Frederick Holbrook | |
|---|---|
 Frederick Holbrook in 1901 | |
| 27th Governor of Vermont | |
| In office October 11, 1861 – October 9, 1863 | |
| Lieutenant | Levi Underwood Paul Dillingham |
| Preceded by | Erastus Fairbanks |
| Succeeded by | J. Gregory Smith |
| Member of theVermont Senate fromWindham County | |
| In office 1849–1850 Serving with Peter W. Dean, John Tufts | |
| Preceded by | John Kimball, Peter W. Dean, Larkin G. Mead |
| Succeeded by | Asa Wentworth Jr., John R. Blake, Ira Goodhue |
| President of the Vermont State Agricultural Society | |
| In office September 25, 1851 – January 10, 1859 | |
| Preceded by | None (position created) |
| Succeeded by | Epaphras Bull Chase |
| Register ofProbate for theMarlboro District | |
| In office 1848–1861 | |
| Preceded by | Broughton Harris |
| Succeeded by | R. W. Clarke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1813-02-15)February 15, 1813 |
| Died | April 28, 1909(1909-04-28) (aged 96) |
| Resting place | Prospect Hill Cemetery, Brattleboro, Vermont |
| Political party | Whig (before 1856) Republican (from 1856) |
| Spouse | Harriet Goodhue (m. 1835-1887, her death) |
| Relations | Luke Knowlton (grandfather) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Sarah (Knowlton) Holbrook John Holbrook |
| Profession | Farmer Banker |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States Vermont |
| Branch/service | Vermont Militia |
| Years of service | 1833–1837 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands | Brattleboro Floodwood Company |
Frederick Holbrook (February 15, 1813 – April 28, 1909) was an American farmer, businessman, and Governor of the State ofVermont. Active in politics and government, first as aWhig, and later as aRepublican, he was most notable for his service as the27th governor of Vermont from 1861 to 1863.
A native ofEast Windsor, Connecticut, Holbrook was a son of Sarah (Knowlton) Holbrook andJohn Holbrook and a grandson ofLuke Knowlton. He was raised in Vermont and educated at the Berkshire Gymnasium inPittsfield, Massachusetts, then embarked on careers in farming and business as a resident ofBrattleboro. Holbrook served briefly in the militia, and became active in local government as Register ofProbate for theMarlboro District, an office he held from 1848 to 1861. He representedWindham County in theVermont Senate from 1849 to 1850.
Holbrook became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid-1850s. In 1861 he was the party's successful nominee for governor. He was reelected in 1862 and served from October 1861 to October 1863. As the state's chief executive in the middle of theAmerican Civil War, Holbrook oversaw Vermont's contribution to theUnion effort, including raising more than ten Infantry regiments for theUnion Army. In keeping with the Republican "Mountain Rule", Holbrook was not a candidate for reelection in 1863.
After leaving the governorship, Holbrook declined to be a candidate for any other office and returned to his Brattleboro farming and business interests, including serving as president of the Vermont Savings Bank and president of theVermont Asylum for the Insane's board of trustees. He died in Brattleboro on April 28, 1909. Holbrook was buried atProspect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro.
Holbrook was born inEast Windsor, Connecticut on February 15, 1813, son of Sarah (Knowlton) Holbrook andJohn Holbrook, a notable publisher and businessman.[1] Via his mother's family, he was the grandson ofLuke Knowlton.[1] He was raised inBrattleboro, Vermont, attended Berkshire Gymnasium inPittsfield, Massachusetts for two years, then moved toBoston, where he remained for two years as a partner in the Richardson, Lord and Holbrook bookstore.[1][2]
In 1833, Holbrook embarked on an extended visit to Europe.[2] Upon his return in 1833, he settled in Brattleboro, where he became active in farming.[1][2] He also became a member of Brattleboro's contingent of theVermont State Militia, the Brattleboro Floodwood Company.[2][a] Holbrook was soon elected to lead the unit with the rank ofcaptain, and he commanded for several years in the mid-1830s.[2]
A talented singer, while living in Boston, Holbrook was a member of theHandel and Haydn Society and a member of the choir directed byLowell Mason.[5] After settling in Brattleboro, Holbrook sangbass and directed the choir at the town's Centre Congregational Church for over 40 years.[5] In 1840, he was one of the organizers of the Windham County Society for the Promotion of Sacred Music.[6]
Holbrook took advantage of the farming knowledge he gained in Europe to prepare newspaper and magazine articles advocating for improved agricultural methods.[7] In addition, he experimented and invented on his own farm, and among the implements he designed was an all-steel plow.[7] In the 1850s, Holbrook was an associate editor of theNew England Farmer magazine.[8]
In addition to his interest in farming, Holbrook was active in several business ventures.[9] In the 1830s, Holbrook and Franklin H. Fessenden took over the Holbrook & Fessenden paper mill from their fathers and other relatives and investors.[10] They operated the business for several years until selling it to a new corporation, the Typographic Company.[11] In 1851, Holbrook was an original incorporator of the Wantastiquet Railroad Company, which was intended to link several Windham County towns to either theRutland & Burlington Railroad or the main line of the Western Vermont Railroad.[12] In 1852, he was one of the incorporators who revived the charter for the Brattleboro Railroad, which had been granted in 1835 but had not been acted on, and was intended to connect Brattleboro with railroads in eastern New York state.[13]
