Willard Family

Biographical Notes and Business Chronology

Joseph C. Willard

• 1820, Nov. 11: Born, Westminster, Vt.
• Circa 1844 - 1849 : Employed by the New York and Troy Steamboat Co., Troy, N.Y., and later by the Astoria House, New York, N.Y.
• 1850 - 1852 : Cashier, Aspinwall and Co., San Francisco, Calif.
• 1853: Purchased the Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., with his brother, Henry A. Willard
• 1862: Commissioned, Union army
• 1864: Married Antonia Ford
• 1892: Sole owner of the Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., after purchasing Henry A. Willard's interest
• 1897, Jan. 17: Died, Washington, D.C.

Antonia Ford Willard

• 1838, July 23: Born, Fairfax, Va.
• 1857: Attended Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute, Buckingham, Va.
• 1863: Arrested for alleged role in the capture of E. W. Stoughton by John Singleton Mosby; sent to the Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C.
• 1864: Married Joseph C. Willard
• 1871, Feb. 14: Died, Washington, D.C.

Joseph Edward Willard

• 1865, May 1: Born, Washington, D.C.
• 1886: Graduated, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va.
• 1891: Admitted to the Virginia bar Married Belle Layton Wyatt
• 1894 - 1902 : Member, Virginia House of Delegates
• 1898: Organized Company I, Third Regiment, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and served on Fitzhugh Lee's staff in Cuba during the Spanish-American War
• 1902 - 1906 : Lieutenant governor of Virginia
• 1905: Ran unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in Virginia
• 1906 - 1910 : Virginia state corporation commissioner
• 1914 - 1921 : Ambassador to Spain
• 1924, Apr. 4: Died, New York, N.Y.

Belle Layton Wyatt Willard

• 1871, Sept. 18: Born, Tidewater, Va.
• 1891: Married Joseph Edward Willard
• 1932: Elected president, Willard, Inc.
• 1954, Jan. 28: Died, New York, N.Y.

Business Chronology

• 1853: Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., purchased by Henry A. and Joseph C. Willard
• 1892: Joseph C. Willard purchased Henry A. Willard's interest in the Willard Hotel, becoming its sole owner
• 1899: Virginia Hotel Co. founded by Joseph Edward Willard
• 1900: Virginia Hotel Co. purchased Willard Hotel from Joseph Edward Willard; construction began on the "New" Willard Hotel
• 1900 - 1921 : Willard Hotel leased to Willard Hotel Co.
• 1912: Richmond and Rappahannock River Railway Co. founded (dissolved 1917) Rappahannock Land and Development Corp. founded (dissolved 1940)
• 1921 - 1929 : Willard Hotel leased to Capitol Hotel Co.
• 1923: Fairfax Development Corp. founded
• 1929: Willard, Inc., founded (dissolved 1955)
• 1932: Insurance Agency, Inc., founded (dissolved 1939)
• 1939: Your Secretary, Inc., founded (dissolved 1949)
• 1946: Willard Hotel sold to Louis Berry

From the guide to the Willard Family Papers, 1800-1968, (bulk 1890-1954), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)