The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-13

Mr.. Wizards death was caused by apo
plexy alone. and he had never had cancer
in his throat or other serious throat
trouble.
Henry Willard (Heinrich Higard was his
original name) was born in Speyer. the cap
ital of Rhenish Bavaria, on April /. 1897.
His great uncle. Theodor, father OF julius
Hilgard, who became superintendent of
the United States coast survey, led mi
grafton of the family connection TO Belle
Vile. ILL.,. in 1885, His father. Gustav was
in the judicial service OF the Bavarian gov
eminent and ended judge of the Supreme
Court at Munich.
Young Hilgard was educated at schools
in Zweibrucken, Phalzbourg and Speyer,
but in October. 1853, broke off his university
studies and set out for the United States,
intending to Join the colony OF his rela-
tives at Belleville. His fathers opposition
TO this step made him borrow the surname
OF French schoolmate at PhalZbourg, and
he became Henry Willard.
Arriving at Belleville, he became news
paper reporter and continued in the pro-
fession until 1858. During these years he
served as a legislative correspondent in
Indiana and Illinois, political reporter,
reporting the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the
Chicago convention which nominated Lin
coin, the Lincoln campaign and later was
war correspondent and a European cor
respondent. The papers he served IN this
period were the Cincinniti Commercial, the
New York Herald. the Chicago. Tribune
and the New York Tribune, and part of
the time he was at the head of news
bureaus at Washington. Early in 1881 Mr..
Willard acquired the New York Evening
Post and the Nation.
In January, 1866, in Boston, he married
Fannie the only daughter of William Lloyd
Garrison. In 1868 he was chosen secretary
OF the newly founded American Social
Science Society, having its headquarters in
that city. and did not finally relinquish
the post until 1878.
1t was in the latter year. while on a
visit to Europe, Mr.. Willard began his rail-
road career. He formed connection with
Frankfort and Berlin bankers, and in 1873
| returned to the United States. buying for
| the German bondholderS the property OF
| the Oregon & California Railroad COM
pany and the Oregon Steamship Company.
being made president in 1875. He acted
as one of the receivers of the Kansas
Pacific Railroad Company and later bought
| up the bonds of the road. He became in
! terested in the Oregon Steam Navigation
| Company and the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company, of which he was a
president and then formed the Oregon d
| Transcontnental to which he merged the
| two other companies to a so-called blind
| pool to the Northern Pacific, being chosen
| president of the latter company.
A few years later the companies in which
| he was interested became so involved that
| there was a collapse, in which Mr.. Willard
| suffered heavily. Returning to Germany
| he formed new financial relations, which
(, enabled him to repair his fortune, and,
| coming back to this country. he started
| in once more as capitalist In 1890 he
| purchased from Thomas Edison his cleo
| trical manufacturing interests, and with
| the Edison Lamp Company of Newark,
| n. J., and the Edison works at Science
! tady, n. Y, as basis. organized the Ed
son General Electric Company, of which
he became president serving in that ca
| pacity for about two years. In October.
| 1889. he became chairman of the Northern
| Pacific board of directors, but the panic
| OF 1893 again occasioned the loss of most
| OF his fortune and led to his withdrawal
| from railroad management.