Thousands of our readers will be surprised and grieved to learn of the untimely death of the Rev. Dr. W. E. Ward, of this city. He died the 20th instant in mid-ocean on the steamer Aurania, while on his way home from England. He went to England in June in the hope that a sea-voyage and a short stay in southern England might aid in restoring his health which had been seriously impaired by overwork. On the first day of June he had something like a stroke of paralysis from which he never rallied. William Eldred Ward was born in north Alabama December 21, 1829. He was but fifty-eight years of age. In his death the city of Nashville, the country at large, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church have lost a prominent and noble man. He entered the ministry in early youth, and for a number of years was a zealous and consecrated minister of the gospel. He rode the circuit in Arkansas, and did valiant work in various parts of the country. For several years he was the editor and proprietor of the Banner of Peace. The civil war destroyed the circulation of the paper and left Dr. Ward deeply involved in debt. He was not a man to be daunted by misfortunes. When the war was over he began the great work of his life. In 1865 he established the seminary in this city which bears his honored name. Through long years he struggled to establish a school that would be an honor to his city and to the country. The school grew in patronage and influence until it had no superior in the Southern States. Buildings costing over one hundred thousand dollars, and a patronage equaled only by the rich and prosperous schools of New England, attest the vigor and the energy of the heroic man whose death is mourned by thousands of the best men and women in the land. Dr. Ward had as many friends as any man in Nashville. He was universally loved. Besides his well-earned fame as a school-teacher, he had acquired an enviable reputation as a financier and business manager. There are but few men in this city who had been as successful even in business as Dr. Ward. And yet he never lived in luxury. He had simple tastes, and he always sacrificed his own interests to the welfare of others. He was a liberal giver. He assisted in building the First Church in this city. He was always ready to help in any good cause. His liberality kept him from growing rich.

There are thousands of people in the South who have reason to remember him with gratitude. He was particularly generous to poor young women. Scores upon scores of struggling girls found in him a ready sympathizer and a timely helper. Many a young lady has received gratuitious instruction, board, and books in his seminary. He never charged the daughters of poor ministers any thing for tuition, and often more than half the price of board was deducted from the account. The children of poor widows especially were remembered with generosity. There are in all parts of the South women now in good positions who owe their success in life to Dr. Ward's large-hearted generosity. When remonstrated with for being too liberal for his own good he would calmly reply, "Well, she is a poor girl, fighting hard to make a living and to help a dependent mother and assist fatherless brothers and sisters, and if I can put her on her feet I will be the means of helping hundreds of people in some other place." Not only was Dr. Ward generous to young girls, but he also took special pleasure in aiding poor young men. Young lawyers, doctors, and ministers were constantly receiving help from his open hand.

He was true and loyal to his Church. For years he was president of the Board of Publication, and gave months and months of unrequited work to that important enterprise. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church owes him a debt which she is not likely to pay. He was a pure and guileless man. He was but a man; yet he had so many noble virtues that we can but place him high above most men. His wonderful energy and his undying devotion to the good of others have earned for him a place high among the noble of earth, and, we doubt not, among the redeemed in heaven.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, July 28, 1887, page 4]