William D. Hoard
William D. Hoard | |
|---|---|
Jeremiah McLain Rusk | |
| Succeeded by | George Wilbur Peck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Dempster Hoard October 10, 1836 Munnsville, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1918 (aged 82) Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin |
| Monuments | William D. Hoard Monument at University of Wisconsin Board of Regents |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Agnes Elizabeth Bragg
(m. 1860) |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | Publisher, politician |
| Known for | Agriculture advocacy, Hoard's Dairyman |
| Signature |  |
William Dempster Hoard (October 10, 1836 – November 22, 1918) was an American politician, newspaper publisher, and agriculture advocate who served as the 16th governor of Wisconsin from 1889 to 1891.
Called the "father of modern dairying", Hoard's advocacy for scientific agriculture and the expansion of dairy farming has been credited with changing Wisconsin's agricultural economy. His promotion of the use of silos and
As editor of his newspaper the Jefferson County Union, Hoard was one of the first county news editors to expand his coverage through the use of local correspondents and to include a strongly voiced editorial page in a small newspaper, which he used to advocate for improved farming practices and dairy farming.
As governor of Wisconsin, Hoard established the Dairy and Food Commission—one of the first food inspection agencies in the United States—and passed a controversial, short-lived compulsory education law that required all students in the state be taught in English as part of the Americanization process for immigrants.
Early life and education
William D. Hoard was born on October 10, 1836, in
In 1857, Hoard moved to Oak Grove, Wisconsin, where he studied to become a Methodist minister until conflict with church leadership led him to abandon that path.[4]: 105 For the next three years, Hoard found employment chopping wood and giving singing lessons.[5]: 46 In 1860, he married Agnes Elizabeth Bragg and moved in with her parents in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.[2]: 43
After the outbreak of the
Career
Publishing and advocacy
Jefferson County Union and Hoard's Dairyman
In 1870, Hoard founded a weekly newspaper named the Jefferson County Union in Lake Mills. Against trends of the time, Hoard expanded his paper's coverage to include surrounding areas. According to biographer George William Rankin, Hoard's use of local correspondents to expand his newspaper's reach was among the first by a county newspaper in the United States.[7]: 58–60 Early editions of the Union were printed under contract with the Watertown Republican, for which Hoard had written prior to founding his own newspaper.[3]: 38 Hoard moved the Union to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, in 1873 and by 1883, he had constructed a new building that included a printing press.[3]: 49
Hoard also worked as editor of the Union; he included an editorial page in the paper, another rarity for small newspapers of the time. He used editorial columns to write about a variety of topics, most prominently the promotion of scientific agricultural practices.[3]: 40-42, 53–54 Readers received these editorials with skepticism due to Hoard's lack of experience in Wisconsin agriculture, and referred to him as a theorist and a "book farmer".[5]: 49 [7]: 63-64 Hoard continued to write agriculture columns and after encouragement from his son Arthur and Ed E. Coe, publisher of the Whitewater Register, Hoard founded Hoard's Dairyman in 1885 as a folio supplement to the Union.[7]: 64-65
The Dairyman was initially financially supported by its parent newspaper but by 1889, it had become a separate magazine that focused primarily on dairy farming.[8]: 368-369 [9]: 57 As was commonplace with dairy trade publications at the time, Hoard mixed reporting and advertising in Hoard's Dairyman, juxtaposing advertisements with articles promoting the advertised technique or technology.[9]: 58 [2]: 46
In the Dairyman, Hoard advocated for agricultural practices that became commonplace in Wisconsin and beyond, including regular testing of herds for bovine tuberculosis, the growth and use of alfalfa as cattle feed, the use of particular breeds of cattle for milking or meat, the use of the Babcock test to test the butterfat content of milk, and the adoption of silos to store cattle feed.[9]: 62-63, 69, 120 [10][7]: 164 By 1924, Hoard's Dairyman had readers in Japan, Australia, and England.[4]: 109-110 It is considered the first agriculture publication to have a nationwide readership in the United States.[1]: 133
Trade associations and lobbying
Hoard founded the Jefferson County Dairymen's Association in 1871.[4]: 106 Realizing the county-level group was too small to effectively advocate for dairying on a large scale, the following year, he founded the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association with Chester Hazen, Walter S. Greene, Stephen and A.D. Favill, H.C. Drake, and H.F. Dousman to improve and promote Wisconsin's dairy products.[7]: 183 [3]: 70 The following year, Hoard traveled to Chicago to barter with rail lines to secure better prices and refrigerated railcars for the transport of cheese from Wisconsin to the U.S. East Coast. His efforts were a success; the Star Union Line took a refrigerated car to Watertown to transport cheese out of the state.[4]: 108-109
Through the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, Hoard and other founders successfully lobbied for the passage of agriculture-related laws and regulations, including legislation to ban filled cheese, and the establishment of farmers institutes and the
Hoard opposed the sale of adulterated dairy products, and advocated against the sale of
Political career
Early career
Hoard was educated in politics as a child; in 1870, he was appointed as a deputy
16th Governor of Wisconsin
By 1888, Hoard had become a popular speaker, lecturing on agricultural topics throughout the state. He was nominated as the Republican candidate for governor in an anonymous article in the Milwaukee Sentinel that year and received strong support from farmers throughout the state. He was elected as the 16th Governor of Wisconsin in the 1888 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic candidate James Morgan.[8]: 369-370 Hoard served a single, two-year term as governor. His administration saw the creation of one of the first food inspection agencies in the United States and the passage of a controversial compulsory education law that mandated schools to educate their pupils in English.
