USA > Vermont > Men of Vermont : an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont > Part 55
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actress in business methods, and enforcing strict integrity in business transactions. His invention was a scale, not a pair of scales. It takes its name from the graduated beam, the scale of equal parts (scala, lad- der), and not from the two scales (shells) of the even balance.
Mr. Fairbanks obtained carly an English patent, and others later. The first was sold to H. Pooley of Liverpool, who thereupon established what is still the leading manu- factory of Great Britain. The scales made at St. Johnsbury are also sold in England, and to other countries the export is very large. These scales are graduated accord- ing to the standards of all the nations of the world, and are sent everywhere, Russia, Japan, China, Australia and the South American states furnishing large markets. These scales and their inventor have re- ceived abundant recognition and honors, awards, diplomas, medals, from mechanics' and agricultural fairs, the Philadelphia Cen- tennial, the London, Paris and Vienna Ex- positions, and as a posthumous tribute to Mr. Fairbanks, as well as an honor to the house which he established, twenty awards by the judges of the Columbian Exposition of 1893. More personal than these, after the Vienna Exposition he received from his " Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty " the Emperor of Austria, the knightly decora- tion of the Imperial Order of Francis Joseph ; from the King of Siam the decoration Paspamula, the gold medal of Siam, with the heathen prayer, " May the Power which is mighty in the universe keep him and guard him, and grant him all happiness and pros- perity ;" and from Mohammed es Sadok, Pasha, Bey of Tunis, the decoration " of our Order of Iftikar," and the Mohammedan invocation, " May you wear it in peace and prosperity."
Mr. Fairbanks was not only a scale maker, but having occasion to build so much he be- came an architect of no mean ability, work- ing out the details, from frame to finish, not only of shops, but of some public buildings, some fine residences, and a great many most convenient little houses, sold or leased to workmen, which are a comfort to their families and an ornament to St. Johnsbury. And his inventions were not merely of scales, for which, and machines for making them, he received thirty-two patents, but he patented also a hemp machine, a stove, a cast iron plough, a device for creating draught in chimneys, a steam heater, a steam water heater, a feed water heater, and an improvement in refrigerators. This last consisted in placing the ice above the level of the articles to be cooled, and the princi- ple has been universally adopted for refrig- erators, fruit houses, meat packing houses,
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etc. The moisture is condensed upon the ice, with all tainted vapors, and the cooled dry air flows down upon the articles below. Mr. Fairbanks could not go into new busi- ness, and gave away his patent, which its new owners later told him was worth at least a million of dollars. A rival company attempted to cover the claims of this into a patent of their own by reissue, and to establish a monopoly. The battles that followed were among the hardest fought of patent litigation, and the final decision established the priority of his invention, the judge saying : "In this case the evidence is perfectly conclusive of the construction, both in 1846 and 1849, by Thaddeus Fair- banks of refrigerators embodying the prin- ciple." In all refrigerating apparatus, as in the plough and the scale, Mr. Fairbanks' in- vention proved a revolutionary improve- ment.
Perhaps it was owing to his own sense of loss by deficiency of education that Mr. Fairbanks was led to such intense interest in giving educational advantages to others. As a young man we find him interested in a lyceum, with his employes and others, and his lectures upon astronomy and heat pre- pared for that audience indicate vigorous and original thought. St. Johnsbury had various private high schools before its acad- emy, and he and his noble wife were seldom without nephews, nieces or others in the family enjoying these advantages. He and his brothers established St. Johnsbury Acad- emy in 1842, and twenty years later he un- dertook its support, and still later erected its buildings, and contributed to its endow- ment fund enough to make his total gifts to it over two hundred thousand dollars. He also contributed largely to the funds of Middlebury College of which he was a trus- tee, and was a constant giver to many western colleges and other institutions. He was likewise for many years the largest con- tributor to home missionary work in Ver- mont, and equally large to foreign missions, while all the societies that naturally ap- pealed to him received liberal regular dona- tions, from him, and scores of students were aided by him.
Mr. Fairbanks, while exceedingly taciturn, was an attractive, impressive man. Active to the last, in spite of limitations from par- tial blindness, he was interested in every- thing, and his last patent was allowed upon his ninetieth birthday. His was a beautiful old age. Children loved him, and clung to him. A little child taken to church for the first time saw him come in, and in an awed whisper asked, "Mamma, is that Jesus?"
