Nelson W. Fisk

Nelson W. Fisk (August 5, 1854 -- October 1, 1923) was a Vermont businessman and political figure who served as Lieutenant Governor of the state.

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's death.[1][2]

In 1880 Fisk married Elizabeth B. Hubbell of Chazy, New York. 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 1883 to 1887 and the Vermont Senate from 1889 to 1891. 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]

Fisk 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, 1897 to 1899.[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 six weeks 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 is now an environmental interpretive site that is open to the public.[14]

References

  1. ^ Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, by William Hartley Jeffrey, pages 432 to 436
  2. ^ Joint Rules, Rules and Orders of the Senate and House of Representatives, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1882, page 147
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, compiled by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, page 190
  4. ^ Handweaver and Craftsman, Volumes 19-20, 1968, pages 18 to 19
  5. ^ Handicrafts of New England, Allen Hendershott Eaton, 1949, pages 87 to 88, 119
  6. ^ Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1915, page 546
  7. ^ Who's Who in New England, published by A. N. Marquis & Co., Chicago, Volume 1, 1909, page 365
  8. ^ Magazine article, Vermont Men of Today, by Lawrence Barinerd 2nd, The Vermonter magazine, February, 1901, pages 73 to 75
  9. ^ The Vermont Encyclopedia, by John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand and Ralph H. Orth, 2003, page 126
  10. ^ I Rose Like a Rocket: The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt, by Paul Grondahl, 2007, pages 367 to 368
  11. ^ Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, pages 350 to 351
  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. ^ Lake Champlain Islands, by Tara Liloia, 2009, page 58

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Zophar M. Mansur		 Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
1896–1898		 Succeeded by
Henry C. Bates