The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-02-07
HOLBROOK DIES IN
PARIS HOSPITAL
Head of Contracting Firm
of Holbrook, Cabot
& Rollins
WAS ON BUSINESS
TRIP TO RUSSIA
Built Boston & Maine Railroad South
from Brattleboro and Was in Other
Large Enterprises Family Gets
News Here at Scott Farm.

Large Enterprises Family Gets
News Here at Scott Farm
At the Boston office of the Holbrook,
Cabot & Rollins corporation a cablegram
was received yesterday announcing the
death, Tuesday, of Frederick Holbrook,
50, head of the corporation, in an Ameri |
can hospital in Paris A message at
Ionce was sent to Mrs. Holbrook and son, |
Lieut. f. Cabot Holbrook, who are at
the Scott farm. The cause of death was
not stated, but it is known that Mr..
Holbrook was in the hospital two or
three weeks and the family had been
notified by cable of his illness
Although not a native of Brattleboro
Mr.. Holbrook, who was one of the prom
inent contractors of the United States
spent his boyhood here, married a Brat
tleboro girl and throughout his life had
associations here which made him a
frequent and welcome visitor. Many OF
the townspeople also were much inter
ested in him not only because of his
personal relationships to the town, but
because of his remarkable accomplish
ments in the field of engineering and IN
big business.
When the Boston & Maine railroad was
built between Brattleboro and South
Vernon in 1913. which cost over 81 ,000,-
900 and involved blasting out the old
! Vernon street and making a place for
/. the new union railroad station. Mr.. Hol
brook personally had oversight of the
enterprise, and during that period as at
no other time the people of Brattleboro
: in general had opportunity to note his
! business ability and his capacity for
: accomplishing big things.
He owned the Scott farm, wher6 in
1916 he built one of the best appointed
cattle barns in he state 1t is 300 feet
! long by Sc feet wide with stanchions for
100 cattle. 30 on each side It has Il
concrete floor plastered walls and cork
brick for the COWS to stand on The
farm has made a speciality of Guernsey
dairying. He also owned Nauahka the
! former home of Rudyard Kipling. the
I English novelist, which he has used as a
summer residence
Mr.. HoIbrook left here shortly before
Christmas on his way to Russia as
vice president of the American Inter
U study the conditions and opportunities
for developing commerce with that coun-
try.
)r He previously had made two trips tc
Russia. Early in August 1916, he re
turned from Russia and on that occasion
New York newspaper said that Mr.
m Holbrook announced that he had order,
i for 100000 tons of steel rails necessary
fAr ha LOT pf l,a [DIa Do4
m railway On Aug. 81 of that wear Mr.
ii Holbrook was elected vice-president o
10 the American International corporation
1e of New York, $l0,000.0O0 concern
er and on Sept. 20 he sailed again for Pet
rograd to open an Office for the investi
IN CATION of opportunities for American
n. trade in Russia
q During a part of the war. Mr. Hol
ap brook was placed in charge of consttuc
n ton at the government shipyard at Ho
10 Island, Pa, going there from Boston a
"a the request of the management of tn
"a. Emergency Fleet corporation. In an off
!, cial report to the senate commerce com
IN mittee the assistant general manager G
the Emergency Fleet corporation said
70 "Since Mr. Holbrook has been in chare
bo there has been a continuous and stead
w. Improvement in the organization through
- out its whole extent"
~ Mr. Holbrook was born July 81, 1856
70 in Boston. the oldest of three childre
-ho of Franklin f. and Anna E. (Nourse
Holbrook and grandson of the late Q,
Governor Frederick Holbrook of Bra
tleboro, who was governor of Vernon
during the Civil war. His father, Franl
lin Holbrook was military agent of We
mont throughout the Civil war and af
a'e er the restoration of peace became hes
of the firm of f. i. Holbrook & G.
:, manufacturers of agricultural impI
ne ments in Boston.
the Frederick Holbrook spent his YOU
I1s in Brattleboro under the care of i
ira grandfather. He attended the pub
on schools and took advanced studies und
day Principal Benjamin F. Bingham of {
llss high school as private tutor. Princir
ier- Bingham said of him that he was t
most apt mathematician whom he ev
Ter taught and credited him with abili
Is for the ready and comprehensive gra
OF of whatever problem, no matter how
tricate, could be submitted to him. |
ter he studied law in the office of
uncle, William c. Holbrook. who "
Judge of special sessions in New Yo
With his talent for mathematics a
old predisposition to civil engineering
was disinclined to law and became q,
lnected with an engineering corps on
ther Pacific coast.
to- After eight years in the Weet he
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