Cause of death pneumonia Occupation Businessman | Name William Cargill Children Austen Cargill | |
Born December 15, 1844 Port Jefferson, New York Spouse(s) Ellen ("Ella") Theresa Stowell Relatives Margaret Anne Cargill (granddaughter)
James R. Cargill (grandson) Died October 17, 1909, La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States Parents Edna Davis, William Dick Cargill Grandchildren Margaret Anne Cargill, James R. Cargill People also search for Margaret Anne Cargill, James R. Cargill, Austen Cargill, Edna Davis | ||
William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) was an American business executive. In 1865 he founded Cargill, 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.
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Early life
William Wallace Cargill was born on December 15, 1844, in Port Jefferson, New York. 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 to pursue an agricultural life.
Career
In 1865, William W. Cargill founded Cargill Inc. as a small grain storage company in Conover, Iowa.
In 1867, he was joined by two of his younger brothers, Sam and Sylvester, in Lime Springs, Iowa, 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:
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. He returned home and was treated but died of pneumonia on October 17, 1909.
Cargill's entire estate was to be passed on to his wife by law; however, 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.