Biography of Louisiana Governor William Wright Heard, native of Shiloh, Union Parish Louisiana Submitted for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives by Linda Davis, 5/2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ================================================================================= Biography of Louisiana Governor William Wright Heard, native of Shiloh, Union Parish Louisiana Researched and written by Linda Davis ================================================================================== William Wright Heard was born 28 April 1853 near the rural community of Shiloh in Union Parish, LA. He was the son of Stephen Southard Heard and Mary Ann Wright. They were buried at Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery in Dubach, LA along other allied members of the Heard family. Coming from a long lineage of southern pioneers, his ancestors included John Stovall, Owen Griffin, John Anderson and Charles Heard, brave Revolutionary War patriots. Stephen Heard RS, one of the first governors of Georgia, was also from this noble line. As members of his family, he too was of the Baptist faith. William Heard was educated in a local school in Union Parish. In years to come, he remembered the challenges of educating children that rural residents faced. Education was one of his major concerns for the residents of the state; hence, as governor, he formed the first Board of Education for the State Louisiana William W. Heard married Isabella Josephine Manning on 3 December 1878. She was born August 1860 in LA but her parents were from AL. According to the 1910 Federal Census, William and Isabella had seven children with five living, but censuses from 1880 to 1920 show more: William J. b. 1880 Eva b.1885, William A. b. 1887, Mary b.1896, Manning Wright b. 1897, Louisiana b. 1902, Wilbur Wright b. 1905. Alma, who died as a toddler b.24 Oct 1881 d. 17 Jun 1883, was buried in the Farmerville Cemetery, Union Parish is said to be their child too. This would be a total of eight children with Alma, Mary and William J. dying young, thus leaving five to adulthood. After holding several elected positions on the county level, William was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and then the Senate. In 1892 he became the Louisiana State Auditor. As a Democratic candidate, he was elected to the office of Governor of the State of Louisiana on 8 May 1900 and held this office until 10 May 1904. His term was fairly low-key compared to other colorful and dynamic personalities that held that office. He replaced James Foster, who went to the U. S. Senator the day after Heard was elected. It was during Heard’s term that the discovery of oil was made by W. Scott Heywood and Associates. This company completed Jennings Oil Company Number 1, Jules Clement, at Evangeline on September 21, 1901. This was the start of the vital Louisiana oil and gas industry. Coupled the wealth of this industry with the rise of forestry and the earlier discovery of Sulfur, the state was sent on a new wave of economic growth. Eventually, Louisiana became a major American producer of oil and natural gas and a center of petroleum refining and petrochemicals manufacturing, which it remains to this day in offshore drillings. The Louisiana Revised Statutes specify that the Governor of the State of Louisiana shall determine the design of the official state seal. In order to standardize a design for the seal, Governor William Wright Heard instructed the Secretary of State to use a seal described as: "A Pelican, with its head turned to the left, in nest with three young; the Pelican, following the tradition in act of tearing its breast to feed its young; around the edge of the seal to be inscribed 'State of Louisiana'. Over head of the Pelican to be inscribed 'Union, Justice', and under the Pelican to be inscribed 'Confidence'." The description of the seal included the motto, which Gov. William Heard had chosen: Union, Justice, Confidence. This seal was adopted on April 30, 1902. Two other noted achievements of Heard’s term were forming the State Prison System, thus eliminating private contracted prisons. He also was instrumental in forming the State Department of Pest Control, thus trying to control the hated cotton weevil. The Heard family had a Negro housemaid named Delia. She was born a slave in 1861 on the Heard homestead in Union Parish. After the Civil War, she stayed with the Heard family and cared for young William and his siblings. She was also caregiver to William’s parents in their last days. She died in 1901 while William Heard was governor. The family insisted that their beloved Delia be buried in Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery with their family. There were some in the community who complained about having a Negro maid buried in a white cemetery, but with the grieving Governor William Heard attending the funeral, it was done. After William’s parents died, William’s first cousin John Davis purchased the Heard property in Union Parish. Indirectly, the old Heard homestead is still owned by the Heard-Davis family for over 100 years. Serving in public office most of his early life, William Heard became Vice President of the State National Bank in New Orleans after his term as governor. William Wright Heard died on 1 June 1926 and was buried in Metarie Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana. A Historical Marker was placed on State Road #2 just outside the city limits of Bernice, LA honoring Governor William Wright Heard and Governor Ruffin G. Pleasant (1916-1920). Both were born in Union Parish. These governors were distant cousins by marriage as Rosanna Victoria Pleasant married Joseph Walker Heard about 1870. ===================================================================== Sites noted: ** Louisiana State website: www.sec.state.la.us.com ** Political Graveyard: www.politicalgraveyard.com ** John Heard’s data: www.rootsweb.com ** www.USGenWeb.com site, Union Parish ** Marguerite Malone’s book The Southern Heard Family and Allied Families published 1988. ** Federal Census Louisiana 1880-1930 ######################################################