Joseph Edward Willard
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Joseph Edward Willard
OR:
Joseph Edward Willard on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Joseph Edward Willard (May 1, 1865 – April 4, 1924) was an American politician, philanthropist, and diplomat.


Early life

The son of prominent Washington
hotelier A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...
and Union Army commissary major Joseph Clapp Willard (1820–1897) and former Confederate spy
Antonia Ford Antonia Ford Willard (July 23, 1838 – February 14, 1871) was a volunteer civilian spy for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early life Antonia Ford was born at Fairfax Court House, Virginia. She was a daughter of ...
, Joseph Willard had two brothers who died in infancy.


Career

Willard served for eight years in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, prior to his election as the 19th
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...
. He held that office from 1902 through 1906, leaving after an unsuccessful run for
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. The Virginia General Assembly then elected him a commissioner of the relatively new
Virginia State Corporation Commission The State Corporation Commission, or SCC, is a Virginia (USA) regulatory agency whose authority encompasses utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads. It is the state's central filin ...
, where he served for four years. In 1913, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
appointed Willard as the
United States Ambassador to Spain The incumbent ambassador is Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, she was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on January 7, 2022 and presented her credentials on February 2, 2022. This is a list of United States ambassadors to Spain from 1779 to the ...
. Upon the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Willard was vacationing in the United States and returned to Europe aboard the , although his daughter, Belle, was sick with typhoid fever (she would recover). Ambassador Willard held his position under successive presidents of both political parties until shortly before his death.


Personal life

Willard and his wife, Belle Layton Wyatt (1869–1954), had two daughters, Belle Wyatt, (1892–1968) who later married
Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Roosevelt MC (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was an American businessman, soldier, explorer, and writer. A son of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, Kermit graduated from Harvard College, served in both Wo ...
on June 10, 1914, and Mary Elizabeth, (1898-1979) who later married The Hon.
Mervyn Herbert The Honourable Mervyn Robert Howard Molyneux Herbert (27 December 1882 – 26 May 1929) of Tetton, Kingston St Mary in Somerset, was a career diplomat and a first-class cricket player. Origins Herbert was born at Highclere Castle in Hampshire ...
, third son of
4th Earl of Carnarvon Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
, in 1921. His daughter, Belle, and Roosevelt had four children: # Kermit Roosevelt Jr. (1916-2000); married Mary Lowe Gaddis (1917-2013) and had four children. #
Joseph Willard Roosevelt Joseph Willard Roosevelt (January 16, 1918 – May 18, 2008) was an American pianist and composer. Biography He was the second son of Kermit Roosevelt and Belle Wyatt Willard. His paternal grandparents were U.S. President Theodore "T.R." Roosev ...
(1918-2008); married (1) Nancy Thayer/Cummings, daughter of poet
E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...
and had two children; married (2) Carole Adele Russell and had three children. # Belle Wyatt Roosevelt (1919-1985); married John Gorham Palfrey Jr., grandson of
John G. Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey (May 2, 1796 – April 26, 1881) was an American clergyman and historian who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. A Unitarian minister, he played a leading role in the early history of Harvard Divinity ...
, 2nd great-grandson of
William Palfrey William Palfrey (1741–1780) was an American Patriot. Early life William Palfrey was born February 24, 1741 in Boston, Massachusetts. Freemasonry In 1769, Palfrey was Substitute Master of the Lodge of St Andrew, a masonic lodge warranted by ...
, and grand-nephew of
Francis Winthrop Palfrey Francis Winthrop Palfrey (1831–1889) was an American history, historian and Civil War officer. Early life Palfrey was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 11, 1831, the son of John Gorham Palfrey, John G. Palfrey (1796-1881) and Mary Ann (ne ...
; had three children. # Dirck Roosevelt (1925-1953) Willard had at least 12 grandchildren, including
Mark Roosevelt Mark Roosevelt (born December 10, 1955) is an American academic administrator and politician serving as the seventh president of the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College. He was the President of Antioch College from January 2011 to December 2 ...
; his great-grandchildren include
Kermit Roosevelt III Kermit Roosevelt III (born July 14, 1971) is an American author, lawyer, and legal scholar. He is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a great-great-grandson of United States President Theodore Roosevelt and a distant cous ...
,
John Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey VII (born 1972) is an American educator, scholar, and law professor. He is an authority on the legal aspects of emerging media and an advocate for Internet freedom, including increased online transparency and accountability ...
and
Quentin Palfrey Quentin Palfrey (born April 29, 1974) is an American lawyer, policymaker, and political candidate. He currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce. He previously served as the Executive Director of the ...
.


Death

Willard died in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York, on April 4, 1924. His remains were returned to Washington, D.C., for burial at Oak Hill cemetery.


Sources


Willard Family Papers
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Joseph Edward 1865 births 1924 deaths Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Lieutenant Governors of Virginia Ambassadors of the United States to Spain Virginia Military Institute alumni Virginia lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers People from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)