Ward, D. B. (Dillis Burgess), 1838-1922

Dillis Burgess Ward (1838-1922) was one of the early pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Kentucky, he moved with his family to Arkansas in 1844, and then travelled with them across the plains to Salem, Oregon in 1853. Ward would later write about this experience in "Across the Plains in 1853" (1911). After six years of working on his father's farm, Ward moved to Seattle in 1859. He accepted his first job at the Yesler sawmill, and later worked hauling lime and stone materials to the Territorial University of Washington campus for its first building, eventually attending the university as student. He held many other positions throughout his career. With his brothers, Ward started both the Seattle Chronicle and Post, the predecessors of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. For seven years, he headed the Industrial School at the Skokomish Indian Reservation. He also served a term on the Territorial Legislature in 1879. Ward was heavily involved in the real estate and development of Seattle, and was hired to promote Washington State at the Trans Mississippi International Exposition, held in Omaha, Nebraska in 1898. Ward was also appointed high bailiff to the Superior Court under Judge R.B. Albertson in 1905, a position he held for over 15 years. He married Sarah Isabella Byles in 1863 and they had six children. Their eldest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ward, would later marry University of Washington professor, Edmond S. Meany.