Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-03-26
Death of Horace Fairbanks.

York, Saturday, March Il. He lef
st. Johnsbury on the seventh instant
for Boston and New York on a bust
ness trip. His wife and daughters
were already in New York, so the
members of the family were happily
all together. On Monday he went tc
the store of Fairbanks & Co. in q
close carriage, but Tuesday he re-
manned in the hotel somewhat i'll
The most skiliful medical aid was
summoned, but pneumonia soon de-
veloped and after three and a half
days of extreme suffering he died as
above stated.
Letters were received by family
friends here on Saturday morning an
nouncing his illness, but the first init
nation that he was seriously sick was
the receipt of a telegram Saturday
forenoon, written the day before, say
ing that he was gravely sick, and a
second, written Saturday morning.
saying that he had but few hours to
live. 1t was a great shock to this
community and there were many sad
hearts awaiting further intellgen e.
Gov. Fairbanks brother, Col. Frank
lin Fairbanks, and his pastor, Rev.
&. NJ. Lamson, who were in Florida
when the news reached them, started
at once for st. Johnsbury, reaching
here Wednesday morning.
Horace Fairbanks, the son of Eras-
tus and Lois (Crosman) Fairbanks,
was born in Barnet, March p, 1920.
Erastus Fairbanks, who had not vet
entered upon the career that won for
him both honor and fame, moved his
family to St. Johnsbury in 1925, and
with his brother Thaddeus organized
the firm of E. & T. Fairbanks. Hor-
ace was now five years old and St.
Johnsbury was his home from that
time on. Though not enjoying the
advantages of collegiate course, the
common schools of St. Johnsbury and
the acanemies of Peacham and Lyn-
don, supplemented by advanced
studies in Phillips academy, Andov-
Ell, gave him better education than
the average business man of that or
even of this day enjoys, and found
him at 20 well equipped for the bust
ness of life.
His business life began when he
entered the employ of Z. & L. Fair
banks & Co., in 1913, the firm having
been then engaged for about 10 years
in the manufacture of platform scales.
He was first employed as confidential
clerk, was soon called upon to assume
larger duties and finally, when he was
% years of age, became an active
member of the firm. The manage
ment of the financial affairs of the
company gradually devolved upon
him and for many years, and during
the most active portion of his life, he
was practically in entire control of
the partner of his father and uncles
in 1913, the annual sales of their
manufactured products did not ex-
coed $4,000. In single yeas since
that date the sales have exceeded
So, 100000; where but 40 men were
employed at that time, there are to-
day between six and seven hundred
emp Dyed. About fourteen years ago,
when the present stock company with
the style of the E. & I. Fairbanks e
Co., was organized, Gov. Fairbanks
was chosen president, and so contin-
ued at the head of the corporation
until the time of his death.
Though his time was thus fully oc-
cupied with the affairs of private bus
mess, he was equally interest d in
the business of the town. He was
one of the organizers of the Passump-
sic bank in 1886, serving as director
until 1865, when the bank was reor-
ganized under the national banking
system as the First National bank of
ST. Johnsbury with Gov. Fairbanks
as vice president, a position he held
until 1886 when he was elected presi-
dent, remaining at the head of the
bank until his death. He was also
one of the corporators of the Pas
savings bank a trustee and
liberal supporter of the st. Johnsbury
academy, and also of the Burlington
university and of the Phillips acade-
my at Andover. He was stockhold-
or and director in the Tamarack cop
per mines of Michigan, and was one
Of the 26 corporate members of the
g Maritime Canal Company of Near
aqua" a company organized for the
of a ship canal from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. He was also
in other business enterpris- |
es and in these latter days was far
from being a man of leisure.
But to no single business enterprise
aside from that of the scale company
did Gov. Fairbanks devote so much |
energy, thought, time and money as
to the construction of the Portland q
Ogdensburgh railroad. For ten years
he worked untiringly to secure char
ters, to interest the people of Maine,
New Hampshire and Vermont in and
to push forward the enterprise against |
seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
He has been generally credited with
having first conceived the idea of
building railroad through the White
n ~. Ill -. L,