sentences:  She was descended from the Bayard, Schuyler and Van Cortlandt families of Colonial New York, and was a direct descendant of Stephen Van Rensselaer IV, the last patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, and William Bayard Jr. (1761–1826), a prominent New York City banker.She was the first woman to develop an American elementary music education method, which predates the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods, and contains all the same basic elements, with an emphasis on music literacy and aesthetic interpretation.The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills.