Joseph Ward (May 5, 1838 – December 11, 1889) was an American educator.

Biography

Joseph Ward was born at Perry Center, New York. After attending public schools, he taught and worked on a farm before entering

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

. He graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

. After accepting a missionary appointment, he was ordained and directed church efforts in Yankton, capital of the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

in 1869. Because there were no public school funds, Ward opened a private school, which became Yankton Academy. Later given over to public control, it became the earliest high school in Dakota. He was instrumental in the founding of

Yankton College Yankton College was a private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than any ...

, the first collegiate-rank institution of the upper

Missouri River Valley The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...

, and served as its president.John E. Miller, 'Setting the Agenda: Political Parties and Historical Change,' in ''The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture'', Jon K. Lauck (ed.), John E. Miller (ed.), Donald C. Simmons, Jr. (ed.),

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,091. Pierre is the eleventh-most populous city of South Dakota, and the second-least populo ...

South Dakota State Historical Society The South Dakota State Historical Society is South Dakota's official state historical society and operates statewide but is headquartered in Pierre, South Dakota at 900 Governors Drive. It is a part of the South Dakota Department of Education. ...

Press, 2011, p. 78 He also played an important role in keeping school lands out of the control of eastern speculators, and was the first president of the Yankton Board of Education. He also helped establish in 1879 the Dakota Hospital for the Insane. Ward was a leader in the movement for

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

statehood, serving as a delegate to the various conventions and as a member of the 1885 committee to present the petition for statehood to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. He drafted much of the constitution and was chairman of the committee charged with keeping the convention records. He composed the state motto ("Under God the People Rule"), and wrote the description for the Great Seal of the State of South Dakota. Bedridden and unable to attend the final constitutional convention in 1889, he died on December 11, 1889, a few weeks after South Dakota was admitted as a state. In 1963, the State of South Dakota donated a marble statue of Ward to the United States Capitol's

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...

External links

NSHC biography: Joseph Ward

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Joseph 1838 births 1889 deaths Phillips Academy alumni People from Perry, New York People from Yankton, South Dakota Brown University alumni Educators from New York (state) 19th-century American educators