St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-04-26
A NOBLE LIFE ENDED.



tion address reviewed the stirring
events in which he took such an act
i've part at the breaking out OF the
war.
While Col. Fairbanks has never
been in politics his staunch support
OF the great principles of the republl'
can party and his natural ability
brought him to the front in public
life. He represented the town in the
legislature of 1871 and in the session
of '72-'73. The last two years he
was speaker of the house, it being
the session after the first biennial
election. He was a member Of the
republican state committee for more
than twenty years and liberal con-
tributor to the campaign funds.
While rot an orator he was often
called upon to make political adj
dresses and these were given in an
intensely interesting and convincing
manner and accompanied by those
flashes of wit and humor for which
he was so noted in conversation. On
many other public occasions that
were not of political nature he has
addressed large audiences here and
elsewhere and he always rose to the
occasion and did himself great credit.
He was a member of the Passump-
sic lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
and had been high priest of Haswell
Royal Arch Chapter.
Besides being president of the larg.
est scale company in the world he
held many other positions Of honor
and trust. Since the death Of his
brother he has been president of the
First National Bank of this place
and the directors always relied on
his judgment and he will be much
missed ON the board. He was presi-
dent of the Ely Hoe and Fork Com
pany, a director in the Caledonia
Fair Ground Company, trustee Of
the Athenaum and the Academy. He
was also president OF the St. Johns
bury Cemetery association. In the
various Offices he filled here and else
where he was no fgure-head, but
attended the meetings of the differ
ent boards whenever possible and
was frequently consulted by his as
sociates on the boards of the differ
ent corporations. He was active in
the construction of the Vermont d.
vision Of the P. & O. railroad and
director on theroad under that name
and also under its reorganization
as the st. Johnsbury & Lake Cham
plain railroad. He took great inter
est in the building and management
of this railroad and his position and
duties here were very arduous and
exacting. He was president of the
Vermont International Telegraph
Company, which owns and operates
the telegraph line along the line of
the Lake road.
Col. Fairbanks held positions of
trust with great corporations out
side of st. Johnsbury. He was
director in two great copper mines,
the Tamarack and Boston and Mon
tana, director in the MERGED gold
mine and one of the directors of the
Maritime Canal Company, which
every true American hopes will soon
be able to complete the Nicaraguan
canal. The promoters of the new
telephone company, the Standard
Telephone Company, had interested
him in this great enterprise and, had
he lived, he would have been a di.
rector in the New England branch of
this company. He was a trustee of
the Soldiers Home at Bennington,
besides being largely interested in
private enterprises in Florida and
elsewhere.
1t is fortunate for future genera
lions that Col. Fairbanks left a me-
mortal that will perpetuate his name
longer than any success in business
or public life. We refer, of course, to
the Fairbanks Museum of Natural
Science. This beautiful sandstone
structure is so familiar to all readers
of these lines that it needs no ex.
tended description here. The corner
stone was LAID on uly 4, 1890, by
Mrs. Fairbanks, who took a deeper
interest in all that interested her hus.
band than the public can ever know.
At this time Col. Fairbanks told how
he had begun his collections when a
boy and had constantly added to
them as time and means allowed