Joshua John Ward, of Georgetown, South Carolina

Georgetown, South Carolina

Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...

, was the largest American slaveholder, dubbed "the king of the rice planters".

In 1850 he held 1,092 slaves, and in 1860 his heirs (his estate) held 1,130 or 1,131 slaves.

One of his plantations, the Brookgreen Plantation, is now part of the namesake park of Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens with American figurative sculptures placed in them, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on...

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Career

In addition to his rice plantations, he served as 44th lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 1850 to 1852, as a Democrat, under governor John Hugh Means

John Hugh Means

John Hugh Means was the 64th Governor of South Carolina from 1850 to 1852 and an infantry colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

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Family history

Ward was born 24 Nov 1800 at Brookgreen Plantation, South Carolina. He was married 14 Mar 1825 in South Carolina to Joanna Douglas Hasell, and died 27 Feb 1853 at Brookgreen Plantation. His father was Joshua Ward, and his mother was Elizabeth Cook.