Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-02-24
MISS WILLARD DEAD
PASSES AWAY AT MIDNIGHT IN
NEW YORK.
BADGER TEMPERANCE GIRL
Many Years of a Good Woman's Life
Devoted to Good Cause-While
in Rome She Did las the Romans
Do''-Educated in Wisconsin-In-
terment in Evanston.

New York. Feb. 1S.-Miss Frances
E. Willard. president Of the Woman's
Christian Temperance union, died
shortly after midnight Friday morn
ing, at the Hotel Empire. Dr.. Hill
made the following statement: Miss
Willard has suffered for some years
with profound anemia, and on several
| occasions was given up to die. Five
weeks ago she was attacked with the
grip. The disease progressed favor
ably until the nervous system was at
lacked.
There will be funeral services in
New York city and later in Evans
ton, H., Miss Wizards home, where
the body will be inferred.
Miss Wizards mother and father
We're Vermonters. She was born Sept.
Is, 1889, at Churchville, Ohio. As
child she went to Wisconsin with her
parents, living at Forest Home on the
ROCK river. She was educated at the
Milwaukee Female college and later at
the Northwestern university, Evan
sion, and at 10 became school
teacher. From 1858 to 1874 she had
thirteen separate seasons of teaching
in eleven separate institutions and six
different towns, the pupils in all num-
bering about 1000.
Miss Willard, in 1868, made a two
years trip to Europe with Miss Kate
jackson, who betrayed the expenses.
They visited Egypt, the Holy Land.
Russia and all the rest of Europe. This
European trip was Miss Wizards one
experience of life, as workings live it.
OF this trip she said: Three things
l did, once in awhile, during my two
years and four months of foreign
travel, that l never did and never do
at home. l went to see sights on
Sunday, went to the theater, and took
wine at dinner" She learned to love
Rudesheimer and Grand Chartreuse,
and in short, she did in Rome as the
Romans do, honestly avowing, as she
still avows, that the forbidden pleas
ures were sweet, and were abandoned
with a sigh.
Miss Willard was So years old when
she finally adopted temperance work
as her vocation, although she was her
editarily disposed to it, her father and
mother having been livelong teetotal-
ers and their children being accus-
toned from infancy to the representa-
ton OF the case against alcohol. It
was not, however, until 1873, that Miss
Willard entered the temperance field
as missionary. She was soon in the
heat of the fray in the cause of tenn
perance, and shortly was chosen pres
ident of the Woman's Temperance So
ciety in Chicago. In the autumn of
1875 she was instrumental in the
founding of the National Woman's
Temperance union, OF which she was
appointed national secretary. In 1878
Miss Willard began a systematic tour
of the American continent, addressing
meeting in every town in the union
OF 5000 or more inhabitants. AT Bal
timore in 1878 a proposal to indorse
woman's suffrage as a temperance
measure was rejected, but the official
organ was permitted to publish re-
ports of the work of societies on that
line. The next year at Indianapolis
Miss Willard was elected president of
the National w. c.. T. Ia post
which she has held ever since. I'm
der her presidency the convention the
next year declared in favor of woman's
suffrage.