George Welton Ward has the distinction of establishing the Ward family legacy in America. Throughout his life, his name was synonymous with a positive example and industrious work ethic – honorable characteristics that would shape the family’s solid reputation for generations.
Here is a journal entry from George's treacherous voyage across the plains:
"While traveling one Sunday afternoon, a violent hailstorm came up, and before we could all get our teams unhitched, the storm was on us in such fury that many of the teams ran away and jumped into the Platte river. Hailstones as large as hen’s eggs fell, and people were obliged to cover up their heads with quilts and blankets for protection against the frightful pelting. Some took refuge under the wagons until the storm passed. Some of the wagons were overturned and many persons were hurt. The singular part of it was that half a mile up the road there was not enough rain to lay the dust. The storm was local, and did not extend more than half or three-quarters of a mile in every direction. In more recent years these local storms have been known as ‘cloud-bursts.’
When we arrived at the Black Hills we were all worn out. Our cattle were footsore, and the horses having no grain, were weak and tired. Our provisions began to run low, and things looked decidedly squally. It was getting late in the season, and father was fearful we might get caught in a snowstorm in the mountains, when allmight perish with cold and hunger."
Despite all the adversity he was faced with, George left a legacy of hard work. George Welton prided himself in doing his farm work carefully and systematically. He trained his family of boys to be thorough in their work, as well. Because of his training, the work of George Welton Ward’s family drew attention among their neighbors. Edwin Cordon remarked, “There wasn’t a man that could stack grain to shed water like George Welton Ward."
I'm grateful to George Welton Ward for establishing the legacy of my family in the United States. #ResilientRoots
Post written by Katherine Ward, Marketing Director, Family Chartmasters LLC
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