Collecting Delaware Books
Christopher L. Ward 1868-1943
This article was written in 2005 and did not appear in the original Collecting Delaware Books newsletter.
Christopher L. Ward was one of the many Delawareans who were writing in the 1920s and 30s. His output included history, novels, parody, and legal volumes. There is no good biography of Ward. The late Jerry Shields collected copious notes on Ward. After his death these notes went to an unidentified buyer. It is hoped a biography will eventually result. Ward's papers are stored at the University of Delaware Morris Library and are cataloged in the online catalog.
Ward's mother was the daughter of Dr. Lewis Porter Bush, a prosperous physician who served a term as head of the Delaware Medical Society and, briefly, as president of the University of Delaware. The family fortune was largely in shipping, stemming from Capt. Samuel Bush who, in 1774, had begun the first regular shipping line between Wilmington and Philadelphia and expanded it after being active in the patriot cause during the American Revolution.
Christopher was raised in Dr. Bush's household at 606 French St. after his father, Henry, shot a man during a fight and went to jail in Pennsylvania. His mother, Martha, brought her young children back to Wilmington to live, so that Christopher and his siblings, while their name was Ward, were raised as Bushes.
In 1899, Delaware passed the laws that eventually made the state the home for America's corporations. Ward and Josiah Marvel, 1866-1930, had been instrumental in drafting the laws and founded one of the law firms that specialized in serving corporations. The firm is known today as CSC or Corporation Service Company. The success of the business gave Ward the money and leisure to pursue scholarly and literary activities.
Ward was an amateur historian, but his writings are well respected. Even his novels often had a historical basis. When writing serious history, Ward used "Christopher L. Ward" as his name. In fiction and literature he dropped the middle initial. At least three of his books were translated to Swedish.
Ward's Books
History
- Leaves From the Log-Books and Letters of James Hemphill … 1793-1797. Papers of the HSD lxiv, Historical Society of Delaware, 1914.
- The Dutch & Swedes on the Delaware. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1930
- Delaware Tercentenary Almanack & Historical Repository. Wilmington (DE): Delaware Tercentenary Commision 1937, 1938. (Ward's name does not appear as author on the title page. This book was also reprinted in Early Delaware Census Records, 1665-1697 by Ronald Vern Jackson & Gary Ronald Teeples, Bountiful UT, c.1977)
- New Sweden on the Delaware. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1938.
- Svenskarna vid Delaware. Stockholm: Norstedt, [1938].
- The Delaware Continentals, 1776-1783. Wilmington (DE): Historical Society of Delaware, 1941 Delaware Heritage Commision 2001.
- The War of the Revolution. New York: Macmillan, 1952. Published after Ward's death. (Two volumes in slip case. The work of Ward's last years of life. Completed and published after his death.)
Novels
- One Little Man. New York: Harper, 1926 London: Cassell, [1926]. (An account of Wilmington during the Spanish-American War.
- Starling A Story of Husbands and Wives. New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1927
- The Saga of Cap'n John Smith. New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1928.
- The Strange Adventures of Jonathan Drew, a Rolling Stone, … 1821-1824 … . New York: Simon & Schuster, 1932 London: Grayson & Grayson, 1933.
- A Yankee Rover Being the Story of the Adventures of Jonathan Drew … 1824-1829 … . New York: Simon and Schuster, 1932. (Camden NY: Haddon Craftsmen.
- Ber�ttelsen Om De S�llsamma �ventyr Som Upplevdes Av Jonathan Drew. Stockholm: Norstedt & S�ners, 1934.
- Den Of�rb�tterlige Vagabonden. Stockholm: Norstedt & S�ners, 1935.
Parody & Other Literature
- Triumph of the Nut, and Other Parodies. New York: H. Holt & Co., 1923.
- Twisted Tales. New York: H. Holt & Co., 1924.
- Gentleman Into Goose. New York: Henry Holt & Co. [1924?] London: T. W. Laurie Ltd., [1924].
- Foolish Fiction. New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1925.
- Sir Galahad and Other Rimes Pass-Keys to the Classics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1936
Legal
- Delaware Corporations and Receiverships, 5th edition only by Ward. Wilmington DE: Corporation Service Co. 1932.
- Delaware's "Black Flag". Wilmington (DE) Corpoation Service c. 1932. (Only 5 pages. An answer to an article in Atlantic Monthly.)