He died after a painful illness, from the indirect effect of a fall, at the age of ninety years and three months. On the day of his
FARMAN.
funeral all business in St. Johnsbury was suspended, buildings were draped in mourn- ing, and great numbers came to look once more on his face, and joined the procession to the grave. A man of Christian faith, of spiritual insight and force, and of fine native gifts, Mr. Fairbanks was successful above most men in his chosen lines of work, and was useful wherever he was successful.
He was married, Jan. 17, 1820, to Lucy P. Barker, a native of St. Johnsbury, whose father Barnabas, came with his father and the first settlers of the town, and in 1791 brought his bride, Ruth Peck, from Reho- both on a pillion behind him. Mrs. Fair- banks was a woman of marked ability, taking her full share of the care of the family, and full of kindly deeds. Her son, Rev. Henry Fairbanks, Ph. D., is spoken of elsewhere in this work. Her daughter, Charlotte, became the wife of Rev. G. N. Webber, D. D., pastor at Hartford, Conn., professor in Mid- dlebury College, and pastor at Troy, N. Y., and died March 29, 1869. Mrs. Fairbanks was born April 29, 1798, and died Dec. 29, 1866.
FARMAN, MARCELLUS WINSLOW, of Westfield, son of Ashley and Harriet (Wins- low) Farman, was born in Westfield, July 29, 1865. He is ninth in lineal descent from Kenelm, brother of Gov. Edward Winslow.
Until fifteen years of age he attended the public schools of Westfield, and then for a short time pursued his studies at the Nor- mal School at Johnson. For several years his sight had been failing gradually owing to an internal affection of the eyes, aggravated by excessive use, and his affection developed until it terminated in the loss of physical vision. This was an especial affliction, as from early boyhood he had evinced strong literary tastes, but undaunted by what to many would have proved an insurmountable obstacle, he again attended the Johnson Normal School, receiving his instruction through the medium of a reader. In 1887 he entered the University of Vermont, tak- ing a special course to fit himself for a pub- lic speaker, and notwithstanding the disad- vantage under which he labored he attained high rank in both school and college. His first lecture was delivered in the spring of 1890 before the Burlington Y. M. C. A. and was attended and received with unqualified approbation by the president of the Uni- versity, members of the faculty and the leading men in the city. His lectures cover political, historical and religious subjects and have received most complimentary en- dorsement from many sources.
Mr. Farman has met with marked success as a popular and powerful speaker. and in
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the campaign of 1862 was employed by the state Republican committee in this capacity. For several years he has been an occasional contributor to the press.
MARCELLUS WINSLOW FARMAN.
From early manhood he has been an active and consistent member of the Con- gregational church, has served on its com- mittee and was formerly a member of the choir. He is also an efficient worker in the Y. P. S. C. E.
FAULKNER, SHEPHERD D., of Whit- ingham, son of William and Hannah (Dal- rymple) Faulkner, was born in Whitingham, March 9, 1818.
Mr. Faulkner belongs to a family promi- nently connected with the history of Whit- ingham, his father being one of its early set- tlers. After such an education as the com- mon schools of the time afforded he desired to devote the energy of his life to farming, in which occupation by his constant labor and careful management he has amassed a considerable fortune. Recently he has not engaged in any active occupation but has lived a retired life at Jacksonville or with his son William A. Faulkner at Brookline, Mass.
In the days of the whig party Mr. Faulk- ner was one of its members, but has been and is now a staunch Republican. He was first selectman at the time of the draft to fill the town quota in the days of the civil war and has ever been one of the substan- tial citizens in the community, holding many offices of honor and trust.
FARNHAM.
Mr. Faulkner was united in marriage Nov. 11, 1845, at Whitingham, to Miranda, daughter of Alfred and Clarissa (Smith) Greene. There were two children : William A., and Emma M. (Mrs. Henry Holbrook of Whitingham), deceased.
Mr. Faulkner was one of the carly found- ers of the Universalist Society in Jackson- ville, is a firm believer in its doctrine and a liberal supporter of religious and charitable organizations.
FARNHAM, ROSWELL, of Bradford, son of Roswell and Nancy ( Bixby) Farnham, was born in Boston, Mass., July 23, 1827.
