Representative Andrew Harrison Ward

Andrew Harrison Ward (January 3, 1815 – April 16, 1904) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and a long-serving attorney and civic leader in Cynthiana, Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party in his later political career, he represented Kentucky in the Thirty-ninth Congress for one term, participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents.

Ward was born on January 3, 1815, near Cynthiana in Harrison County, Kentucky. He was the son of Andrew Ward and Elizabeth (Headington) Ward. His given names reflected both family and national history: he was named for his father and for William Henry Harrison, under whom his father had served during the War of 1812. Raised in a rural Kentucky community, Ward’s early life was shaped by the frontier conditions and political ferment of the early nineteenth century.

Ward attended the county schools of Harrison County and then matriculated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the region at the time. After his studies, he spent several years working as a clerk on a steamboat operating on the Tombigbee River, gaining practical experience in commerce and transportation during the era of river trade. In 1842 he began the study of law, and in 1844 he was admitted to the bar. He commenced the practice of law in Cynthiana, where he would maintain a legal career that ultimately extended into his eighties.

Ward’s personal life was marked by both enduring family ties and repeated bereavement. In 1846 he married Ellen V. Moore, with whom he had one daughter, Mollie M. Ward (later Gaddy). Ellen V. Moore Ward died in 1848. Nearly a decade later, on December 31, 1857, he married Elizabeth Ware; this second marriage produced no children, and Elizabeth died in 1865. On April 28, 1868, Ward married Helen H. Lair. With her he had five children: daughters Bertie M. Ward (later Lafferty) and Catherine Ward, and sons Harry R. Ward, Paul S. Ward, and Ashley F. Ward. His family remained rooted in Cynthiana, reflecting his long-standing connection to the community he served professionally and politically.

Politically, Ward was initially affiliated with the Whig Party, aligning himself with the party that dominated much of Kentucky’s antebellum political life. After the dissolution of the Whig Party in the 1850s, he associated himself with the Democratic Party, under whose banner he would later serve in public office. He was elected city attorney of Cynthiana in 1860, an office that underscored his growing prominence as a lawyer and local public figure. In 1861 he sought election to the Kentucky House of Representatives but was unsuccessful. He ran again and was elected to that body in 1863, serving a single two-year term in the Kentucky legislature during the turbulent years of the Civil War.

Although Ward never formally enlisted for military service during the American Civil War, he opposed secession and supported the Union. In 1864 he was among the 330 citizens who successfully resisted Confederate cavalry commander John Hunt Morgan’s raid on Cynthiana, an episode that underscored both his local leadership and his Unionist stance in a border state divided by the conflict. That same year he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Thirty-ninth Congress. However, a vacancy soon arose in Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District when Representative Green Clay Smith resigned, and Ward was elected as a Democrat to fill the unexpired term.

Ward’s service in the U.S. House of Representatives occurred during a critical phase of Reconstruction. He was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress to represent Kentucky’s Sixth District and served from December 3, 1866, to March 3, 1867. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Kentucky, he contributed to the legislative process during his one term in office, participating in debates and votes as the nation grappled with the aftermath of the Civil War and the reintegration of the Southern states. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1866, and his tenure in Congress concluded at the expiration of the term.

After leaving Congress, Ward resumed the practice of law in Cynthiana. Over the course of his lengthy legal career, he defended the first case of treason tried in Kentucky, a notable distinction in the state’s postwar legal history. He was widely regarded for his effectiveness as a defense attorney; it was noted that the maximum penalty ever imposed on one of his clients was ten years in the penitentiary, a testament to his skill in advocacy and negotiation. He continued to practice law well into his eighties, maintaining an active role in the courts and in the civic life of his community.

In addition to his legal and political work, Ward was active in local business and religious affairs. He served as president of the National Bank of Cynthiana, contributing to the financial development and stability of the town. He was also deeply involved in the life of the local Christian church, where he served as Sunday school superintendent, reflecting his engagement with religious education and community service. Andrew Harrison Ward died in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on April 16, 1904, and was interred in Battle Grove Cemetery, closing a life that spanned from the early republic through the dawn of the twentieth century and encompassed service at the local, state, and national levels.