With the passing of Floyd T. Ward, 95, on Dec. 17, 2023, the last of the Ward brothers of Deltaville have passed.
The Ward brothers, Floyd, Melvin and Milton (Mit), were part of a Chesapeake Bay maritime dynasty started by their father Captain Johnny Ward, originally from Crisfield, Md., who owned and operated more Chesapeake Bay buyboats and steel hull freight boats called “Bay Boats” than any other single family on the bay.
Born in 1902, Captain Johnny and his family can be compared to the famed Conway family of Cambridge, Md. Legend has it that Captain Harvey Conway Sr. moved to Cambridge as a young man with all his possessions in a 12-pound capacity flour sack. He died a millionaire, his money made from hauling freight and lumber on sail-powered schooners. He and his son owned a fleet of sailing schooners and “bugeyes.”
