SAMUEL W. WARD, who is engaged in the clothing business, is
Superintendent of the Murphysboro Street Railway Company. He is manager of
Logan Park, and is one of the most enterprising and progressive citizens of
Jackson County, and the prosperity and advancement of the community is due
in no small measure to his efforts. He was born February 23, 1862, in
Cartersville, Ill., and is a son of Henry and Lucy A. (Todd) Ward, the
former a native of Litchfield County, Conn., while the latter was also born
in that state. In the family were six children, four of whom are yet living.
The grandfather of our subject came of the old Plymouth Rock stock, and was
a native of Massachusetts.
Henry Ward was reared as a farmer on the
Connecticut River, and when he reached man's estate was there married. In
1858 he came west to Illinois, locating at Carbondale, where he secured a
tract of timber land, cleared it, and developed a fine farm of two hundred
and sixty acres. On the 30th of September, 1893, was celebrated the golden
wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Ward, who are now living retired in Du Quoin, Ill.
The early boyhood days of our subject were spent upon the home farm,
and at the age of eight he began attending school in Carbondale. He was a
student in the high school at that place, and afterward in the Southern
Illinois Normal School, where he pursued a business course. At the age of
eighteen he began clerking in a clothing store, and thus obtained a
practical business knowledge. In 1881, in company with his brother, he
purchased a stock of goods, and they began business under the firm name of
Ward Brothers. This connection was continued until 1883, when the
partnership was dissolved. The previous year Samuel W. had come to
Murphysboro and established a store under the name of Ward & Solomon, and in
1883 he removed thither. He then purchased the interest of his partner, and
has since been alone in business, carrying on a fine store, stocked with
clothing, men's furnishing goods, hats and caps, boots and shoes, and trunks
and valises. This store is located at No. 6 East Walnut Street, and the
building is 20x65 feet.
Mr. Ward has been twice married. In
Carbondale he married Alice A., daughter of the late Vincent Hinchcliff, who
was killed in the Williamson County vendetta. The lady was born in
Williamson County, and was reared in the convent in St. Louis. She died in
Murphysboro, leaving a daughter, Elmina, and Mr. Ward has since wedded Miss
Julia Wagner, one of Illinois' daughters.
In the fall of 1891, our
subject aided in the organization of the Murphysboro Street Railway Company,
and has since been one of its Directors. The road was completed May 18,
1892, and he has since been Superintendent. He was also one of ten men who
established Logan Park. The car line runs from the park to the depot, and in
the spring of 1894 the company expects to greatly extend its lines and put
in electric power. Mr. Ward is also a charter member of the Board of Trade.
He served on the School Board for three years, and during the entire period
was its Secretary. He belongs to Mt. Carbon Lodge No. 434, I. O. O. F., of
which he is Past Noble Grand. He is a charter member of the Knights of
Pythias, and belongs to the Uniformed Rank. In politics he is a stanch
Democrat, and has been delegate to the state conventions. He was a member of
the County Central Committee, and Chairman of the City Committee. He takes a
commendable interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the
community, and has been prominent in many of its public enterprises.
Extracted 28 Aug 2019 by Norma Hass from 1894 Biographical Review of Jackson, Massac, Pope, and Hardin Counties, Illinois, pages 582-583.