Ward, Nathaniel
clergyman, author, was born in 1580 in England. He was a puritan clergyman, minister at Ipswich in 1634-36, and a resident of the colony of Massachusetts until 1646, when he returned to England, and was rector of Shenfield in Essex, 1647-52. He is famous as the author of The Simple Cobbler of Aggavvam in America, a piece of satire as able as it is vindictive and intolerant.
The first code of laws made in New England was drafted by Ward in 1639, and formally adopted in 1644. It is styled The Body of Liberties. Mercurius Anti-mechanicus, or the Simple Cobbler's Boy with His Lap-full of Caveats, is usually attributed to Ward, and probably with truth. Other writings ascribed to him are, A Religious Retreat Sounded to a Religious Army; and A Sermon Before Parliament. He died in 1652 in England.