W.D. Hoard
Regions: Stockbridge, Madison Co., NY; - Dodge & Jefferson Co., WI
| From Memorial and Genealogical Record of Dodge and
Jefferson Counties, Wisconsin, publ. 1894 - Page 223-225
EX-GOV. W. D. HOARD. Few persons have lived more quietly or unostentatiously than Ex-Gov. W. D. HOARD, of Fort Atkinson, Wis., and yet few have exerted a more salutary influence upon the immediate society in which they move, or impressed a community with a more profound reliance on their honor, ability and sterling worth. His life has not been illustrious with startling incidents or striking contracts; but it has shown how a laudable ambition may be gratified when accompanied by pure motives, persevering industry and steadfast purpose. In presenting to the readers of this volume a sketch of his life, character and public acts, it will be found that his name is closely connected with the peace and prosperity of the State of Wisconsin. For two years he ably performed the duties of chief magistrate of the State, and during this time evinced qualities of head and heart which shed luster upon his name and won the hearty approval of all right-thinking people. His career points its own moral and it is not to be wondered at that a history of his life would be of more than ordinary interest, for it enables society to arrive at correct conclusions and to establish theories of life, its obligations and possibilities, which cannot fail to be of benefit to thoughtful people. As editor of the Jefferson County Union the influence that he has wielded has been wide and potent and as he has ever labored for the good of the section in which he has so long made his home, he is honored, valued and respected of all men. He was born in Stockbridge, Madison County, N.Y., October 10, 1836, a son of Rev. William B. and Sarah C. (WHITE) HOARD, and in the State of his birth made his home until his removal to Dodge County, Wis., in 1857, where he was for some time engaged as a vocal and instrumental music teacher. On the 9th of February 1860, he led to the altar Miss Agnes E. BRAGG, daughter of William and A. E. (EDGERTON) BRAGG, of Lake Mills, and their union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Halbert L., Ralph A., and Frank W. Mr. HOARD, in May 1861, enlisted in the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until July 1862, when he was discharged for disability at New Orleans and went to New York State and afterward volunteered in Company A., First New York Light Artillery, with which he served faithfully until the war closed, and at all times acquitting himself creditably. In 1865 he returned to Wisconsin and located in Columbus, where he was engaged in business up to 1869, when he took up his residence at Lake Mills, and there in 1870 started the Jefferson County Union. The same year he was appointed to the position of United States deputy marshal, for the taking of the United States census, in which capacity he served in Waterloo, Lake Mills, Aztalan and Milford Townships. In 1872 he was elected to the position of sergeant-at-arms of the Wisconsin Senate. >From the first establishment of the Union he became very much interested in the dairy business of the county, and in 1872 organized the Wisconsin Dairyman's Association, and in every way possible through the columns of his paper he advocated the work. For this he was well fitted, having been a trained and butter and cheese maker in New York before coming to Wisconsin. In 1873 he moved his paper from Lake Mills to Fort Atkinson, here entering into partnership with Charles FULLTERTON, who retired six months later, leaving Mr. HOARD sole proprietor. In 1885 the interest concerning the dairy business had grown so great that the columns of the Union could no longer carry it, and he established a special dairy paper with the title of Hoard's Dairyman, which at once took front rank in character, and now has attained the largest circulation of any dairy paper published in the world. In connection with his editorial labors he was called largely into service as a speaker at dairy and agricultural conventions, and in March 1888, the Milwaukee Sentinel, without the foreknowledge of Mr. HOARD, proposed his name as a Republican candidate for governor, although there were at that time three prominent candidates for that office in the field. The proposition met with such popular approval that he was nominated at the Republican State Convention in the following September on the first formal ballot, and was subsequently elected by a plurality of over 20,000. He held the office of governor from January 1889 until January 1891, and was succeeded by George W. PECK. Prior to this, from 1871 to 1883, he held the office of justice of the peace, was president of the village of Fort Atkinson, in 1877, and a member of the county board of supervisor. Immediately upon his retirement from politics he devoted himself assiduously to the interests of his dairy and local papers, as well as responding to the calls for dairy and agricultural lectures in the various dairy sections of the United States and Canada. Mr. HOARD is a member of Milwaukee Consistory, Thirty-second Degree of Scottish Rite Masons, also a member of the Janesville Commandery of Knight Templars, the United Workmen, the Fellowship Club of Chicago, and the Wisconsin Editorial Associating. His business was incorporated in June 1894, of which he was elected president; Arthur R. HOARD, vice-president; Halbert L. HOARD, secretary, and Frank W. HOARD, treasurer. The capital stock amounts to $25,000 and the business is carried on under the title of the W. D. HOARD Company. Halbert L. HOARD, local editor and manager of the Union, has been connected with the business since 1874. He was born in Stockbridge, Madison County, N.Y., October 3, 1861, and obtained his education in the high school of Fort Atkinson, graduating with the class of 1881. in 1882 and 1883 he was in the newspaper business in Pierre, Dak. He is a wide-awake and enterprising young man, of a social disposition, and is a member of the A.F. & A.M., and the Modern Woodmen. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen Life Insurance Company, the American Accident Association, and the Masonic Aid Association. He was one of the very first to bring a bicycle into the county, and held the position of agent for a well known house in 1892, and had places of business in all the towns of this section. He was married to Miss Charlotte E. JONES, a daughter of John W. JONES, of Milwaukee, Wis., and his union has resulted in the birth of two children: Edna B. and Agnes A. Submitted by Carol |
William Dempster Hoard
(from Wisconsin Its Story book)
