The Fairbanks Papers are the records of E. and T. Fairbanks and Company of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and the correspondence of Erastus Fairbanks, one of the founders of the company and two-term Vermont governor. There are a few papers of the other founders, Thaddeus and Joseph Fairbanks, and Erastus's son Horace, and papers of the Vermont International Telegraph Co.
The papers were donated in two groups by Cornelia T. Fairbanks, ca. 1954, and 1959; a few of the papers may also have been donated by Arthur F. Stone, ca. 1944. They are house in six boxes and occupy 6 linear feet of shelf space. This finding guide was prepared as part of a project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
E. and T. Fairbanks and Company was operated by the three sons of Joseph and Phoebe Paddock Fairbanks: Erastus (1792-1864), Thaddeus (1796-1886), and Joseph P. (1806-1855). The eldest son, Erastus, was the first of the family to move to Vermont, leaving his Brimfield, Massachusetts, birthplace in 1811; the rest of the family followed in 1815. While Erastus operated a store in Barnet, Vermont, his father and brother, Thaddeus, built and operated a gristmill and sawmill, and built carriages in St. Johnsbury. In 1823 Thaddeus built an iron foundry and Erastus joined him to establish E. and T. Fairbanks, to manufacture stoves and plows. Thaddeus, an inventor and mechanic, perfected and patented a design for a platform scale in 1830 and three years later Erastus, Thaddeus, and their youngest brother, Joseph, formed E. and T. Fairbanks and Company to manufacture and sell the scales. Erastus and Joseph managed the business while Thaddeus provided the mechanical expertise. Because of the size of the scales and the relative remoteness of St. Johnsbury, the Fairbanks contracted with agents and mechanics who were given defined territories to sell, assemble, and repair the scales. The company was successful and the scales became renowned nationally and internationally. E. and T. Fairbanks and Company continued in business until 1916 when it was purchased by Fairbanks, Morse and Company of Cincinnati and Chicago (originally an agent of E. and T. Fairbanks and Company). Ownership has changed several times but scales continue to be made in St. Johnsbury (as of 1996).
While serving as president of E. and T. Fairbanks and Company, Erastus was also active in civic affairs and politics. A member of the Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, he was president of the Vermont Domestic Missionary Society, and a member of the American Board of Foreign Missions, and was active in the temperance movement. He was elected to the legislature in 1836 and was chosen presidential elector in 1844 and 1848 for the Whig party. He was elected governor in 1852 and again in 1860.
As one of six men to be granted a charter for the Connecticut and Passumpsic Railroad in 1835, Erastus supported the railroad project through its third charter and was named president when the company finally organized in 1846. He held that position until 1854.
Erastus Fairbanks married Lois Crossman of Peacham, Vermont, in 1815 and they had nine children: Jane, 1816-1852 (m. Ephraim Jewett); George, 1819-1843; Horace, 1820-1888; Charles, 1821-1898; Julia, 1824-1884 (m. John H. Paddock); Franklin, 1828-1895; Sarah, 1831-1858; Emily, 1833-1859 (m. Charles Stone); Ellen (m. Constans Goodel).
Thaddeus Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1796 and moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in 1815. He was an inventor with many patents including a cast iron stove and plow. In 1830 he and Erastus became interested in the raising and processing of hemp, and Thaddeus patented a hemp dresser (and was for a time manager of the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company). His most successful invention was the platform scale in 1830. He married Lucy Peck Barker in 1820 and they had a son, Henry (b. 1830), and daughter, Charlotte (m. George Webber). Thaddeus Fairbanks died in 1886.
Joseph Fairbanks was born in 1806. He studied law and from 1828 to 1833 had a law practice in Vermont before joining his brothers in the platform scale business. He was elected to the legislature in 1845 and fought for improvements in education, temperance, and spoke out against slavery and against the Mexican War. Together with his brothers he founded St. Johnsbury Academy. He married Almira Taylor in 1845 and had two children: Edward Taylor (b. 1836), and William Paddock (1840-1895).
