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Eber Brock Ward (1811-1875) began his career as a cabin boy on his uncle's sailing vessels, but when he died in 1875, he was the wealthiest man in Michigan. Ward was engaged in numerous booming Michigan industries, including steamboat, railroad, lumber, mining, iron, and steel. In 1864, his facility near Detroit became the first in the nation to produce steel using the more efficient Bessemer method. Author Michael W. Nagle demonstrates how much of Ward's success was due to his ability to vertically integrate his business operations, which was undertaken decades before other more famous moguls, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. And yet, despite his countless successes, Ward's captivating life was filled with ruthless competition, labor conflict, familial dispute, and scandal.
About the author
Michael W. Nagle is a professor of history and political science at West Shore Community College. He is the author of
Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845-1933 (Wayne State University Press), which was the recipient of the Kentucky History Award. Nagle lives in Ludington, Michigan.
Summary
Eber Brock Ward (1811-75) began his career as a cabin boy on his uncle’s sailing vessels, but when he died in 1875, he was the wealthiest man in Michigan. Michael Nagle makes extensive use of Ward’s correspondence, business records, contemporary newspaper accounts, and other archival material to craft a balanced profile of this fascinating figure.
