Nelson W. Fisk Explained

Nelson W. Fisk
Office1:Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
Term Start1:1896
Term End1:1898
Predecessor1:Zophar M. Mansur
Successor1:Henry C. Bates
Office2:Member of the Vermont Senate from Grand Isle County
Term Start2:1888
Term End2:1890
Predecessor2:Jerome P. Hall
Successor2:Hardy L. Reynolds
Office3:Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Isle La Motte
Term Start3:1882
Term End3:1888
Predecessor3:James Hurst
Successor3:Edgar S. Fleury
Birth Date:5 August 1854
Birth Place:Isle La Motte, Vermont, U.S.
Death Place:Isle La Motte, Vermont
Resting Place:South Cemetery, Isla La Motte, Vermont
Spouse:Elizabeth B. Hubbell (m. 1880)
Education:Eastman Business College
Occupation:Businessman

Nelson Wilbur Fisk (August 5, 1854 – October 1, 1923) was a Vermont businessman and political figure who served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1896 to 1898.

Biography

Nelson Wilbur Fisk was born in Isle La Motte, Vermont on August 5, 1854. He graduated from Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York and was employed at his family's marble quarry, becoming sole proprietor after his father Hiram's death in 1884.[1] [2] Fisk married Elizabeth B. Hubbell of Chazy, New York in 1880. Mrs. Fisk became an expert in textile weaving and dyeing, and her wall hangings, placemats and tablecloths are prized by collectors.[3] [4] [5]

A Republican, Fisk was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1882 to 1888 and the Vermont Senate from 1888 to 1890. As a legislator he played a key role in the construction of three Grand Isle bridges, including the first one to connect it with the Vermont mainland at Alburg.[6] [7] He served as a Trustee of the State Normal School (now Johnson State College), the State Industrial School in Vergennes (then Vermont's reform institution for juveniles) and the University of Vermont. He was also a Delegate to the 1888 and 1892 Republican national conventions. In 1896 he was elected Lieutenant Governor and served one term, 1896 to 1898.[8]

In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was visiting with Fisk and other Vermont Republicans at Fisk's home when Roosevelt was informed that President William McKinley had been shot. (McKinley died eight days later and Roosevelt became President.)[9] [10] [11]

Fisk died in Isle La Motte on October 1, 1923, and was buried in Isle La Motte's South Cemetery.[12] [13] The Fisk quarry on Isle La Motte's West Shore Road has been turned into an environmental interpretive site that is open to the public.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. Jeffrey, William Hartley . 432–36. The Historical publishing company. 1907.
  2. Book: Joint Rules, Rules and Orders of the Senate and House of Representatives. 1882 . J. & J.M. Poland, Steam Book and Job Printers . Vermont Secretary of State . 147.
  3. Book: Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography . Dodge, Prentiss Cutler. 1912. 190. Ullery publishing company.
  4. Atwood . Betty . Elizabeth Fisk, Vermont Weaver. Handweaver and Craftsman. 19–20. 1968. 18–19.
  5. Book: Handicrafts of New England. Eaton, Allen Hendershott. 1949. 87–88, 119. Harper.
  6. Book: Vermont Legislative Directory . Vermont Secretary of State. 1915. 546. Rand, Avery.
  7. https://books.google.com/books?id=yk8DAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22fisk+nelson%22+vermont&pg=PA365 Who's Who in New England
  8. Vermont Men of Today. Lawrence Barinerd 2nd. The Vermonter Magazine. February 1901. 73–75.
  9. Book: The Vermont Encyclopedia. Duffy, John J. . Hand, Samuel B. . Orth, Ralph H. . 2003. 126. UPNE. 1-58465-086-9.
  10. Book: I Rose Like a Rocket: The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt. Grondahl, Paul . 2007. 367–68. U of Nebraska Press. 978-0-8032-5987-4.
  11. Book: Vermont: The Green Mountain State . 4. Crockett, Walter Hill . 1921. 350–51. The Century history company, inc..
  12. Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, Record for Nelson Wilbur Fisk, accessed December 24, 2011
  13. Newspaper article, Nelson W. Fisk Dies, New York Times, October 3, 1923
  14. Book: Lake Champlain Islands. Liloia, Tara . 2009. 58. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-6211-7.