The Fairbanks Papers are made up of records of E. and T. Fairbanks and Company, 1832-1876, a stove and scale manufacturer in St. Johnsbury, Vermont; and correspondence of Erastus Fairbanks, 1815-1861, and his brothers Thaddeus and Joseph, 1834-1876, and son Horace, 1848-1873. There are also some papers of the Vermont International Telegraph Co., 1877-1889. The papers are divided into two sections as they were received by the Vermont Historical Society at different times. The contents of each section is similar although the first has more business records and the second more correspondence of Erastus Fairbanks.
The E. and T. Fairbanks and Company records in both sections include correspondence, 1832-1875, with agents who sold Fairbanks' products including many letters ordering stock and reporting sales and inventory. Some of the letters have specifications for scales that customers wanted designed. There are also letters of complaint and letters of endorsement. In addition to the correspondence there are financial records, 1835-1876, such as bills, receipts and accounts; and legal papers, 1833-1866, made up of agreements, deeds, and contracts.
The correspondence of Erastus Fairbanks is about the scale business, railroading, politics, and Fairbanks' interest in the temperance movement, and the Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury.
Many of the letters to Erastus Fairbanks are addressed to him as president of the Connecticut and Passumpsic (C and P) Railroad, a position he held from 1846 to 1854. A prolific correspondent was Miller Fox who was involved in the construction of the road. There is also correspondence about other railroads in Vermont and throughout the country and Canada.
Fairbanks was very active politically and many of his letters concern the Whig Party of which he was a member. He corresponded with other politicians of the era including Justin Morrill (1810-1898), George Marsh (1801-1882), and William Slade (1786-1859). In 1854 and 1855 there is mention of the Know Nothing Party and Free Soil Party (Doc 95:75, 76,77), and there is an undated initiation ceremony of the Independent Order of Know Somethings (Doc 95:89). An issue of importance to Fairbanks was temperance and there are letters throughout about temperance conventions, liquor laws, and a temperance newspaper. He was also strongly anti-slavery and in 1848 there are papers about the American Colonization Society (Doc 95:85), and in 1857 about the Vermont Colonization Society (Doc 5:32). Fairbanks was elected to the Vermont legislature in 1836, and was elected governor in 1852 and 1860 and there are letters written to him in his official capacity. There is a series of memos, letters, and telegrams, ca. 1861, concerning Vermont regiments and the Civil War (Doc 5:36, 37, 38 and Doc 95:45, 81, 82).
As a leader in the Second Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, Fairbanks' correspondence reflects his involvement in church matters such as hiring a minister in 1839 (Doc 95:53), and missionary work.
There are a few family letters including an 1815 letter from Lois Crossman, who was to become Erastus's wife (Doc 95:47). Erastus also corresponded with his brothers and sons while traveling but the letters are more business than personal.
In both sections of the collection there is one folder each of papers of Thaddeus Fairbanks, 1834-1839, Joseph Fairbanks, 1840-1850, and Horace Fairbanks, 1848-1873. Thaddeus's papers include an 1834 description of improvements on platforms scales written for patent application, an 1848 letter about a scale design, an 1849 letter from William Stewart inquiring about buying rights to one of Fairbanks patents, a rejection from the patent office for a patent for improvements in weigh lock apparatus, 1849, and a letter from Horace Fairbanks, 1876, concerning working on Sunday. There is also an 1848 letter written in Spanish. Joseph's papers includes several letters written by him from Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1847, Boston, 1846 and 1849, New Orleans, 1848, and Albany, 1850, which generally describe where he is and discuss business he is conducting in each city, and give instruction for business he has left behind. Several letters addressed to Joseph concern politics and business and there is a resolution written by Joseph against the Mexican War, 1845. Horace's papers include letters by him to a Mr. Hosmer about business, 1849, and to Mr. Walker about a missionary society, 1873, a letter to him in 1848 about buying a horse, and an 1848 letter written in response to his application to mine.