Governor Farnham is of the eighth genera- tion in line of direct descent from Ralph Farnham, who emigrated from England to America and settled in Andover, Mass. His maternal grandfather, Capt. David Bixby, was a distinguished soldier in the Revolution, and was present in the actions at Lexington and Bunker Hill, afterwards doing excellent service in Rhode Island ; he was also at the battle of Stillwater, and later went to sea on board a privateer, and returned home in pos- session of considerable prize-money at the end of his first cruise. The second venture was not so fortunate. His vessel was cap- tured by a British frigate, when but a short distance out of port. He, himself, was con- veyed to England, lodged in Dartmoor prison, and there, in common with other American captives, suffered great privations for seventeen months. The father of Ros- well Farnham was in business on Court street, Boston. He removed to Haverhill, Mass., where he began the manufacture of boots and shoes for the southern market. In 1839, the great financial deluge which swept so many fortunes away, ruined him. In 1840, Roswell Farnham, Sr., removed his family to Brad- ford. There he purchased a farm on the Connecticut river, upon which he resided until within two years of his death, on the 20th of December, 1860.
The subject of this sketch prepared for college in the academy at Bradford, and while thus engaged assisted in the cultivation of his father's farm. Lacking the means requisite to enter college when fully pre- pared, he pursued the studies of the fresh- man and sophomore classes at the same academy, and in September, 1847, he joined the junior class at the University of Vermont, from which he graduated in August, 1849, and received the degree of A. M. in 1852.
Immediately after graduation he entered upon active duty as a teacher at Dunham, Lower Canada, now Province of Quebec. From Dunham, Mr. Farnham removed to Franklin, Vt., where he took charge of the Franklin Academical Institution, and later he taught the Bradford Academy in this state.
Roswell Farnham
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But he did not intend to devote his life to the profession of teaching, and therefore re- linqnished the charge of the seminary. Dur- ing this period he found leisure for the study of law, and made such progress that he was admitted to practice at the Orange county bar in January, 1857.
Mr. Farnham's professional career began as the partner of Robert MeK. Ormsby. In 1859 he commenced practice independently, soon acquired a remunerative business, and had the satisfaction of witnessing its gradnal increase. During the same year he was elected state's attorney for Orange county by the Republican party, and was subsequently re-elected twice by the same organization.
As second lieutenant of the Bradford Guards, Mr. Farnham accompanied the first regiment of the Vermont Volunteers to the scene of action, and was stationed for the greater part of its three months service at Fortress Monroe and at Newport News, Va. When the 12th Vt. Vol. Regt. was formed out of the militia companies of the state the Governor detailed the Bradford Guards as one of the companies of that organization. Lieutenant Farnham was elected their cap- tain, but before the regiment came to Brat- tleboro, its place of rendezvous, Captain Farnham was appointed and commissioned as lieutenant-colonel. For nearly half of the term of his new service, he was in command of the regiment, the colonel being in com- mand of the brigade. At the expiration of the second term of service Lieutenant-Colonel Farnham returned to the practice of law in Bradford, where he has since resided. Shortly after, he was the Republican candi- date for representative of the town, but was defeated by a Democratic majority. In 1868 and 1869 he was elected by the Republicans to the state Senate, and served creditably in that body throughout both terms. He was chairman of three important committees and a member of two others. In 1876 he was a delegate to the national Republican con- vention which nominated Gen. R. B. Hayes for the presidency. He was also one of the presidential electors in the same year, and for three years was a member of the State Board of Education. He is, and has been, one of the elective trustees of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. In 1880 Colonel Farnham was nominated as candidate for the chief magistracy of Ver- mont, and was elected by a majority of 25,- 012 votes. The number of political sup- porters indicated by the ballot was larger than any previous candidate had enjoyed. His two years of office as Governor were extremely busy ones, yet he attended faith- fully and efficiently to the duties of his posi- tion, and that to the neglect of his personal affairs. His administration was as grateful
and profitable to the people as it was hon- orable to himself.
In religions matters he is, as might be an- ticipated from what has been said of his ancestry and education, a member of the Congregational church.
Governor Farnham was married on the 25th of December, 1849, to Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Captain Ezekiel'and Nancy ( Rogers) Johnson of Bradford. Three living children are the fruit of their union : Charles Cyrus, Florence Mary, and William Mills.
