Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-11-15

of the Northern Pacific, and financier,
died at his summer residence at Dobbs
Ferry, yesterday of apopleXy. He had
intended to return to New York about
the middle Of last month, but his condi-
ton was then SO precarious that his
physicians advised him to remain at
his country home until he should have
gained more strength. A week ago he
caught heavy cold and since then his
condition had been gradually growing
worse. Two physicians had been with
him constantly for a week.
Mr. Willard was born at Heinrich Hill
gard in Speyer, Rhienish Bavaria,
April II, 1885. His great uncle Theo-
dore Gather of julius Hilgard, who be-
came superintendent of the United
States coast survey led a migration Of
the family connection to Belleyille, ILL.,,
in 1885 His father, Gustav, was in
the judicial service of the Bavarian
government and later judge of the
supreme court at Munich. Young Hill
gard was educated at schools in Zwei-
brucken, Phalsbourg and Speyer, but
in October, 1853, broke off his univer-
sity studies, and set out for the United
States, intending to join the colony of
his relatives at Belleville. His faith
er's opposition to this step made him
borrow the surname of a French
schoolmate at Phalsbourg, and he be-
came Henry Willard. Arriving at
Belleville, he became a newspaper re-
porter and continued in the profession
until 1868 During these years he
served as legislative correspondent
In Indiana and Illinois, a political re-
porter, reporting the Lincoln-Doug-
las debates, the Chicago convention
which nominated Lincoln, the Lincoln
campaign, and later as a war CORE
spondent and European correspOn-
dent The papers he served in this
period were the Cincinnati CONNER
cial, the New York Herald, the Chicago
Tribune and the New York Tribune,
and a 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 Ma
ton.
In 1866 in Boston he married Fannie,
Garrison. In 1868 he was chosen sec
rotary of the newly founded American
Social Science association, having its
headquarters in that city and did not
finally relinquish the post till 1871.
1t was in the latter year while on a
visit to Europe that Mr.. Willard began
his railroad career. He formed a con
MI lin
bankers and in 1878 returned to the
United States, buying for the German
bondhOlders the property of the Ore
gon e California railroad company
and the Oregon Steamship company
being made president in 1875. He act
ed as one of the receivers of the Kan
sas Pacific Railroad company and later
bought up the bonds of the road. He
became interested in the Oregon Steam
Navigation company and the Oregon
Railway & Navigation company, OF
which he became president, and then
formed the Oregon & Transcontinental
with which he merged the two other
companies in so-Called blind pOol
with the Northern Pacific, being chos-
en- president OF the latter company
A few years later the companies in
which he was interested became SO in
volved 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 the Thomas
Edison Lamp company of Newark, n
j., and the Edison works at Schnec-
tady, as q basis, and organized the
Edison General Electric company, OF
which he became president, serving in
that capacity for about two years. In
October, 1889, he became chairman OF
the Northern Pacific board Of direct
ors. but the panic of 1898 again occa-
stoned the loss of most Of his fortune
and led to his withdrawal from rail
road management.
He leaves a widow, two sons and a
daughter The family occupies a great
estate at Dobbs Ferry, just up the Hud-
son.
Interested in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, Nov. 13-Mr. Willard
has been intimately identified with
the electrical awakening Of Milwau-
kee. When the New York syndicate
that was branch Of the North Amer
lean company purchased the lines Of
the Cream City, the Milwaukee and
the West Side Street Railway COM
panies and later of the old Hinsey
line, it was all done under the man
agement of Willard, and he was the
nominal head, at least of the company
that established the electric-lighting
plant known as the Edison Electric Il
Illuminating company, the company
that built the old power house on
River street
For some time these companies
were known as the Willard system
This was about the time that his con-
nections with the Northern Pacific
railway made his name a byword in
financial circles the world over His
influence was especially great in
German financial circles and it was
that that brought so much German
capital to this country, some of it
said to be royal capital, invested by
the reigning house.
1t was generally understood that
Prince Bismarck had invested in the
Milwaukee system, and in the North
American company. In fact so COM
mon were the rumors of German