The papers are divided in two groups as they were received by the Vermont Historical Society. The two groups are similarly arranged with a series of E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. records, subdivided into correspondence, legal, and financial ; and a second series of Fairbanks family papers subdivided by Thaddeus Fairbanks, Joseph Fairbanks, and Erastus Fairbanks.
I. Part 1 A. E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. 1. Correspondence 2. Legal Papers 3. Financial Papers B. Vermont International Telegraph Co. C. Fairbanks family 1. Thaddeus Fairbanks 2. Joseph Fairbanks 3. Horace Fairbanks 4. Erastus Fairbanks D. Miscellaneous II. Part 2 A. E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. 1. Correspondence 2. Legal Papers 3. Financial papers B. Vermont International Telegraph Co. C. Fairbanks family 1. Thaddeus Fairbanks 2. Joseph Fairbanks 3. Horace Fairbanks 4. Erastus Fairbanks D. MiscellaneousBefore this collection was processed in 1996, each of the papers was assigned a consecutive number as it was found in the box. The papers have now been rearranged and the numbers are no longer in order. Researchers who used the collection in the past may have references to the page numbers; an index showing the current location of the numbered sheets in appended to this finding guide.
For a description of the E. and T. Fairbanks scale business see Allen Rice Yale Jr.'s "Ingenious and Enterprising Mechanics: A Case Study of Industrialization in Rural Vermont, 1815-1900," Ph.D. dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1995. For related collections in the Vermont Historical Society collection look in the Brigham index under the name Fairbanks. Of particular note is a collection of papers acquired from Judge Philip Fairbanks that includes papers of his father, Joseph (1881-1964); grandfather, William P. (1840-1895); and great-grandfather, Joseph P. (1806-1855). Access to the collection is restricted; contact the VHS Librarian for information.
I. Part 1
A. E. and T. Fairbanks and Co.
1. Correspondence
Doc 1: 1 n.d.
2 1832
3 1833
4 1834
5 1836
6 1838
7 1839 A-B
8 _____, C
9 _____, D-E
10 _____, F
11 _____, G-H
12 _____, I-J
13 _____, K-L
14 _____, M-O
15 _____, P-R
16 _____, S
17 _____, T
18 _____, U-Z
19 1840 A-B
20 _____, C-D
21 _____, E
22 _____, F
23 _____, G-H
24 _____, I-M
25 _____, N-P
26 _____, Q-S
27 _____, T-Z
28 1841 A-C
29 _____, D-F
30 _____, G-J
31 _____, K-O
32 _____, P-R
33 _____, Sa-Sk
34 _____, Sl-V
35 _____, W-Z
36 1842
37 1844 A-F
38 _____, G-L
39 _____, M-Z
40 1845 A-C
41 _____, D-E
42 _____, F-G
43 _____, H-L
44 _____, M-P
45 _____, Q-S
46 _____, T-Z
47 1846 A-C
48 _____, D-F
49 _____, G-L
50 _____, M-S
51 _____, T-Z
52 1847
53 1848 A-B
54 _____, C
55 _____, D-E
Doc 2: 1 _____, Fairbanks
2 _____, F-G
3 _____, H-I
4 _____, K-L
5 _____, N-P
6 _____, R-S
7 _____, T-Z
8 1849 A-E
9 _____, F-L
10 _____, M-Z
11 1850
12 1851 A-C
13 _____, D-L
14 _____, M-Z
15 1852
16 1853
17 1854
18 1855
19 1856
20 1857
21 1858
22 1859
23 1860
24 1875
25 Papers re: advertising
26 _____, building scales
27 _____, circulars, ca. 1847-1856
Ms Size C Advertisement for Tappan, McBurney, and Cheever, n.d.
2. Legal Papers
28 n.d.
29 1833-1838
30 1840
31 1849
32 1850
33 1851
34 1852
35 1853
36 1854
37 1855
38 1856
39 1857
40 1865
41 1866
3. Financial Papers
42 n.d.