FARRELL, PATRICK JOSEPH, of New- port, son of James and Rose Ann Theresa ( Hart) Farrell, was born in Stanstead, P. Q., May 10, 1861.
His education was derived from the Wells River and Newport Academies but he mainly relied on his own efforts by private study to make himself a scholar. Soon after his birth, his father removed to New- bury and afterwards to Newport. In his early youth l'atrick worked upon a farm and assisted his father in handling bark, and employed his evenings in studying the art of telegraphy. In the spring of 1880 he entered the employ of the Conn. & Pass. R. R., at Newport as billing clerk, and a few months after was transferred to Lyndon- ville as train dispatcher, then was employed at Stanstead and Derby Line as station agent, and conductor of passenger trains running from the former town to Newport. By the death of his father, he was compelled to resign this position and give his attention to the business affairs of the former, suc- ceeding him as agent for a Boston firm who dealt in hemlock bark.
He now turned his attention to the legal profession and in 1884 began studying law with Crane & Alfred at Newport, then entered the office of C. A. Prouty, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1887. He was appointed a postal clerk the same year, his route extending from Newport to Spring- field, Mass., and soon after he was promoted to the position of chief clerk with his head- quarters at Boston, having charge of the largest division in New England. He re- signed in 1889 and returning to Newport, formed a copartnership with C. A. Prouty in the law business which lasted nearly two years, when the Orleans Trust Co. was or- ganized and Mr. Farrell was made its treas- urer, which position he still retains and has also charge of the legal affairs of the bank.
Mr. Farrell has held several public offices in his town and village, and was, during three years, chairman of the board of trus- tees of said village. He is a strong Demo- crat, having served several years on the Democratic town committee, and is now a member of the Democratic state committee.
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In 1890 he was his party's candidate for the office of state's attorney in Orleans county and in 1892 was one of the Democratic candidates for Vermont presidential electors and was an earnest and effective speaker in the political campaign of that year.
He was married August 9, 1883, to Sarah M., daughter of Patrick and Johanna M. Brady of Newport. Their children are : Mary Agnes, Helen Isabel, Charles Henry, and Charlotte Claire.
Mr. Farrell is emphatically a self-made man and one of the brightest young attor- neys in the state. He owes his success almost entirely to his own unaided efforts to advance, and deserves the highest credit for his energy and perseverance. He has not buried a single talent in the ground, but has used every honorable means to acquire his present enviable position, which now pre- sents to him the flattering hope of a still more prosperous future. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church.
FIELD, FREDERIC GRISWOLD, of Springfield, son of Abner and Louisa (Gris- wold) Field, was born in Springfield, Jan. I, 1842. His father, Abner, was the first post- master of North Springfield, several times represented the town, and was twice elected to the state Senate. He was an influential man in his day and much respected for his probity, energy and decision of character.
Mr. F. G. Field passed through the usual course of the common schools and attended the Springfield Wesleyan Seminary several years. Shortly after his majority he deter- mined to follow the mercantile profession and with this view in 1864 opened a store for general trade in North Springfield. With the exception of two years he has been suc- cessfully engaged in business there. He is also an extensive owner of real estate and to some extent is engaged in farming.
As a Republican he has been chosen to fill various town offices, was representative to the Legislature from Springfield in 1870-'72, and elected senator in 1880. He was com- missioner for Windsor county in 1890, and in 1891 was appointed inspector of finance to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. L. O. Greene of Woodstock.
He was married July 2, 1872, to Anna M., daughter of Addison and Florella Tarbell of Cavendish. They have two children : Fred T., and Bertha I.
The counsel and advice of Mr. Field are highly esteemed in financial and business matters and he does a large amount of con- veyancing, besides settling many estates in North Springfield and vicinity. He is as sound a business man as his brother Wal- bridge, the present chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, is lawyer.
FIELD.
FIELD, HENRY FRANCIS, of Rutland, son of William M. and Minerva (Daven- port) Field, was born in Brandon, Oct. 8, 1843. His ancestors originated in Con- necticut and were descended from Zechariah Field, who settled in Hartford in 1639.
