Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-03-15

familiar history that when the "organ
case' was finally argued before the United
States supreme court in November 1888,
the previous decision was reversed, and the
Estey Organ company came out triumph
ant. While Mr.. Waite probably began as
an equal partner with Burdett in this case,
he was the only active factor in pushing it,
and came in the end, undoubtedly, to have
substantially the whole interest in it,
MIR. WaIte's Personal History.
Mr.. Waite was born in Newfane in Octo-
ber 1925, being one of the older of the five
children of Thomas F. and Evelyn Orcutt
Waite. While the children were young
the family moved to Brattleboro. For a
short time in his teens Mr. Waite was a
messenger in a bank in Springfield, Mass.
Afterward he was the stage agent at this
place In the old stage times Brattleboro
was an important centre for the stage lines
and Mr. Waite is always described as hav-
! ing been a remarkably active and efficient
man in that capacity. After the coming of
/ the railroad in 1S49 he was for time the
express agent. He also engaged in the
! trucking business with his brother, A. f.
Waite. He went to Springfield to learn
| certain details of bank work as a prelimi-
nary step 10 the organization of the Win d
! ham county bank. He was active i'm the
railroad affairs of the time, beginning once
to parallel the then Vermont d Massachu-
setts road from South Vernon to Brattle-
bOro, and the remains of his embankment
are still to be seen leading out of South
! Vernon. He was the leader in the itiga-
ton, finally sue cessful, to bring back into
the hands of the stockholders the Vermont
Valley railroad, leased originally to the
| FINLAND road and thap int
hands of the Central Vermont. For some
time after the successful termination of
| this suit he was the manager of the Valley
road A good and enduring piece of his
| work is seen in the stone arch over the
| Milestone, which replaced the old covered
wooden bridge.
In an attempt to save himself and the
| bank from loss he became interested in the
carriage business with n. b. Wlliston in
the old shop on Elliot street. Besides
general activity in other directions he was
the main if not the sole factor at the time
of his downfall in the Brattleboro Gas
company and the Hinsdale Bridge com
pany.
His Characteristics.
To make one who never saw Mr.. Waite
understand his personality would be i'm
possible He possessed a mind of remarka-
Ult IulthutSS. he IdDlull1 anu ease Wlln
when he conducted, mentally, intricate
mathematical calculations were wonderful.
His opinion ON every subject was positive
and outspoken. Once taken. his position
was defended to the bitter end. For years
he was the efficient chief engineer of the
fire department, and the chairman of the
school board, giving his time without stint
to these duties. During the war he was
member of Gov. Holbrook's staff. AL
though not a church member he was a
regular attendant at the Congregational
church and for several years the active
member on the part of the society on the
board of trustees.
In whatever position Mr. Waite found
himself in local affairs he was absolutely
the boss. He brooked no interference and
it was as much as an associates life was
worth, as the saying is, to oppose his opin-
ions or interfere with his plans He had
readiness and tuency in invective which
made his tongue a weapon that few cared
to meet. 1t is not strange that a man of
such positive qualities found loyal and un-
questioning supporters on the one side and
uncomprOmising opponents on the other
| His personal life was pure His family re-
lations were all that they should be- His
heart was warm; his sympathy responded
TO every call. Beneath his oftentimes
brusque, harsh and overbearing demeanor
his personal friends knew that his emo
tions lay as quick and sensitive as those of
child. The combination was a strange
one, and there are few who would care to
sit in final judgment on his makeup, or
even on his actions. On many accounts it
would seem that he was led or impeled
into the hopeless and criminal tangle in
which his affairs were involved. and there
is probably no doubt that could he have
forced his organ litigation to an early and
favorable termination he would have used
the funds thus acquired to set himself
right with the bank as far as they would
90. But when all is said there appears to
have been in him an inherent moral twist
which would never let him pursue business
methods by the straightforward, direct
way of probity and uprightness.
The marks of his career were long seen
and felt in the life of Brattleboro, and
there were few who regretted the era of
peace and quietude which followed the
final disposition of his affairs. But the
stormy chapter will long furnish fruitful
theme of local reminiscence.
Mr.. Waite is survived by his wife, son
and two daughters. OF his fathers fam
lily Miss Lucretia Waite and A. F. Waite
are now the only children living.
Our portrait is from photograph made
while Mr.. Waite was in middle life, but its
exact date is not known.
1t is a fact of local interest that the late
S. NJ. Waite was cousin of Gov Waite
of Colorado, and there are many who will
find it not difficult to trace likeness of
personal characteristics. Gov. Waite's
father was Joseph Waite. He was lawyer
and removed to jamestown, Y. Y, as early
as 1927 Last summer Miss Lucretia Waite
received a letter from Gov. Waite asking
about certain points in the family history
and ancestry. c. c. Waite, the we'll
known and successful proprietor of the
Brevoort House of New York was another
brother, and it was his son who came to
fame as a member of the board of Doodle
aldermen of the metropolis. The father of
Joseph Waite, Thomas Frost Waite 0ath-
er of S. M and Vinton Waite of Dover,
was Silas Waite who lived in the east part
of Wardsboro near the Newfane line.