William Dempster Hoard was born on 10 October 1836 in Stockbridge, Madison County, New York, the son of William Bradford and Sarah Catherine (White) Hoard. Educated in common schools, he later qualified as a Methodist minister although he never took a pulpit. Coming to Wisconsin in 1857, he farmed near Oak Grove, Dodge County, until 1860 when he moved to Lake Mills. On 9 February 1860 Hoard married Agnes Elizabeth Bragg, a native of Vermont. They had three children; Halbert Louis, born 3 October 1861; Arthur Ralph, born 2 October 1863; and Frank Ward, born 26 July 1866.
In 1861 Hoard enlisted as a private in Company “E” of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry where he served as a musician. Discharged in July 1862 due to a medical disability, he recuperated in Munnsville, New York, where his family was staying. Re-enlisting in Company “A” of the 1st New York Artillery, Hoard served until the end of the war.
In 1865 Hoard and his family returned to Wisconsin where he ran a hop nursery business in Columbus. When his business failed in 1870, leaving him deeply in debt, Hoard moved to Lake Mills and began to publish the Jefferson County Union. Having learned current New York dairy practices as a youth, he disseminated this knowledge through a special section of his newspaper. In the 1870's, Wisconsin was not yet oriented toward the dairy industry.
During his first two years in Lake Mills, Hoard was appointed Deputy United States Marshal, became the census taker for several small towns near Lake Mills, and was elected Justice of the Peace. In 1872 he was elected sergeant-at-arms of the State Senate. Through Hoard's efforts, the Jefferson County Dairymen's Association was organized in 1871, followed in 1872 by the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, of which he was secretary for the next three years. He was also instrumental in the organization of the Northwestern Dairymen's Association, becoming its president in 1878.
In 1873 Hoard moved to Fort Atkinson and continued to publish the Jefferson County Union and in 1884 his son Halbert joined him as co-editor. Because of the increasing demand for dairy information in his paper, he and his three sons began to publish a separate dairy magazine, Hoard's Dairyman, in March 1885. By 1918, Hoard's Dairyman was a world-renowned agricultural journal, and Hoard had held the position of honorary president of the Wisconsin Editorial Association.
Hoard was prominent in the establishment of University sponsored farmer's institutes which opened in 1886. These were short-term sessions teaching agricultural skills which were located in several areas of the state for the convenience of local farmers and youth. Hoard frequently lectured at these institutes. During this period he also helped establish the state's first dairy board, being a continuing advocate of close cooperation between the farmer and government agencies.
In 1888 Hoard, a Republican, defeated Democrat James Morgan in the gubernatorial race. His election reflected the growing importance of dairying in the state. During his term he created the office of dairy and food commissioner and signed a law to prohibit the imitation or adulteration of dairy products. The Bennett Law, one of the most important legislative acts passed during Hoard's term of office, required all youth in the state between the ages of seven and fourteen to attend a private or public school in the district of their residence for at least sixty days each year; no institution would be considered a school unless the lessons were taught in English. The law passed without comment in April, 1889, but shortly thereafter German Catholic and Lutheran clergy, representing parochial schools which rarely taught in English, began to battle the law. The Democratic Party adopted the cause of the immigrant in its 1890 platform. Hoard defended the Bennett Law in speeches and newspaper articles, and was supported by his party, which unanimously nominated him for reelection. However, Hoard was not reelected for several reasons, including the ferment over the Bennett Law, Republican anxiety over the controversial McKinley tariff, and the rising strength of the third party Populist movement.
After the election, he returned to journalism and dairying, managing ten large creameries, with his son Arthur. Active in many organizations, he became president of the National Dairy Union in 1894, department commander of the Wisconsin Grand Army of the Republic in 1895, and president of the National Farmers' Congress in 1897. In 1896 he was mentioned as a candidate for the cabinet post of Secretary of Agriculture in President McKinley's administration. Hoard, along with his associates, Charles Knight and Henry B. Gurler, organized the “Dairy Union” in 1898 to draft a bill for the regulation of oleomargarine; this bill, the Grout Bill, was passed in 1902. And from 1903 to 1905, Hoard was president of the Wisconsin Board of Managers of the St. Louis World's Fair Exposition.
In 1907 Hoard was appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin and served as its president from 1908 to 1911. In 1911 he resigned from the board due to failing health and a disagreement with the president of the University, Charles R. Van Hise, over allocations for the College of Agriculture and of Letters and Science, and over what Hoard considered the partisan choice of regents.
Some of W.D. Hoard's most valuable contributions were made in the area of dairying. A convincing writer and popular public speaker, he promoted the idea of scientific dairying. He advocated tuberculin tests for dairy cattle, and encouraged farmers to gather statistics on their cows. He was one of the first men in Wisconsin to recognize the value of alfalfa as a good, inexpensive feed, and he helped spread the use of the silo and of silage as feed. He advocated the breeding of a “special purpose dairy cow” with a “milking heredity” which was not to be used for beef or “the plow.” He fought for the regulation of the quality of dairy and agricultural products, seeking close cooperation with government agencies.
Through his connection with the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, he established a market at Watertown where Wisconsin dairymen could meet with eastern buyers. He also helped to expand Wisconsin's dairy market by arranging for the low-cost shipment of products to New York via the first refrigerated railroad cars in the nation.
In November 1915 Hoard was voted the most distinguished citizen of the state by the state legislature. The former governor died on 22 November 1918.
