. According to the police, Miss Ward died after having been placed in the machine.

*There are many, many more articles regarding the case which can be viewed at Newspapers.com.

*Note: C. A. R. *Charles Alvin Rogers Duffee's wife, was Mary Agnes Duffee, Margaret's sister.
Mary Agnes (Ward) Duffee's parents were James J. Ward and Mary Sullivan.