Ware, William, Sr.
(born: October 17, 1872 - died: 1955)William Ware, Sr. was born in Lexington, KY. He was a fraternal worker at Main St. Baptist Church in Lexington and Antioch Baptist Church in Cincinnati, OH. He founded the Welfare Association for Colored People of Cincinnati in 1917, serving as president 1917-1920. He was also a long-time president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) of Cincinnati, beginning in 1920; Ware added nearly 8,000 members to the association, making it one of the largest UNIA chapters in the U.S.
William Ware was the husband of Lucy Jones Ware (1877-1942, born in KY). In 1920 the family of 11 lived on Barr Street in Cincinnati, according to the U.S. Federal Census. The family had moved to Cincinnati in 1903 and are listed in the U.S Census from 1910-1940. William Ware, Sr. was the son of Alfred and Jane Morton Ware. He is buried in a family plot belonging to his daughter Nora Ware Robinson.
For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1928-29; Cincinnati's Colored Citizens, by W. P. Dabney; and sections of "Hoarace Sudduth, Cincinnati City Council and the Universal Negro Improvement Association 1921" on the Walnut Hills Historical Society website.