Walsingham Griffin Ward (1819-1899)

From "Prominent Men: Scranton and Vicinity", 1906.

  Endowed with an aristocratic-sounding name, Walsingham Griffin Ward was for nearly fifty years a leading figure in the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania bar. Admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1850, Ward practiced in both Lackawanna and Luzerne County. In 1870 he was elected as judge of the mayor's court of the city of Scranton, a post similar to that of a municipal judge. The first judge elected to that office, Ward served a five-year term and returned to his law practice after leaving the bench. A native New Yorker, Walsingham Griffin Ward was born in Dutchess County on October 7, 1819, the son of John and Cynthia (Sickler) Ward.

  Removing with his family to Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in 1831, Ward's early life was spent on his family's farm, and in addition to farming chores, he was a student at the Mannington Academy in Susquehanna County. At an early age, he was employed as a teamster for the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co., traveling between Scranton and Carbondale, and in 1843 settled in Scranton. In 1846 he volunteered for service in the Mexican-American War, enlisting as a private in Co. I of the 1st Reg., Pennsylvania Volunteers. His service would prove short, as illness prevented him from active participation, and he was honorably discharged at Veracruz in April 1847.

  In 1848 Ward married in New York to Maria White, to whom he was wed until her death in December 1872. In 1874 he remarried in Massachusetts to Louisa Z. Hurlburt (1837-1887) and had one son, Douglass Hurlburt Ward.

  Having decided upon a career in law in the late 1840s, Ward studied in the law office of Edmund L. Dana (1817-1889), who was later to serve as a judge for Pennsylvania's 11th judicial district. In 1850 he was admitted to the state bar at Wilkes-Barre and opened his practice in Scranton. Through the succeeding years, Ward had several partnerships and was retained as an attorney "for defendants in about 80 homicide cases and for a long time had the principal criminal practice here and in Luzerne County." His status as a leader at the Lackawanna County bar was later attested to in his 1899 obituary, which remarked:

"The same fearlessness and aggressiveness which characterized his conduct in the trial of cases remained with him to the end. Having a thorough knowledge of law and evidence, a remarkable knowledge of men and a careful attention to details, together with a persistant and courageous perseverence, his earnest efforts in behalf of his clients were pretty generally successful."

   Before his election as judge Ward operated a partnership with Frederick William Gunster (1845-1900), a former student in his law office who went on to serve as Lackawanna County district attorney and as a state assemblyman. In October 1870 Walsingham Ward was elected as judge of the Mayor's Court of Scranton. Lewis Jones, one of the first occupants of that post, had been appointed by the Governor and served until an election could be held, and in October 1870 Walsingham Ward emerged the victor. The first man to win election to that post, he served until 1875, "when the provisions of the constitution abolished the office." His time on the bench was later lauded by the Scranton Times-Tribune, which noted:

"His decisions were affirmed in the higher courts with unfailing regularity, and his record as a judicial officer could not be excelled."

  After his term, Ward returned to his law practice and partnered with future judge Henry M. Edwards (1844-1925). Their firm lasted until 1877, and Ward later partnered with another former law student, George S. Horn. Remarked as a "devout student of the Bible", Ward was a deacon in the local Presbyterian Church, where he taught Sunday school. Widowed in 1887, Ward's partnership with Horn extended until his death, which occurred at his Scranton home on December 9, 1899. Due to poor health, he had been confined to his home for two months prior and was survived by his son Douglass. Following funeral arrangements, he was interred at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

From the Scranton Times-Tribune, December 12, 1899.