Evening star., 1897-01-18

the severe Illness which he suffered about
| the period mentioned he has been almost
| constantly an invalid, and with appar-
emily no thought4 save those Of devotion
| for his only son.3 80
A Large Bond Owner.
In addition to his large property interests
| In this city 1t is .said that Mr.. willard at
one time was the largest Individual owner
of United States bonds, and that at one
period his income from the interest on
thesc bonds alone amounted to $37 900 each
| quarter. In 1892 Mr.. Henry A. Willard
| half interest he held in Willard's Hotel
property. For long time the property had
been In litigation and the suit was finally
settled by an order OF court requiring the
property to be sold at auction so the pro-
ceeds could be divided. The auction sale
was memorable one. Mr.. Joseph Willard
seated himself in chair in front of the
building, evidently Intending to camp there
until he had won the fight His competi-
| tor in bidding was Mr. H. K willard The
property was finally knocked down to Mr..
Joseph Willard for $G0s.00O. He thereupon
became sole owner of the property and a
| long and somewhat bitter contention came
| to an end.
Like all wealthy men, he had his
peculiarities In regard to the handling and
the keeping of his money. He had no bank
account in this city, but kept his money
| mainly in bank in New York city, of
| which he was said to have been a large
stockhclder.
He never adopted the custom which is
now practically universal of using blank
checks. but wrote out in full all checks.
which he drew on pieces of blank paper.
which were of uniform size. but much
smaller 10th in length and in width than
! the average bank check He was also some
what peculiar in his method of taking care
of his property. He seldom especially in
later years, erected any new building The
| buildings already erected, however. he kept
| In good condition, painting them inside
and out. and making other necessary re-
pairs, Tut attending no further improve
ments. He owned the property at the
northeast corner of Pennsylvania avenue
| and 14th street. which is now improved by
leased from Mr.. Willard by the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad Company, and the build
ing was erected by that corpora ton The
building en- PENNSYLVANIA avenue between
18th and 18th streets, where his Office was
| 10 :ated. Is probably one of the Oldest in
| the city, anu 1T stands today wearing prac-
| tically the same appearance as it did when
| it was erected in the year 170S by Mr. John
| Iayloe This was one of the first hotels
| in the city.
Joe" Willard, as he was generally refer
| red to In life. was one of the most interest
| ing men in Washington. Countless stories
are told of his eccentricities. Many of them
We're doubtless fictions, pure and simple
but the best of them are true. and give a
better insight into the mans character
than mere description could do He was
| a shrewd. calculating business man, and
| rarely, If ever, got the short end of q trans
action. The result of his close attention to
affairs and the utter lack of any extraya-
Sance in his tastes and daily life was shown
In the accumulation Of fortune that made
| him one of the wealthiest of all the men
VINO have made their money in this city
| A prominent banker said today that he had
| no doubt Mr.. willard was worth at least
$3.oO0,O0O in gilt-edged real estate and Sc
curities. = M
| His Home on Fourteenth Street.
For years he ltYed practically alone in his
unpretentious home on 14th street. The
| house is an old-fashioned three-story brick
| especially noticeableefor it's rather shabby
| entrance from a, simple wooden stoop. The
| front door is screened behind stout shut
ters, which have always been kept closed
| so that the house almost looked as though
! 1t was unoccupted.. No one who did not
| ever have dreamed that it was occupied by
| one of the richest men in Washington.
Ills menage wasi'piain to the last degree
| and it is said by those who have been in
side the house thai 1T was no more attrac-
| TIVE from that point of view than it Is
| from. the street. Comparatively few peo-
pie ever succeeded.fn crossing the thresh-
old, however. Most of those who called
| no matter how important their business
might be, were, received on the front door
step, and their stay even there was never
allowed to run on very long. His visitors
We're met with more or less courtesy but
Mr.. Willard was soon bowling them away
| 1t has always been understood that he
Kept large amount Of ready money about
the house. He had no dealings with any of
the local banks. and kept his account al
ways large one, with one of the leading
| New York institutions. Whenever bills
were presented to him at his house he
| would pay them in cash, even If they ran
| up into the thousands He would leave his
visitor standing at the door. He would go
| inside for moment. and returning would
put bunch of greenbacks in the mans
a n1 md
| ado.
Mr.. Willard lived in such seclusion in the
later years of his life that, though his was
| one OF the best-known names in Washing
ton, very few of the younger men of the
! city knew him by sight. His face was
| somewhat striking. He had regular feat
| nres that indicated a strong character
| He was always clean shaved. In his mid
| Ole age he was regarded as one Of the hand
| soonest men of Washington.
| Stories About His Dealings,
Mr.. Willard was a curious man In all his
dealings with his fellow men, He was al
| ways regarded as honest to the last degree
| but he was hard as nails. When he once
| started after man there was little chance
| OF MS letting up. For many years he was
al outs with his two brothers. and MANY
are lhe stories that are told of the lengths
70 Wnich he went to embarrass either one
| or both OF them In their business dealings
| happily, these feuds were settled two or
| three years ago, and the last years of Jo-
sephs life were spent in relations of amitv
| ana cordiality with his brothers.
AS Is generally known, Mr.. c. C. Willard
owns pretty much all the property on the
south side of F street between 18th and
| l4th5 streets. Adjoining the Ehbitt House
on the east Is a. little strip that was for
| merry owned by an Alexandria man. C.
Z. willard was dickering for its purchase
when Joe" stepped in and bought 1t for
| himself, not because he wanted 1t, but
| SIMPLY to keep his brother from getting it.
| All the efforts Mr.. c. C. Willard could ever
make to get possession of that little piece
| OF land were fruitless, and his hopes Of ex-
| tending the Ebbitt in that direction never
| materialiZed. 80
1t is said that on one occasion Caleb VIII
lard was preparing to make some repairs
| to his buildings on. F street, and the work
| men dumped all their mortar and bricks in
| the rear Of Joe Wizards little strip OF
| ground. Sometime during the night the
| latter was inspecting the property for his
| own information. He ran across the bricks
and mortar, and spent good part of the
night dumping .aRSthe former into the
latter.
| One Of Joe wfllasd's choice pieces of
property is the Int At the northwest corner
| site for an office bAilding, but it has lain
| idle ever since inlca9,e into his possession,