Henry A. Ward was a nephew of Levi Alfred Ward, one of the early mayors of Rochester. Henry Ward was interested in geology since he was a small child. In 1861 he started teaching natural science at University of Rochester.
He opened Ward's Natural Science Establishment in 1862, which housed many specimens pertinient to natural science, including fossils and stuffed animals. He died after being struck by a car in Buffalo, becoming the city's first automobile fatality. His ashes rest in Mount Hope Cemetery. Henry Ward resided in what is today the Grove Place Historic District.