Holbrook became active in politics, first as aWhig,[14] and later as aRepublican.[15] He served in local offices, includingtown lister.[16] Holbrook was elected register of probate for the district of Marlboro in 1847 and served until 1861.[1] He representedWindham County in theVermont Senate in 1849 and 1850, where, as chairman of a special committee on agriculture, he proposed toCongress the establishment of a national bureau of agriculture, the forerunner of theUnited States Department of Agriculture.[1] He was a founder of the Vermont State Agricultural Society in 1851, and served as its president from 1851 to 1859.[1]
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Holbrook's service as president of the state agricultural society gave him the name recognition necessary for a statewide political campaign, and he was the Republican nominee for governor in 1861.[17] He was elected by a large majority, 33,152 votes to 5,722 for his nearest competitor,Andrew Tracy.[17] He was reelected in 1862, receiving 29,543 votes; his nearest competitor, Benjamin H. Smalley, received 3,772.[17]
Holbrook served as governor during what many consider the darkest days of theAmerican Civil War.[1] His administration saw the recruitment of ten infantry regiments, two light artillery batteries, and three sharpshooter companies.[18] Under his administration, Vermont also built three military hospitals in the state which were "soon credited by the United States medical inspector with perfecting a larger percentage of cures than any United States military hospital record elsewhere could show."[19]
After the September 1862Battle of Antietam, Holbrook wrote to PresidentAbraham Lincoln to suggest that the federal government issue a call for 500,000 additional troops to increase the Union Army's ranks.[20] In the event that the Lincoln administration could not immediately bear the expenses of raising, equipping, and paying so many troops, Holbrook offered to have Vermont's state government pay up front for its contingent and accept reimbursement later.[20] In addition, he stated his belief that other Union governors would do the same.[20] Lincoln, who replied that he had been looking for a mechanism that would enable him to issue a call for troops, seized on Holbrook's letter to solicit a formal request by all the Union governors, which Holbrook and U.S. Provost Marshal GeneralSimeon Draper procured and sent to Lincoln.[20] Lincoln then used the governors' letter as justification to issue a call for 300,000 troops.[20] Afterwards, Lincoln complimented Holbrook to his cabinet, saying that Holbrook's occasional letters offering suggestions and advice for how to prosecute the war effort were more sensible than what he received from the professional political class in and aroundWashington, D.C.[20] In his second inaugural address in October 1862, Holbrook told theVermont General Assembly "It is gratifying to realize that at each and every call of our country, in her hour of peril, thousands of the young men of our State have willingly and eagerly seized arms and have gone or are going forth to battle for the Union."[17]
After his two terms as governor, he refused to be a candidate for elective office, but did take part in government activities in which he had an interest, including accepting appointment in 1870 as an original member of the state Board of Agriculture, Manufactures and Mining.[18][21] He also resumed his farm and business interests, including serving as president of the Vermont Savings Bank.[2] He was president of the board of trustees of theVermont Asylum for the Insane for more than 40 years.[18] WhenCornell University created itsCollege of Agriculture in 1868, Holbrook was appointed nonresident professor of Mechanics Applied to Agriculture, with a requirement to provide twenty lectures per academic year.[22]
Holbrook died at his home in Brattleboro on April 28, 1909.[23] He was buried atProspect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro.[23] Holbrook's funeral was attended by former governorsEbenezer J. Ormsbee,John G. McCullough,Samuel E. Pingree, andFletcher D. Proctor.[23] Pallbearers includedJames Manning Tyler.[23]
On January 13, 1835, Holbrook married to Harriet Goodhue (1817–1887), daughter of Joseph and Sarah Goodhue of Brattleboro.[1] They were the parents of three sons— Franklin F., William C., and John.[1][18]
Franklin F. Holbrook (1837–1916) was Vermont's military agent and liaison to theUnited States Department of War with the rank ofcolonel during his father's governorship.[24] After the war he operated aBoston-based company that manufactured farm implements.[24]
William C. Holbrook (1842–1904) served in the 4th and 7th Vermont Infantry Regiments during the Civil War.[25] Afterwards, he attendedHarvard Law School, practiced law inNew York City, and served as judge of the city's court of special sessions.[25]
John C. Holbrook (1852–1901), was active in business as a resident ofHoutzdale, Pennsylvania.[26]
In 1851, Holbrook received thehonorary degree ofMaster of Arts from theUniversity of Vermont.[27] In 1862, he received an honorary M.A. fromDartmouth College.[27] Holbrook received an honoraryLL.D. fromNorwich University in 1899.[28]
TheDeacon John Holbrook House on Linden Street in Brattleboro was built by Holbrook's father in the 1820s.[29] It still stands and was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.[29]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Vermont 1861,1862 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Vermont 1861–1863 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
