Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-12-30
DETROIT MILLIONAlRES.
David Ward the Most Modest Man
Among Them.
A Land LOCKER and S1noeyrr Becomes
Lori Of Deer 300 600 AcreS-Hou0
lie Runs His Business and
Does q Vast amount
Of Re0ding.

David Ward Is perhaps the most I'M
pretending millionaire that ever lived
In this city. In stature he is below rhe
medium size, being five feet five and n
half i'm height. He weighs about 145
to $50 pounds, He is Ga years of age,
has bald heal, clean-shaven face,
hazel eyes and an acute but kindly eX-
preston OF lace. He has little bust
ness in Detroit, i'm which he lives dur
ing each winter, and he is seldom seen
on its streets. One of his cousins was
the late Eber B. Ward, the Detroit
millionaire, who died in 1875. Anoth-
er is Capt. Eber Ward of this city,
manager and part owner of Lake Su-
perior line of steamers.
David Ward was born in 1922 in
Keene Valley, which is located in the
center OF the Andirondack mountains,
in Essex county, n. Y, near Lake
Champlain. His father and mother
were born in Vermont and Connect
cut respectively, and his grandparents
were Massachusetts people. He work
ed on his fathers farm in boyhooG, and
also assisted his father in his profess
sion as land surveyor in the summer
time, attending a district school in
winter. a considerable portion Of the
surveying was done for John Jacob
Astor and Peter Smith, (The father of
Gerret Smith, the philanthropist),
who were in partnership in those days.
dpe ne tE ffla m Wa nHt b al, ,'a much
INTELLIGENT BEYOND HIS YEARS.
In 1886, when David was about
thirteen years of age, the family emf
grated to Michigan, and his father
bought farm near Marine City. He
continued aiding his father in working
on the farm, surveying and looking
pine lands, and getting his education
at district school in the winter sea-
sons. In the winter Of 1899 40 he
taught school in the Westbrook dis
trlct, of China township. in ST. Clair
county, at SO n month and board.
In the fall of 1910 he had severe
attack of bilious fever, which result
ed In chronic bronchitis, from the eff
fects of which be still slightly suffers
and which ncabacitated him from do
ing physical labor for some five years.
During that time he was treated by
DIR. Zlna Pitcher, of Detroit, coming
e. here for-tl,et purpose at iutvrvu1s.
During the same period he studied the
medical books in the doctors library
and taught schools at Algonac, Cot
trellville, Marine City and Port HUI
ron, in Michigan and Massillon, in
Ohio. In the Cottrellville school Capt
>. Is. Grumnund and M. Kean were
two of his pupils. Among his pupils
at Port Huron were Henry Howard
and Perry Hannah. the latter being
now senior partner in the firm of Han
nah, Lay q Co., of Traverse City
Michigan. He was always very acquis-
tive of knowledge and he took in n
season of reading law during the two
years he spent in Port Huron, after
school hours i'm the Offices Of l.. M.
Mason aud Judge Mcneil. His pay
for teaching in Port Huron was 81 per
day, and he boarded himself This was
in 1913 and 1914.
LOOKING LAND.
From, $50 1916 he also did -eoneid-
cradle land and road surveying. and
during the same period he attended O.
Z. Tholnpson's academy at st. Clair.
where he was schoolmate of David
Jerome, afterward governor Of Michi-
gan, and Thomas w. Palmer one of
the present u. s. senator's Of this state.
His first acquisition in land was a"lor-
ty" OH Pine river ten miles from st.
Clair, in 1915. About 1Si7 he COM
menced land surveying for Francis
Palms OF Detroit, in st. Clair and Ma
comb counties. and also for other par
ties in different parts of the state.
Tie popular story that David Ward
looked land for Eber b. Ward and
reserved the most valuable tracts for
himself, is not founded on fact There
were some differences between the two
and David never had any business
dealings with his cousin. From this
time and until 1856 he was occupied
looking pine land for Charles Merrill
u. Tracy Howe, J. w. Brooks, VIM.
A. Howard, A. A. Dwight and others,
receiving therefor one fifth to a one
fourth SHARE OF the lands acdured.
In this work he became the foremost
in the northwest. He graduated In
medicine at the Michigan University
III 1851, and got his diploma, though
never placticed as a physician.
He married Miss Elizabeth Perkins,
OF Richmond, Michigan. in 1850 and
the pair resided in Port Huron for six
years afterward. In 1857 he removed
to Saginaw City, where he engaged in
numbering from four to five years. In
1862 he purchased from Judge Sanford
M. Green farm OF 240 acres, lying be-
tween Orchard and Cass lakes, about
four mile southwest of Pontiac. In
the summer he resides on this farm.
which is the most beautiful spot on
the inland lakes of Oakland county.
In the winter time lie lives at either
his Pontiac residence or his house al
$50 Cass avenue, Detroit. Mrs. Ward
is great sufferer from rheumatism
and sciatica, and is an invalid there
from.
MS PossEssIoEs.
Mr.. Ward is the largest owner in
this state OF hardwood and pine land
owning about 220, 900 acrcs in BIichi-
gan He has almost monopoly of
the ''cork" pine which is the finest and
highest priced variety of that wood.
His pine lands have been selected by
himself, with an almost infallible
Judgment OF pine values. He also
owns %. 900 acres OF pine land in Wis
consin and 50. 900 acres of staye white
oak, whitewood, black walnut, coal