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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. [1] He owned a large property above Leesville in Pittsylvania on the Staunton River. [1]
William was a justice in Pittsylvania in 1777, a member of the Committee of Safety in 1775 and Captain of the Virginia militia. [2] He was sheriff of the County in 1792. [1]
William and Mildred had 4 children [1] [2]:
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, daughter of Charles Hubbard and Elizabeth 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. Sarah (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. [1]
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.
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Featured National Park champion connections: William is 12 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 20 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 15 degrees from George Catlin, 12 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 19 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 15 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 15 degrees from Stephen Mather, 21 degrees from Kara McKean, 13 degrees from John Muir, 16 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 21 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
edited by Gillian Thomas