Ebenezer J. Ormsbee
Encyclopedia
Ebenezer Jolls Ormsbee (June 8, 1834 – April 3, 1924) was a teacher, a lawyer, a U.S. politician of the Republican Party
, and an American Civil War
veteran.
, the son of John Mason and Polly (Willson) Ormsbee. After combining farm work and an early education at academies at Brandon and South Woodstock, he began studying law in 1857, and was admitted to the Rutland County bar in 1861.
. He was elected 2nd lieutenant on April 25, 1861, and served with the regiment for its full three month term. In September 1862, he joined Company G, 12th Vermont Infantry
, serving as its captain, and was mustered out with his regiment in July 1863.
He was appointed assistant United States internal revenue assessor in 1868, serving until 1872. He served as state's attorney for Rutland Count from 1870 to 1874, represented Brandon in the General Assembly in 1872, and senator from Rutland county in 1878. He was appointed and served a trustee of the Vermont reform school from 1880 until 1884.
In 1884, Ormsbee was nominated by the State Republican Convention to run for lieutenant governor with Samuel E. Pingree, the party's gubernatorial candidate; Ormsbee received 297 of the 510 votes, winning the nomination and the subsequent election for lieutenant governor. He was elected governor in 1886. During his administration, he appointed a commission of three members to revise the educational laws of the state, and presided over the initial work of the state's new railroad commission.
In 1887, President Grover Cleveland
proposed to return Confederate flags captured by Union troops during the Civil War. This obviously caused a storm of opposition throughout the north. The Vermont Department of the Grand Army of the Republic
declared "we most solemnly and earnestly protest for ourselves and in the name of our fallen comrades,... against removing from their finial resting place the bloody emblems of a treason that cost many precious lives, fully believing that such removal will do more to keep alive the bitter recollections of the war than anything that has transpired since its close." Governor Ormsbee forwarded this resolution to President Cleveland, declaring they "have my unqualified and warmest approval, and you may rest assured that they contain the sentiments of Vermont on this subject."
At the end of 1891 Ormsbee was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison
to serve on a commission to treat with the Paiute
Indians at the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
, in Nevada
, to get the tribe to relinquish a claim to part of their reservation.
The same year, he was appointed by President Harrison U.S. Land commissioner at Samoa
to act with similar British and German commissions to adjust claims of foreigners to lands in Samoa, representing millions of acres of land. Ormsbee completed his work in May 1893, returned to the United States and resumed his law practice in Brandon.
In 1896, ex-Governor Ormsbee joined a number of Vermont luminaries in a train trip to Canton, Ohio
, in support of William McKinley
's campaign for the presidency. In 1901, he presided over a banquet in honor of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
. In 1902, now President, Roosevelt returned to Vermont, and Ormsbee again presided over the ceremonies at a train stop in Brandon.
In 1913, ex-Governor Ormsbee presided over the dedication of a monument to Stephen A. Douglas
, Brandon's most famous native son.
Orsmbee married, in 1862, Jennie L. Briggs, daughter of E. N. Briggs, of Brandon. She died in 1866. He married again, in 1867, Frances Davenport, daughter of William L. and Loretta Cole Wadhams of Wadhams Mills, New York.
He was a Freemason
, and a longtime comrade of C. J. Ormsbee Post #18, Grand Army of the Republic
, named for his brother, Charles James Ormsbee, 5th Vermont Infantry
, who was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness
on May 5, 1864.
Ormsbee was president of the Brandon Free Public Library, president of the Brandon Cemetery Association, member of the prudential committee of the Brandon graded and high school for over 27 years, and president of the Brandon National Bank for more than 14 years.
He died of apoplexy in Brandon, and was interred in Pine Hill cemetery.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and an American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veteran.
Early life
Ormsbee was born in Shoreham, VermontShoreham, Vermont
Shoreham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.3 square miles , of which 43.5 square miles is land and 2.8 square miles is...
