YARD- John Yard was a witness, 1717, 6th of 9th mo., to marriage of Daniel Tilton to Elizabeth Powell, both of Monmouth, at Friends' Meeting House, Shrewsbury. William H. Yard was taxed in Upper Freehold in 1758. William Yard, ancestor of this family, came from Exeter, in Devonshire, England, about 1688, and settled first in Philadelphia and afterwards at Trenton. He had four sons, two of whom, Joseph and William, accompanied him to Trenton. It was at one time proposed to call this place Yardtown but finally Trentstown, since shortened to Trenton, was settled upon. The son William had five children. The name Yard was originally De Yarde, and the family is very ancient in Devonshire, and it is said the founder came over with the Normans. In the Cromwell wars, John Yard, a valiant gentleman, is noted in the chronicles of Devonshire for his heroism in leading Lord Gray's forces across a bridge in the face of the enemy. The original surname of this family, De Yard, suggests that its founder was a superintendent of the grounds or yard, or perhaps quartermaster of a castle or place occupied by soldiers.