Capt. William Ward

DAR A 120738, VA, Capt. Patriotic Service, Civil Service

GEDCOM Note

Biography

William Ward, son of Major John Ward and his wife Anne Chiles, was born about 1745. He married Mildred, eldest daughter of Robert Adams and Penelope Lynch Adams. <ref name=pittsylvania>Clement, Maud Carter, TheHistory of Pittsylvania County, Virginia p.139 11. William Ward</ref> He owned a large property above Leesville in Pittsylvania on the Staunton River. <ref name=pittsylvania/> William was a justice in Pittsylvania in 1777, a member of the Committee of Safety in 1775 and captain of the militia. <ref name=campbell>EARLY, R. H. CAMPBELL CHRONICLES and FAMILY SKETCHES: Embracing the History of CAMPBELL COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1782-1926. Accessed on 18 Aug 2020.Ward </ref> He was sheriff of the County in 1792. <ref name=pittsylvania/> William and Mildred had 4 children <ref name=pittsylvania/> <ref name=campbell/>: 1. Robert Adams Ward married Betsy Terrell, the daughter of Charles Lynch and Sally Lynch Terrell in 1807 2. John Ward married in 1805, Tabitha Hubbard, daughterof Charles Hubbard andElizabeth M. Wall-Walden, and the granddaughter of Col. Chas. F. Wall,and gr. dau. of Rd. and Candace Hubbard-Walden. John Ward was killed in 1838 by a tree falling on him, when he was having ground cleared; his home was Edge Hill, Pittsylvania, near Leesville.

3. Sally, married Samuel Smith, son of John Smith of the Pocket

4. Mildred Ward, married Dr Lynch Dillard. William was named in his father's will, signed in 1808. <ref name=pittsylvania/>

Research Notes ==There is currently no source located for the death date of 11 Oct 1826.

Information in this biography that seems to relate to a different person, possibly a descendant:WILLIAM WARD was brought up on his father's farm, and received the limited education afforded by the country schools. In 1831 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he entered a ship-yard, and became thoroughly versed in the trade of a shipwright. He formed a partnership with John Speer, and built many of the larger steamers that plied the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. Among the many boats sent out by Speer & Ward was the “New Castle,” launched in 1836, the first vessel to successfully navigate the Allegheny River. In 1843 CAPTAIN WARD retired from the river, and began to invest largely in real estate. He was almost invariably successful in his transactions, and became one of the heaviest land-owners in Pittsburgh. He served twelve years in the Council, being for eight years chairman of the Street Commissioners; and during this period he was also a member of the Board of Guardians of the Poor. He was always interested in politics and was proud of the fact that he was one of the delegates who organized the Republican party. About 1875 he founded and was made president of the Tax-payers' Union, an organization to prevent municipal extravagance.

Sources

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Marie Mills, firsthand knowledge.