As Governor, Hoard established the Dairy and Food Commission to oversee dairy production in the state and enforce bans on skimmed cheese, a type of cheese that quickly spoils due to its reduced butterfat content, as well as other adulterated dairy products.[12]: 249–250 The Commission was the first government agency in the U.S. to regulate food quality.[10]
Bennett Law
The first legislation Hoard signed was the
: 69-70By 1890, approximately 70% of the Wisconsin population was an immigrant or had at least one immigrant parent; many of that group had German ancestry.
In March 1890, the three Catholic bishops of Wisconsin published a manifesto opposing the law and three months later, the
Legacy
Hoard is often credited with changing the agricultural economy of Wisconsin from the growth of wheat to the raising of dairy cattle and production of dairy products.[1]: 134 [17] The Los Angeles Times called Hoard "the father of modern dairying".[10] His advocacy for agricultural practices such as single-use herds for dairying, and the use of silage and alfalfa as cattle feed led to those practices becoming commonplace throughout the United States.[7]: 160, 163–164, 247 In 1915, he was named Wisconsin's "Most Distinguished Citizen" in 1915 by a committee assembled by Wisconsin governor Emanuel L. Philipp.[1]: 133
In 1907, Hoard was added to the University of Wisconsin's
The Hoard's Dairyman Farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is considered the most famous dairy farm in the world.[10]
Personal life
Hoard married Agnes Elizabeth Bragg in 1860. The couple had three children; Halbert Louis, Arthur Ralph, and Frank Ward.[3]: 18,20 Hoard died on November 22, 1918, and was buried in Fort Atkinson.[1]: 134
See also
- Hoard Historical Museum
Notes
- ^ The problem of fraudulent butter had reached the White House by 1886, with president Grover Cleveland remarking at the passage of the Oleomargarine Act of 1886, "I venture to say that hardly a pound (of oleomargarine) ever entered a poor man's house under its real name and in its true character."
- ^ When questioned by Congress about why butter should be allowed to be dyed yellow during certain seasons while oleomargarine should not be allowed to be dyed at all, Hoard compared it to dying fabrics to suit taste, rather than disguising their true nature, saying, "Butter is colored yellow to suit the taste of the consumer and for no other reason, and the product oleomargarine has no more right to this color than the gray goose has to the brilliant plumage of the peacock."
- ^ Wisconsin's population in 1890 was approximately 1.68 million people; of those, about 620,000 were born in Germany or had at least one parent born in Germany.
- ^ Hoard's vote total declined by more than 40,000 votes from the election of 1888.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "William Dempster Hoard, 1889–91". The Wisconsin Blue Book. Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Legislature Reference Library. 1960. pp. 132–134. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ Wisconsin Magazine of History. 88 (3). Wisconsin Historical Society: 40–49. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-932147-00-4. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Ivins, Lester Sylvan; Winship, Albert Edward (1924). "William Dempster Hoard: 1836–1918". Fifty Famous Farmers. New York: Macmillan. pp. 105–113. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c Ogilvie, William Edward (1927). Pioneer agricultural journalists: Brief biographical sketches of some of the early editors in the field of agricultural journalism. A.G. Leonard. pp. 45–54. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 24398963. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rankin, George William (1925). William Dempster Hoard. Fort Atkinson, Wis.: W. D. Hoard & Sons Company.
- ^ a b c d e Whyte, William F. (June 1927). "The Bennett Law campaign in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 10 (4). Wisconsin Historical Society: 363–390. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c Schlebecker, John T.; Hopkins, Andrew W. (1957). A History of Dairy Journalism in the United States, 1810–1950. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Hillinger, Charles (December 15, 1985). "Wisconsin's shrine to dairy cows: Top milk producing state is tribute to one man's effort". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ISBN 9780299329242.
- ^ Lampard, Eric E. (1963). The rise of the dairy industry in Wisconsin: a study in agricultural change, 1820–1920. Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 23915900. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 4630124. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-7222-0361-3. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ a b Wyman, Roger E. (1968). "Wisconsin ethnic groups and the Election of 1890". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 51 (4). Wisconsin Historical Society: 269–293. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ Grace, Julie (July 24, 2018). "Wisconsin's Decisive Shift Towards The Dairy Cow". WisContext. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
Further reading
- McIntyre, Calvin Martin (1966). William Dempster Hoard as an Agricultural Educator, 1870–1892. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press.
- Nesbit, Robert C. (1985). Urbanization & Industrialization 1873–1893: History of Wisconsin, Volume III. Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-87020-630-6.
External links
| Territory (1836–1848) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| State (since 1848) |
| |
(*) elected but died before taking office | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
