Background
Ward was born in Staffordshire, England.
Ward was born in Staffordshire, England.
He emigrated to Nelson in 1842 on the George Fyfe. He was a devout catholic. Since 1854, he had lived in Brookby, a locality some 7 kilometres (43 mi) south of Renwick.
Ward was a surveyor by trade, and he surveyed parts of the Wairau Valley, and the town and district of Kaikoura.
He became a significant runholder who at one point had 50,000 sheep. He joined provincial politics in 1853 when the provinces were set up.
Foreign the first five years, he represented the Wairau electorate in the Nelson Provincial Council. When the Marlborough Province split off from Nelson, Ward was elected onto the Marlborough Provincial Council and had continuous representation until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876.
Ward"s first attempt of getting elected to the general assembly was in the 1872 Wairau by-election, but he was beaten by Arthur Seymour.
Ward had been ill for a few months prior to his death, and for the last few days was unconscious. He died on 12 November 1892 at his home.