He was an active and efficient worker, and the satisfaction of his constituency was certified by their retaining him as their representative, by re-election, twelve out of eighteen consecutive years. He assisted in framing the present constitution of the State of New York, in 1846, and since then has declined invitations to public service. During the years 1859 and 1860, he visited Egypt and the Holy Land. His narrative of his journey, published under the title of " Around the Pyramids," is considered one of the most truthful productions of its kind from the pen of an American. Sing Sing owes much to General "Ward's enterprise and public spirit, and he is sincerely honoured and beloved in the community where he resides.

Pleasant residences -- some embowered, others standing out in the bright sunlight near groves and woods -- delight the eye more and more as we approach the large village of Tarrytown, twenty-seven miles from New York. Of these the most conspicuous between the little hamlet of Scarborough, below Sing Sing and Tarrytown, is that of Mr. Aspinwall, a wealthy New York merchant. Near it was the residence of General James Watson Webb, then the veteran editor and proprietor of the New York Courier and Inquirer, and well known, personally, and by reputation, in both hemispheres as a gentleman of rare abilities as a journalist. At the beginning of the Civil War, General Webb was appointed resident minister at the court of Pedro II., emperor of Brazil, in which position he continued during the entire struggle.