newspaperman, inventor, b. Munnsville, N.Y. He was the eldest son of William Dempster Hoard (q.v.). He learned the newspaper business through work on his father's Jefferson County Union, and Iater assumed charge of the mechanical department of his father's publishing plant in Fort Atkinson. He was co-editor, with his father, of the Jefferson County Union (1884-1918), and on his father's death became editor, serving in this capacity from 1918 to 1933. He was widely known for his militant crusades and trenchant editorials, and was president of the Wisconsin Press Association, and secretary of W. D. Hoard and Sons Co., which published the Jefferson County Union and Hoard's Dairyman. A student of anatomy and pathology, he invented the Hoard curative chair for the correction of back ailments. His brother, ARTHUR RALPH HOARD, b. Stockbridge, N.Y., the second son of W. D. Hoard, aided his father in founding Hoard's Dairyman (1885), a journal devoted to dairying and allied interests. In 1886 he became a promoter of Hoard's Creameries, an organization of local dairy interests designed to establish and improve standards of dairy products. This company grew into a large industry that shipped its products throughout the U.S. and to foreign countries. He had numerous other business interests, and served as vice-president of W. D. Hoard and Sons Co., president of the Better Sox Knitting Mills Co., vice-president of the First National Bank of Fort Atkinson, and director of the Northwest Manufacturing Co. The youngest son of W. D. Hoard, FRANK WARD HOARD, b. Columbus, Wis., attended the Univ. of Wisconsin Law School, and soon entered his father's publishing business. He was business manager of Hoard's Dairyman (1890-1918), and from 1918 until his death served as president and general manager of W. D. Hoard and Sons Co. He was part owner of the Better Sox Mills, and had numerous other business and real-estate interests. J. G. Gregory, ed., S.E. Wis. (4 vols., Chicago, 1932); F. L. Holmes, et aI., eds., Wis. (5 vols., Chicago, 1946); Janesville Daily Gazette, Nov. 25, 1939, Apr. 30, 1942; Milwaukee Journal, Dec. 28, 1933; H. L. Hoard Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Halbert L. Hoard Papers for details.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]