The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-19
JOSEPH {. WILLARD
DEAD At WASHINGTON.
He Passed Away After a Very Brief
Illness.
THE DECEASED WAS ONE OF THE
LARGEST REAL ESTATE OWN
Frs IN WASHINGTON = THE
FRIEND AND ASSOCIATE OF
SOME OF THE NATIONS FAMOUS
MEN-ONE son TIE HEIR TO
HIS VAST WEALTH.

Washington, d. c., January is
alr. Joseph {. Willard, owner of Will
LARD Hotei, died Sunday morning ut 1o:i5
O'Clock ut his residence Oh Fourteenth
street, between + and streets. At his
bedside were all his relatives. His ONLY
son, Joseph f.. Willard, who has been
IN the city during his fathers illness and
stopping ut the Ehbitt House. with his
wife; his brothers, Henry A. and Caleb
Z. Willard, and their wives; his nephew.
Henry IL. Willard, and Dr. Boyd, his
nephew by marriage, all were there. His
faithful old colored servant was also by
him ut the last
MI. Willard has been in ill.hcalth for
three years, ever since serious Mt .ack
which nearly ended his life about that
long ago 1t was ten days ago that he
was confined to his house with Il com
plication of kidney and liver trouble.
Saturday morning he fell unconscious
from his chair and remained in that con.
dition until he brcathctl his last. DIR. a.
l.. Stavely and DR.. H. w. Glazebrook
attended him in his illness
His son, Joseph f., was much affected
by his ieath and left the Ebbitt House
to stay with the family of Mr. c. c. Will
lard at their residence, ut Fourteenth and
p streets
Joseph Clapp Willard was born Novem-
Der ii, $50, ut Westminster, Vt. His
father was farmer and Mr.. Willard
spent his boyhood days on the farm. At
10 he started out in life for himself. and
went to Troy, \. y, where he attached
himself to the Troy House, and remained
several years. He then entered the ser.
vice of the Hudson River Steamboat Com
pnny, in whose employ he had charge for
number of years of what WAS then con
sidered their lloating palaces.
lie went from there to the \ stur House.
New York and made the acquaintance
OF Mr.. William III. Aspinwall Il leading
business man Of New York, who became
his personal friend. At the request of
Mr.. Aspinwall NJ. w lizard went to. Cali
tornia To represent the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company. He developed great
business abilities. and made himself of
splendid service to that company On
enc occasion he made Il trip from New
York to San Francisco carrying 800, 600
in gold for the company. lie crossed the
lsthmus OF Panama on horseback without
escort on this pcrilous undertaking. In
lSo3 Nj. Willard returned from Califor-
lila and visited Washington, where his
brother, Henry 4. Willard, had estah.
lished the Willard Hotel on its present
site in 1917 Henry Willard invited his
brother to go into partnership with him.
and the two together conducted the hotel
for many years with great success.
He served with distinction during the
late war on the stan OF Major General
Mcdowell with the rank oI major and
assistant adjutant general.
Mr.. Willard has for forty years been
one OF the best known characters in
l.. 4.
WAS one of the wealthiest men in the city.
lie was several times millionaire and a
low estimate of his holdings is placed at
5000, 900 While his acquaintance was
large, he had very few conidants and no
one outside his immediate family knew
the actual extent of his personal prop
crty.
Much of his wealth is in some of the
most desirable real estate in Washington.
The Wizards Hotel property alone is cs-
timated to he worth i'll the neighborhood
of three-quartcrs of Il million dollars. In
addition to this he owned property on
Pennsylvania ~ enuc between the Owen
House and the Corcoran building, which
was formerly known rs the Mansion
House, built Il century ago, and one OF
the first, if not the very first, hotel build
ing in the city besides this he held the
property ut Fourteenth and + streets. in
gliding nearly the whole block: ut FDur-
teenth and New York avenue, property
ut Twelfth and Massachusetts avenue,
besides large number of smaller hold
ings, and large farming interests in Iowa
and real estate i'll several other places
Much OF his wealth was also in ready
cash and government bonds.
He was peculiar in his manner and in
clined TO be Il triilc' suspicious OF financial
institutions, and was only in IL remote
way connected with any OF them For
many years past he had kept practically
no bank account. but when forced 10
transact any banking business il was
with the Bank OF Washington. He had
numerous safe deposit boxes in all the
various trust company buildings, in
which he locked thousands of dollars in
notes, gold and silver. At any time he
could have produced more ready money
than any man in Washington. 1t was
one of his peculiarites to handle the cash
rather than II bank book. Here, too, are
locked up his large HOLDINGS of govern
IEent bonds. Some years ago he was the
largest individual holder in the United
states OF il certain large block of bonds,
issued IA the seventies
The litigation which grew out of par.
tition suit for the sale of Wizards Hotel
DVEa MV00