Samuel WARD, Congress, RI (1725-1776)

WARD, Samuel, a Delegate from Rhode Island; born in Newport, R.I., May 27, 1725; educated privately; settled in Westerly, R.I., in 1745; engaged in agricultural pursuits; member of the general assembly 1756-1759; one of the founders of Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Providence, R.I., in 1756; chief justice of Rhode Island in 1761 and 1762; Governor under the royal charter in 1762, 1763, and 1765-1767; trustee of Brown University 1764-1776; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776; died in Philadelphia, Pa., March 26, 1776; interment in the churchyard of the First Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa.; reinterment in the Old Cemetery, Newport, R.I., in 1860.

Bibliography

Guy, James F. “The Public Life of a Private Man: Samuel Ward, 1725-1776.” Ph. D. diss., Kent State University, 2003; Ward, Samuel. Correspondence of Governor Samuel Ward, May 1775-March 1776, with a Biographical Introduction, Based Chiefly on the Ward Papers Covering the Period 1725-1776, edited by Bernhard Knollenberg; and Genealogy of the Ward Family: Thomas Ward, Son of John, of Newport and Some of His Descendants, Compiled by Clifford P. Monahon. Providence, R.I.: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1952.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present