The education of Mr. Field was obtained in public and private schools and at the seminary in Brandon. At the age of seven- teen he entered the Brandon Bank as a clerk, remaining there for something more than a year and until, in March, 1862, he removed to Rutland to take a position in the office of John B. Page, then the treasurer of the state. In 1864 he received the appoint- ment of teller in the Bank of Rutland, soon after reorganized or converted into a national bank, and three years later was elected to the cashiership of the Rutland County Na- tional Bank, which position he has held for the past twenty-six years and still retains. He has also been for many years a director of the same institution.
HENRY FRANCIS FIELD.
He is a member and the senior deacon of the Rutland Congregational Church, and for a quarter of a century has been connected with the Sabbath school of the church as superintendent or assistant.
Mr. Field married, June 21, 1865, Annie Louisa, daughter of John Howe of Brandon, who was the founder of the corporation known as the Howe Scale Co., first organ- ized and established in Brandon and atter- wards removed to Rutland. The children of
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1 ISK.
this union are two sons : John Howe, and William Henry.
Mr. Field's official carcer commenced as town treasurer, which office he held for ten years. He was also, meanwhile, treasurer of the village, and of the graded school district of Rutland for several years, and has been treasurer of the county since 1877. He served as assistant doorkeeper of the Senate in 1858 and 1859 and was deputy secretary of state in 1861. He is a Republican in polities, and was chosen a senator from Rut- land county in 1884, when he was chairman of the committee on banks, and in 1888 he represented Rutland in the House, where he was also chairman of the committee on banks, and served at both sessions on other important committees. In 1890 he was elceted State 'Treasurer and re-elected to the same office in 1892.
FISH, FRANK LESLIE, of Vergennes, son of Frederick A. and Sarah M. (Gates) Fish, was born at Newfane, Sept. 17, 1863.
He was educated at Leland and Gray Seminary, and at the Vermont Academy, graduating from the latter in 1886. At this
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FRANK LESLIE FISH
school he took a leading part in the rhetori- cal and literary exercises, aiding in establish- ing and being the first editor of the Ver- mont Academy Life, a successful school periodical. After completing his academic course he taught several terms in the district schools. While engaged as principal of the graded school at South Londonderry he
commenced the study of law with A. E. Cudworth. After further study with Milon Davidson of Newfane, he entered the office of Hon. James M. Tyler at Brattleboro, re- maining with him until Mr. Tyler's acces- sion to the supreme court, when he entered the office of Judge Levant M. Reed of Bellows Falls, continuing his law studies and acting as register of probate for the District of Westminster. When at this place be edited the local columns of the Bellows Falls Times. He was admitted to the bar at the general term of the Supreme Court, October, 1889. In January following he opened an office at Vergennes, where he now resides.
Though but thirty years of age he has established a reputation as a successful law- yer ; was elected state's attorney of Addison county in 1892; is city collector of taxes ; was chosen superintendent of schools for Ver- gennes in 1892, and now holds that position.
Mr. Fish was married March 15, 1892, to Minnie J., daughter of Chauncey and Emer- etta ( Hopkins) Lyon of Waterbury.
FISK, PERRIN BATCHELDER, of Lyn- don, son of Deacon Lyman and Mary (Spof- ford) Fisk, was born in Waitsfield, July 30, 1837, and from the age of thirteen to twenty-one labored at his father's trade of coopering. Strongly determined to obtain an education, at his majority he entered Barre Academy. Having chosen the minis- try as his profession, he took a course in Bangor (Me.) Theological Seminary, where he graduated in the class of 1863. In the early part of the war of the rebellion he served as delegate of the Christian Commis- sion in the Army of the Potomac. The coffee wagon had been sent to the Christian Commission at City Point, Va., and not being appreciated by those in authority, it had been left to rust by the wayside. Mr. Fisk finding it, saw it was a good idea and got permission to try it. It proved a great success and is remembered with gratitude by many a veteran.
Leaving Dracut in 1865, the subsequent pastorates of Mr. Fisk were in Massachu- setts, Vermont, and Minnesota, and for two years he acted as the field agent of Carleton College of the last named state. Ill-health in his family demanded removal to a warmer climate, therefore he served in the home missionary field in Illinois and Florida for about five years. Returning to Vermont, he supplied at Morrisville and afterwards re- moved to Lyndon, where he now resides and has under his charge the parishes of Lyndon and St. Johnsbury Centre.
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