43 _____
44 _____
45 1838
46 1839 accounts current
47 _____, _____
48 _____, _____
49 _____, _____
50 _____, _____
51 _____, _____
52 _____, miscellaneous accounts
53 1839 bills and receipts
54 _____, _____
55 _____, _____
56 _____, _____
57 _____, _____
58 _____, notes
59 _____, bills of lading
60 1840 accounts current
61 _____, _____
62 _____, _____
63 _____, bills and receipts
64 1841 accounts current
65 _____, miscellaneous accounts
66 _____, bills and receipts
67 _____, _____
68 _____, _____
69 _____, notes
70 1842 miscellaneous accounts
71 1844 miscellaneous accounts
72 1845 accounts current
73 _____, bills and receipts
74 1846 miscellaneous accounts
75 _____, bills and receipts
76 _____, notes
77 1847 accounts current
78 _____, miscellaneous accounts
79 _____, bills and receipts
80 _____, _____
Doc 3: 1 1848 accounts current
2 _____, _____
3 _____, _____
4 _____, miscellaneous accounts
5 _____, _____
6 _____, bills and receipts
7 _____, _____
8 1849 miscellaneous accounts
9 _____, bills and receipts
10 _____, notes
11 1850 miscellaneous accounts
12 _____, bills and receipts
13 _____, notes
14 1851 accounts, scales
15 _____, _____
16 _____, _____
17 _____, _____
18 _____, miscellaneous accounts
19 _____, bills and receipts
20 _____, _____
21 _____, notes
22 1852 accounts, scales
23 _____, _____
24 _____, _____
25 _____, _____
26 _____, bills and receipts
27 _____, notes
28 1853 accounts, scales
29 _____, _____
30 _____, _____
31 _____, miscellaneous accounts
32 _____, bills and receipts
33 _____, notes
34 1854 accounts, scales
35 _____, _____
36 _____, _____
37 _____, _____
38 _____, _____
39 _____, miscellaneous accounts
40 _____, notes
41 1855 accounts, scales
42 _____, _____, _____
43 _____, _____, _____
44 _____, bills and receipts
45 _____, notes
46 1856 accounts, scales
47 _____, _____
48 _____, _____
49 _____, _____
50 _____, _____
51 _____, _____
52 _____, receipts
53 _____, notes
Doc 4: 1 1857 miscellaneous accounts
2 _____, _____
3 _____, _____
4 _____, _____
5 _____, bills and receipts
6 _____, notes
7 _____, _____
8 _____, _____
9 1858 accounts, scales
10 _____, _____
11 _____, bills and receipts
12 _____, notes
13 _____, _____
14 _____, _____
15 1859 accounts, scales
16 _____, _____
17 _____, _____
18 _____, miscellaneous accounts
19 _____, bills and receipts,
20 _____, _____
21 _____, _____
22 _____, _____
23 _____, notes
24 _____, _____
25 1860 miscellaneous accounts
26 _____, bills and receipts
27 _____, notes
28 1861 bills and receipts
29 1865 bills and receipts
30 1866 miscellaneous accounts
31 _____, receipts
32 1868 bills and receipts
33 1869 bills and receipts
34 1870-1873 bills and receipts
35 1874 miscellaneous accounts
36 1875 miscellaneous accounts
37 _____, bills and receipts
38 1876 bills and receipts
B. Vermont International Telegraph Co.
39 1877-1878
40 1885
41 1886
42 _____
43 _____
44 1887
45 _____
46 1888
47 _____
48 _____
49 1889
C. Fairbanks family
1. Fairbanks, Thaddeus
50 1834-1849
2. Fairbanks, Joseph
51 1840-1850
3. Fairbanks, Horace
52 1848-1873
4. Fairbanks, Erastus
53 Correspondence by, 1840-1853
54 undated
55 1839
56 1840
