Bacon, Henry-George Ward, a half-breed Cherokee Indian, was hanged at Van Buren Friday of last week for the murder of a young man named Henry Bacon near Evansville on the night of Sunday, July 28, 1895.  Bacon was at church and Ward sneaked up and shot him through a window.  Ward was only 19 years old but was considered a desperate criminal.  Before being executed he admitted the killing and also stated that he killed a man at Houston, Texas last year.  Pruitt Turner, a negro, was also sentenced to hang at the same time for the murder of Robert Hawkins at Mulberry on the night of Feb. 17, 1895, was granted a respite until February 28.  Text from The Springdale News, 1/31/96.
 

George Ward, the Cherokee who murdered Henry Bacon on July 25th, 1895 expiated his crime upon the gallows at Van Buren yesterday.  The hanging was private, only 25 persons being allowed by the law to witness the execution.  The enclosure was situated within a few yards of the jail and Ward walked alone with a firm step up the stairs.  Rev. A. H. Williams of the M.E. Church, South prayed with him and at the conclusion his arms were pinioned and the black cap adjusted and at 10:16 the trap was sprung.  At 10:48 he was pronounced dead and was cut down.  His remains were taken by relatives to Evansville, Ark. for internment.  Text from the Benton County Democrat, 1/30/96.
 

I have visited the family cemetery on private property formerly owned by the Ward family near Evansville, Arkansas.  George is buried in an unmarked grave there.