Representative Aaron Ward

Aaron Ward (representative) (1790–1867) was a United States Representative from New York who served multiple terms in Congress during the early and mid-nineteenth century. He was born in Sing Sing (now Ossining), Westchester County, New York, on July 5, 1790. Raised in the Hudson River Valley at a time when the new nation was still taking shape, Ward came of age in a community closely tied to river commerce and the emerging political life of the state. Little is recorded about his earliest schooling, but his subsequent professional and military roles indicate that he received a sound education suitable for entry into the legal profession and public service.

Ward studied law and was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in Sing Sing. His legal training provided the foundation for a career that combined law, local administration, and national politics. During the War of 1812 he entered military service, reflecting the widespread mobilization of New Yorkers in defense of the young republic. He served as a lieutenant and later rose to the rank of colonel in the militia, an experience that strengthened his standing in his home county and introduced him to broader networks of influence in state affairs.

Following the war, Ward became increasingly involved in local and county matters. He served as district attorney of Westchester County, a position that placed him at the center of the county’s legal and civic life and enhanced his reputation as a capable lawyer and public official. His work as a prosecutor, combined with his militia service and legal practice, positioned him as a prominent figure in the region and laid the groundwork for his election to national office.

Ward was first elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. After a brief interval out of office, he returned to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Jacksonian and later as a Democrat, serving in the Twenty-first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third Congresses from March 4, 1829, to March 3, 1837. During these years he participated in the contentious politics of the Jacksonian era, which included debates over federal power, internal improvements, and financial policy. After another hiatus, he was again elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-seventh Congress, serving from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843, thus completing a congressional career that spanned nearly two decades in three distinct periods.

After leaving Congress for the final time, Ward resumed the practice of law in his native Sing Sing. He remained a respected figure in Westchester County, his long record of legal work, military service, and legislative experience giving him a lasting public profile. He lived through a period of rapid change in New York and the nation, witnessing the expansion of the United States, the rise of new political parties, and the growing sectional tensions that would culminate in the Civil War, though he did not live to see that conflict.

Aaron Ward died in Sing Sing, New York, on March 2, 1867. He was interred in Dale Cemetery in Ossining, Westchester County. His career as a United States representative from New York, combined with his service as a lawyer, district attorney, and militia officer, marked him as a significant public figure in the political history of New York in the first half of the nineteenth century.