(Photo provided from findagrave.com) Nahum Ward portrait circa 1830s, possibly while Mayor of Marietta.

Nahum Ward was a prominent early Mariettan, owner at various times of 100,000 acres of land and of a showcase home in Marietta. Nahum Ward was serious-minded, but he dreamed big. He promoted his land with newspaper ads in the eastern U.S. He even made a year-long trip in 1823 to Scotland and Ireland to recruit immigrants to the Marietta area. Travel then was complicated, slow, expensive, and sometimes risky. It was also a personal sacrifice; he left behind a wife and small child for about 1 1/2 years.

Ward had good marketing materials for the time. Below are excerpts from a broadside (a large poster used then for advertising) promoting the Marietta area to Scottish farmers. Spelling and punctuation are from the original document at Marietta College Special Collections.

WHO WILL GO TO THAT BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, OHIO, IN NORTH AMERICA

–The undersigned (Nahum Ward), a citizen of Marietta, in the state of Ohio, in latitude 39 north, and about 500 miles west of the city of Washington (D.C.), has crossed the Atlantic for the purpose of aiding farmers who are desirous of emigrating to that hospitable clime. The climate is mild, the soil exuberant, waters pure and abundant……

–Colleges, academies, and schools (in Ohio) are encouraged. Lands are given by Congress for the support of religion and schools…; also large sums of money for making roads….The political institutions of this state impart to its inhabitants, who are remarkably moral and religious, all the benefits and privileges which freedom could desire…The population (of Ohio) is about 800,000 free people.

–Grain of all kinds is easily cultivated… Fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, pomegranates, wine-grapes, mellons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and numerous others, grow in great perfection…

–The class…lead(ing) all others is the farmer;…he has no rent to pay – no game laws (deer, turkies, pheasants, squirrels, etc. to shoot when he pleases). He has neither timber or fishing laws – no taxes to pay, except his equal share for the support of the civil list of the country, which is a trifle. He has neither (taxes for the poor or tithes): such are the blessings enjoyed by the American farmer. The market (for farmers’ products) is always sure, and at his door, as there are men, both from the cities and country, who make a business of (buying all farmers’ products)…paying down in dollars for what he buys…

Mr. Ward also mentions practical details: where to contact him, a description of the land/lot sizes, and a requirement to pre-pay postage – otherwise the letters “will not be attended to.” There is also a postscript saying “(No one) possessed of means below £25 need apply.” Meaning, if you’re worth less than 25 British pounds, don’t bother to inquire.

Nahum Ward achieved some recruiting success. The History of Washington County Ohio book reports that 175 people emigrated from Scotland to the United States to land which he owned. Many arrived in the summer of 1823. Unfortunately, there was an epidemic of illness going on then. Most of the emigrants were stricken with fever when they arrived; some died. But Nahum Ward helped provide for them with temporary lodging and medical attention. Many eventually settled in western Washington County, forming “one of the best elements of the population of Washington County,” according to The History of Washington County Ohio. Ward also helped dozens of families – immigrants and others – establish farms and households on land that he owned.

This was but one chapter of Nahum Ward’s productive life as a successful businessman, Marietta civic leader, family man, and benefactor of the Unitarian Church.