The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-05-17
ST. JoHNsBURY,s HISTORY.
And Tribute of It's Author, Rev. E..
T. Fairbanks.

T. Fairbanks.
Editor Reformer = {
That was a most deserved tribute in {
Thursdays Reformer to the first citizen
of st. Johnsbury, Rev DR. Edward T.
fairbanks, and though his 18th birthday
happily furnished the occasion for the pre-
sentatIon of loving cup containing
$1,000 IN gold, the gift was prompted by
his notable literary contribution to the
town IN his recently published book THE
Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt" Young and
old, as well former residents of the
town, We're glad to contribute to this gift
and over 200 names Were on the memo
rial that accompanied the gift
There have been many histories of Yer
mont towns published in recent years, but I
feel safe in saying that this book of /
some 600 pages, issued from the Cowles
press OF the scale town, Is as carefully |
prepared and as unique in Literary excel |
lence as any IN the state Born IN st. |
bloomsbury IN 1885, DR.. Fairbanks inner
| tied from his cultured father and mother
| a literary training, which was broadened
| by classical course at Yale and theo-
| logical career at historic Andover. From
| boyhood days he saved every item Of local
interest and the book which is now SO
well received embodies Years of careful
and skillful preparation. Through the en-
Iterprlse of st. John de Crevocoeur chap
ter, Daughters of the American Revolu
ton, this book was published DIR. Fair
banks receiving no pecuniary return for
his arduous labors. The citizens of the
itoWn tried to appropriate $1,000 at the
last town meeting to their historian, but
DIR. Fairbanks asked to have the article IN
the warning dismissed, saying that he
considered his work the contribution of
a loyal son to his native town. But this
magnanimlty could not be permanently
dismissed and the gift on his 10th birth
day was the expression Of his many friends
OF their appreciation of his literary and
: historical effort
The great charm of the history Of 123
years Of the town is in the personality Of
: the writer. This is in evidence on every
page, and because of this the book well
fulfls the suggestion of the author in the
preface that our town story may per
haps be made interesting TO the boys
and girls, and even to the stranger that
! IS not within our gates [ will not bur
7 den your readers with extended quotations
? from the work, but almost at random let
me give you this one of the hundreds of
! Tracy anecdotes in the book
in 1922, there being no minister, Dea-
con Luther Clark, town clerk, had the
conduct OF the Sunday service. At the
: close he faced the situation resolutely,
saying, ! wish to announce that Miss
4 Pamela Porter and myself intend mar
: riage Rev John II. Worcester in 1913
i intending to marry Martha Clark, es-
q Icaped the ordeal Of publishing the hams
Q by exchanging pulpits the Sunday preced
], ing the marriags. His supply, an elderly
q brother, said after the long prayer
+ Marriage is intended between Rev Johr
q H. Worcester and Miss Martha 2. Clark
i We will sing hymn no. Mistaken soul.
Il that dream of heaven Watts and Sc
i lect, Blk. l.
: Some histories are as dry reading a.
. those genealogical chapters in the Coco
s Book, but there Is not a page in this bool
i that one win skip after he begins tn
5 Ereading Though the chapters are mainl,
IS a series of sketches, through the warp ant
-e wool of the story one finds the complete
. history of the town. Particular attention
r has been given to beginnings and earl
IS developments, and besides his own collec
- ton of scraps and stories DR. Fairbank
10 had access over 80 years ago to som
II 10000 original letters and manuscripts o.
Is Vermont then in the possession of Henri
i Stevens, Nermont,s noted antiquarian
a founder and president of the Vernon
n f41iSt0IICdE SOC1EtS- now the OtQ 81
n monter received the youthful historian
a and how afterwards the bulk of these pres
Or cious documents We're purchased by tn
III British Museum are most interestingl
II told in the first pages of the book
n The town recehed its charter fror
Gov Chittenden in 1856 and the founde
was DR. Jonathan Arnold of Rhode i
land, afterwards a prominent member G
the Continental Congress from that state
The descendants of this distinguished Ney
Highlander still live in St. Johnsbury, an
one of them very properly impersonate
k, his distinguished ancestor at the grea
pageant given in st. Johnsbury in tn
summer of 1912 with 700 in the cast an
at cost of $1,000 One Of the few POI
traits in the book is that of DR.. ARNOLD
a photograph of an oil painting now
the Athenaeum, while the frontispiece
fine portrait of Saint John de Grey,
occur, the French consul at New 4or
n for seven years and for whom the tow
was named at the suggestion of tt
suggestion of the French diplomats war;
friend, Ethan Allen
The development of the newspaper, IL
coming of the Passumpsic railroad, tt
e stirring events Of the war, especially int
e! esting because St Johnsbury claimed Il
chief executive in Gov Erastus Fairbanl
il, when the war was declared, the histo1
at of the schools and churches the begi
nings and expansion of the great scale i
dustry, and all the important events an
occasions Of an enterprising communit
are recorded with the touch of a master
pen, and the book must be read to be a