, the son of John Mason and Polly (Willson) Ormsbee. After combining farm work and an early education at academies at Brandon and South Woodstock, he began studying law in 1857, and was admitted to the Rutland County bar in 1861.
Civil War
He enlisted in the Brandon "Allen Grays" in April 1861, which became Company G of the 1st Vermont Infantry1st Vermont Infantry
The 1st Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, in and around Fortress Monroe, Virginia.-History:...
. He was elected 2nd lieutenant on April 25, 1861, and served with the regiment for its full three month term. In September 1862, he joined Company G, 12th Vermont Infantry
12th Vermont Infantry
The 12th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to July 1863...
, serving as its captain, and was mustered out with his regiment in July 1863.
Post war life
After he returned home, Ormsbee started practicing law in Brandon, as a partner of Anson A. Nicholson, and later with Ebenezer N. Briggs.He was appointed assistant United States internal revenue assessor in 1868, serving until 1872. He served as state's attorney for Rutland Count from 1870 to 1874, represented Brandon in the General Assembly in 1872, and senator from Rutland county in 1878. He was appointed and served a trustee of the Vermont reform school from 1880 until 1884.
In 1884, Ormsbee was nominated by the State Republican Convention to run for lieutenant governor with Samuel E. Pingree, the party's gubernatorial candidate; Ormsbee received 297 of the 510 votes, winning the nomination and the subsequent election for lieutenant governor. He was elected governor in 1886. During his administration, he appointed a commission of three members to revise the educational laws of the state, and presided over the initial work of the state's new railroad commission.
In 1887, President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
proposed to return Confederate flags captured by Union troops during the Civil War. This obviously caused a storm of opposition throughout the north. The Vermont Department of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
declared "we most solemnly and earnestly protest for ourselves and in the name of our fallen comrades,... against removing from their finial resting place the bloody emblems of a treason that cost many precious lives, fully believing that such removal will do more to keep alive the bitter recollections of the war than anything that has transpired since its close." Governor Ormsbee forwarded this resolution to President Cleveland, declaring they "have my unqualified and warmest approval, and you may rest assured that they contain the sentiments of Vermont on this subject."
At the end of 1891 Ormsbee was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
to serve on a commission to treat with the Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
Indians at the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation is a United States reservation in northwestern Nevada ~approximately northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon Counties. It lies almost entirely in Washoe County , with but tiny amounts of land in the other two counties . It is governed by the Pyramid Lake...
, in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, to get the tribe to relinquish a claim to part of their reservation.
The same year, he was appointed by President Harrison U.S. Land commissioner at Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
to act with similar British and German commissions to adjust claims of foreigners to lands in Samoa, representing millions of acres of land. Ormsbee completed his work in May 1893, returned to the United States and resumed his law practice in Brandon.
In 1896, ex-Governor Ormsbee joined a number of Vermont luminaries in a train trip to Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, in support of William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
's campaign for the presidency. In 1901, he presided over a banquet in honor of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. In 1902, now President, Roosevelt returned to Vermont, and Ormsbee again presided over the ceremonies at a train stop in Brandon.
In 1913, ex-Governor Ormsbee presided over the dedication of a monument to Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
, Brandon's most famous native son.
Orsmbee married, in 1862, Jennie L. Briggs, daughter of E. N. Briggs, of Brandon. She died in 1866. He married again, in 1867, Frances Davenport, daughter of William L. and Loretta Cole Wadhams of Wadhams Mills, New York.
He was a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, and a longtime comrade of C. J. Ormsbee Post #18, Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
, named for his brother, Charles James Ormsbee, 5th Vermont Infantry
5th Vermont Infantry
The 5th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from September 1861 to June 1865. It was a member of the Vermont Brigade.The...
, who was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
on May 5, 1864.
Ormsbee was president of the Brandon Free Public Library, president of the Brandon Cemetery Association, member of the prudential committee of the Brandon graded and high school for over 27 years, and president of the Brandon National Bank for more than 14 years.
He died of apoplexy in Brandon, and was interred in Pine Hill cemetery.