William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) was an American businessman. In 1865, he founded

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...

, which by 2008 was the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue, employing over 150,000 people in 68 countries.

Early life

William Wallace Cargill was born on December 15, 1844, in

Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

. He was the third of seven children of Scottish sea captain William Dick Cargill, who had emigrated to New York in the late 1830s. His mother, Edna Davis, was a native of New York. In 1856, Cargill's parents relocated to

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

, to pursue an agricultural life.

Career

In 1865, William W. Cargill started a small grain-storage business in Conover, Iowa, which eventually grew to become Cargill, Incorporated. In 1867, he was joined by two of his younger brothers, Sam and Sylvester, in

Lime Springs, Iowa Lime Springs is a city in Howard County, Iowa, United States. The population was 473 at the time of the 2020 census. History The Old Town of Lime Springs was platted in 1857. After the railroad was built into the area, the town relocated nearby ...

, where Cargill built a grain flat house and opened a lumberyard. In 1875, another younger brother, James F. Cargill, joined the company.

Personal life

Cargill married Ellen ("Ella") Theresa Stowell on October 1, 1868. They had four children together: * William ("Will") Samuel Cargill, whose wife was Mary MacMillan Cargill * Edna Clara Cargill (1871–1963), who married

John H. MacMillan Sr. John Hugh MacMillan Sr. (August 11, 1869 – October 20, 1944) was an American businessman, president of Cargill from 1909 to 1936. Early life John Hugh MacMillan was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the son of Duncan McMillan, a director of the Sta ...

(1869–1940) * Emma Cargill, who married Fred M. Hanchette *

Austen Cargill Austen Stowell Cargill (April 8, 1888 – May 24, 1957) was an American businessman. He was the son of William Wallace Cargill, the founder of Cargill, the largest privately held company in the United States. Early life Austen Cargill was the ...

, whose wife was Anne Ray Cargill

Later life and death

In 1904, Cargill suffered from a stroke, which prompted his retirement from most day-to-day work in the company. In October 1909, Cargill became ill during a trip to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. He returned home and was treated, but died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on October 17, 1909. Cargill's entire estate was to be passed on to his wife by law, but as it was going through probate, his widow Ellen also died on March 23, 1910. This meant that the Cargill company was to be divided equally among his children. He was succeeded as president of Cargill by his son-in-law, John H. MacMillan Sr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cargill, William W 1844 births 1909 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Wisconsin People from Port Jefferson, New York American people of Scottish descent American business executives Cargill people People from La Crosse, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Iowa Businesspeople from Wisconsin 19th-century American businesspeople