Upon leaving College, Edward W. Howard entered the Export & Commission Firm of Otis McAllister & Company. The will of his father, William H. Howard, who died in 1910, appointed him executor of the estate, which embraced vast holdings in San Mateo County, immediately adjacent to San Francisco, and a magnificent Ranch of forty-six thousand acres on the westerly side of the San Joaquin Valley.
These properties he handled with extraordinary ability, and In 1905 formed the Howard Cattle Company, of which Corporation he acted as the executive head from its inception to his death.
By its business integrity this corporation earned for itself a great #lame, and today stands as one of the premier live stock corporations of the Pacific Coast States.
In 1905 Mr. Howard married Miss Olivia Lansdale of Philadelphia, and of this union there have been born five children, Olivia, William Henry, Ann, Gertrude and Marion.
The home life of the couple was one of beautiful simplicity, and perfect understanding, and the children are exemplars of their union.
In 1904 Mr. Howard was appointed by Governor Pardee a member of the California State Board of Agriculture and he remained in this position until 1914. During his incumbency, the Association made remarkable progress and today ranks high throughout the country.
Mr. Howard was long a devotee of the kingly game of polo, and a player of ability. The formation of the San Mateo Polo Club was his conception and the success achieved by that organization was, in large degree, due to his efforts as he was a controlling factor in the Club and served as a director thereof from its formation. It is generally conceded that no grounds excel in beauty, those of the San Mateo Polo Club. His love for the game and his association with things agricultural, naturally led him to take an active interest in the breeding of ponies, in which he proved very successful, and as a result the impress of the Howard ponies has been markedly felt throughout the United States, while many of them have been shipped to England.
As a tribute to his agricultural knowledge he was elected a member of the Live Stock Advisory Committee of the Panama Pacific International Exposition, and was also a member of the Polo Committee of the Exposition.
Mr. Howard’s faith in California Was complete, and preceiving the future of this great State, he, with two associates, in the latter part of 1912, secured an option upon eightysix thousand acres of land on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley and worked actively and untiringly toward the development of this great property, forming as the holding company of the land a corporation, capitalized for ten million dollars, of which he was elected the president.
It was in connection with this very business that Mr. Howard entered the building in which the breaking of the elevator cables caused his untimely death.
As executor of his father’s estates, he had apparently insurmountable obstacles to overcome, but to them all he brought to bear great discretion and good judgment. No one could come in contact with him and not feel impressed by the weight of his knowledge and dignity of expression.
As a result of the national fame which he had achieved, he was, shortly before his death, and without any previous knowledge on his part, unanimously elected a Director of the American Short-Horn Breeders’ Association. This is a position usually greatly striven for; and no more eloquent tribute could be paid to his standing in the live stock world. He was also for many years a member of the executive committee of the American National Live Stock Association and a very dear friend of the president of that Association.
Mr. Howard was the president and executive head of the following corporations: William H. Howard Estate Company; Howard Ranch Company; Howard Cattle Company; San Mateo Development Company, and Black Mountain Land & Water Company. He was also a director of the National Bank of San Mateo, treasurer of the Church of St. Matthew of San Mateo, ex-president of the California Live Stock Breeders’ Association and vice president of the California Cattlemen’s Protective Association. Mr. Howard was also for many years a member of the Pacific Union Club of San Francisco.
It can truly be said of him that his earnest efforts were beneficial to society at large, and the results of his activities were felt at an age when most men are only commencing their life work.
He died at the age of thirty-six, and, had he been spared, it is impossible to conceive of any limitation to the achievements of his brilliant and fertile mind.
