Category Archives: Dorchester Village

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John Elliott Ward (1814 – 1902)

John Elliott Ward (1814 - 1902)

Born at Sunbury, son of William and Annie McIntosh Ward. She was the daughter of Lachlan Mclntosh, and sister of Commodore James McKay McIntosh, and Maria McIntosh. John Elliott Ward became an attorney and established a law practice in Savannah, Georgia. In 1836 he became solicitor of the Eastern Judicial Circuit. He was appointed U.S. Attorney in 1838. He resigned from that position when he was elected a state representative, and served in that position again in 1845 and 1853. During the latter term he was elected speaker of the house.

In 1854 he was elected mayor of Savannah, Georgia. He presided over the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1856 when James Buchanan was nominated for and later elected president of the U.S. He was elected a state senator in 1857, served as president of that body, and was at one time lieutenant governor of Georgia. He resigned as state senator to accept a federal appointment as the first U.S. Minister to China.

He married Olivia Buckminister (1819-1890) of Boston, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1839. She was the younger sister of James Swan Sullivan, a physician in Savannah, Georgia. His wife died in New Jersey, while John Elliott Ward died in Liberty County, and is buried in Midway Church cemetery. He was survived by two daugh­ters and one son. Two of his kinspersons in Liberty County when this book was published were Cordella Jones Brown­ing of Riceboro, and Major General (U.S. Army-Retired) James Francis Cochran III of Hinesville.

From “Sweet Land of Liberty, A History of Liberty County, Georgia” by Robert Long Groover; Appendix Number #, Page(s); Used by the permission of the Liberty County Commissioners Office

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Dorchester Presbyterian Church

Dorchester Presbyterian Church by L. Quarterman

This church, built in 1854 on a lot of four acres donated by B. A. Busbee, was first used for summer services only. On January 6, 1871, it was admitted into the Savannah Presbytery as an organized church of 14 members. The Rev. J. W. Montgomery was the first pastor. L. J. Mallard was the first ruling elder. The bell, from old Sunbury, was once used for church, school, market and town. The font and communion service are from Midway Church. The font was a gift from Dr. William McWhir, the tankard from John Lambert, the communion service from Simon Monroe, Esq. Elders contributing most in later years – Preston Waite and Charles B. Jones.