The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-06-23
WHERE OTHERS FEARED TO
TREAD HE FEARED NOT AND
AMAssED A FORTUNE OF MIL
LIONS.
ACTIVE IN RAILROAD WORLD
His Perseverance, and Response to
Business Won Him a Place as Pres
ident Of the Rock Island Rail-
road.

William Bateman Leeds, multi-mil-
iionaire railroad and trust magnate
and for many years resident OF
Richmond, died at ten o'clock this
morning at the Hotel Ritz. in Paris,
death presumably being due to a
stroke of paralysis similar to those
which have made Mr.. Leeds an invalid
for three years. But the barest details
were covered in the cablegram receiv-
ed by his son, Rudolph Gaar Leeds,
this morning.
Although not resident of his ma
tive city for over ten years, William
b. Leeds was widely known in Rich
mond, where still live a great many
of his former friends and business
associates. During the past ten years
his visits here have been infrequent
and much of his time has been spent
abroad. where he has been under the
his paralytic condition. To those who
knew of the state of his health. the
news was not surprise.
The remarkable business and finan-
cial career of William B. Leeds is
known intimately to most of the citi-
zens of Richmond, having been ex-
plotted in newspaper and magazine
many times during the period of great
industrial successes following the
election of 1896. Mr.. Leeds made the
start of his large fortune in Elwood
from tin plate mills he established
there with Daniel G. Reid as a part
ner, and his subsequent dealings in
the steel trust, the Rock Island Rail-
way and on Wall street greatly add
ed to his wealth. He retired from ac-
tive business some time since and has
been living in Paris with his wife and
young son, William Bateman Leeds,
Ur.
Mr.. Leeds was born in Richmond on
September 10, 1851. his parents being
Noah S. Leeds and Hannah Starr
Leeds, both Of whom lived their whole
lives in Wayne county. Young Leeds
attended common school and the
Friends Academy. but discontinued
study to go into the greenhouse busi-
mess with his father, who had, late in
the seventies, bought out the firm of
"A. X. Williams, on South Fifth street
"A little later Mr.. Leeds acquired con-
@rol of this and for time did a flour
ishing business, but after five years
he became unsuccessful and the COM
pany failed.
In 1882 he went to Edwardsport, In
Ndiana, small coal-mining town near
Nincennes, to take charge of the
weighing of coal for the PENNSYLVANIA
Ifailroad. The following year he re-
turned to Richmond and at the age of
twenty-five, married Jennie Gaar.
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. ]. NJ. Gaar,
on August 16. 1883.
This period marks the turning point
an the business life of William Leeds.
He went to work in the fall of 1883
Tor the Pennsylvania railroad in this
city. receiving no pay for his services.
He worked long hours and when he
returned home. studied until late in
the night. At four in the morning he
would be at his books again, master
matics. Spurred on by his young wife,
who accompanied him in his studies
and took the keenest interest in the
line OF work he had laid out for him.
self, he became proficient in trigon-
ometry and later he took special
courses at Earlham. under the tutor
ship of Prof. Trueblood
When he had made himself capable
of filling the position, he was made
assistant engineer maintenance of
way on the Indianapolis division of
the Pennsylvania lines and then. a
year or SO later. was made engine er
having under his supervision over one
hundred miles of the main line OF the
Pennsylvania system. Harry I. Miller,
also OF this city, was division super
fContinuod On paro TvON