57 1841
58 1843
59 1844
60 1845 A-E
61 _____, F-H
62 _____, K-L
63 _____, M-Z
64 1846
65 1847 A-D
66 _____, E-F
Doc 5: 1 _____, G-H
2 _____, I-L
3 _____, M-P
4 _____, Q-Z
5 1848 A-B
6 _____, C-F
7 _____, G-J
8 _____, K-N
9 _____, O-S
10 _____, T-Z
11 1849 A-E
12 _____, F-J
13 _____, K-M
14 _____, N-R
15 _____, S-Z
16 1850 A-C
17 _____, D-G
18 _____, H-L
19 _____, M-Q
20 _____, R-Z
21 1851 A-H
22 _____, I-Z
23 1852 A-F
24 _____, G-J
25 _____, K-R
26 _____, S-Z
27 1853 A-L
28 _____, M-Z
29 1854
30 1855
31 1856
32 1857 A-H
33 _____, I-S
34 _____, T-Z
35 1859
36 1861
37 Civil War
38 Civil War
D. Miscellaneous
39 Church papers: notes on trial of James Warren for offenses
against Congregational Church in Franconia, N.H.; and
contract for moving St. Johnsbury meeting house
40 Caledonia County Mutual Fire Insurance organization
paper, n.d.
41 St. Johnsbury papers: certification of police officers
by village trustees, 1857
42 Miscellaneous
43 Account books, miscellaneous, n.d.
44 _____, for scale works or foundry(?), 1848
45 _____, _____, 1851
46 _____, _____, 1858
47 _____, _____, 1863
48 _____, store accounts of Patterson and Ely, 1863
49 Railroad profiles
50 _____
II. Part 2
A. E. and T. Fairbanks and Co.
1. Correspondence
Doc 95:1 n.d.
2 1835
3 1836
4 1839
5 1840
6 1841
7 1842
8 1843
9 1844
10 1845
11 1846
12 1847
13 1848
14 1849
15 1850
16 1851
17 1852
18 1853
2. Legal papers
19 1833
20 1837
21 1854
22 1855
23 1865
3. Financial papers
24 1835
25 1836
26 1838
27 1839
28 1840
29 1844
30 1845
31 1849
32 1850
33 1851
34 1852
35 1853
36 1855
37 1856
38 1858
B. Vermont International Telegraph Co.
39 1871
C. Fairbanks family
1. Fairbanks, Thaddeus
40 Correspondence, 1876
2. Fairbanks, Joseph
41 Correspondence, 1837-1852
42 Mexican War Resolution, 1845
3. Fairbanks, Horace
43 Correspondence, 1848
4. Fairbanks, Erastus
44 Poetry, 1823
45 Letters by, 1830-1861
46 Letters to, n.d.
47 _____, 1815
48 _____, 1823
49 _____, 1835
50 _____,1836
51 _____, _____
52 _____,1838
53 _____, 1839
54 _____, 1840
55 _____, 1841
56 _____, 1842
57 _____, 1844
58 _____, 1845
59 _____, _____
60 _____, 1846
61 _____, 1847
62 _____, 1848
63 _____, 1849
64 _____, _____
65 _____, _____
66 _____, 1850
67 _____, 1851
68 _____, _____
69 _____, 1852
70 _____, _____
71 _____, 1853
72 _____, _____
73 _____, _____
74 _____, _____
75 _____, 1854
76 _____, 1855
77 _____, _____
78 _____, 1856
79 _____, 1857
80 _____, _____
81 _____, 1861
82 Civil War
D. Miscellaneous
83 Second Congregational Church, 1838-1839
84 Caledonia County court building, 1839
85 American Colonization Society, 1848
86 Passumpsic Company, 1832
87 Connecticut and Passumpsic River Railroad, 1850
88 Interrogations concerning building of a railroad
89 Initiation ceremony for Know Somethings, n.d.
90 Fuller Family, 1822 and n.d.
91 Railroad Papers, 1857 and n.d.
92 C. M. Stone papers, including letter to J. S. Morrill,
1863; deed, 1861; copy of address to Vermont Press
Association, 1886
93 Miscellaneous Bills and receipts
94 Agreement to build road in Fairbanks village, 1842
95 Resolution upon Erastus Fairbanks' death, 1864
96 Miscellaneous
97 _____, printed