Frederick H. Babbitt (November 23, 1859 – July 29, 1931) was a Vermont businessman and politician who served as President of the Vermont State Senate.
Biography Frederick Herbert Babbitt was born in Keene, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1859.Paper magazine, Obituary of Frederick H. Babbitt, Volume 93, 1931, page 24 He graduated from Bellows Falls High School in 1876Lyman Simpson Hayes, History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont, 1907, page 243 and started a career in business as a messenger with the American Express Company in Boston, Massachusetts. Babbitt became an agent for the company, and later an auditor, traveling between American Express locations from Boston to Burlington, Vermont.Hamilton Child, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vt., 1724–1884, 1884, page 309
After 16 years with American Express Babbitt resigned to enter the plumbing and heating business, operating stores in Bellows Falls, Vermont (Bellows Falls Plumbing & Heating) and Walpole, New Hampshire (Allbee & Babbitt). Babbitt also became President of Boston's Eastern Mineral Color Company, and Treasurer of the Ideal Wrapper Manufacturing Company in Bellows Falls. In addition, he operated the train station restaurants in Bellows Falls, White River Junction and St. Albans.New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 3, William Richard Cutter, 1914, pages 1371 to 1372
In the mid-1890s Babbitt and his brothers George H. and John E. Babbitt purchased the Robertson Paper Company of Bellows Falls and the Howland Pulp & Paper Company of Howland, Maine. They operated both companies for five years, after which they sold Howland Pulp & Paper. In addition, Frederick and John bought out George at Robertson Paper, of which Frederick became President and John Treasurer. Under their leadership Robertson Paper became the largest producer of waxed paper in the United States.Paper magazine, F. H. Babbitt Named for Governor of Vt., March 3, 1920, page 30 Frederick Babbitt later left Robertson Paper to start another paper company, Babbitt & Kelley. (Herbert T. Kelley was the husband of Babbitt's daughter Madeline and served as the company's Secretary.)History page , Readmore Bed & Breakfast. Retrieved June 2, 2012Paper magazine, Obituary, John E. Babbitt, Volume 102, Part 2, 1936, page 20
A Republican, Babbitt served on numerous civic committees, and held several local government offices, including Village Trustee and Town Meeting Moderator. From 1910 to 1912 he served in the Vermont House of Representatives.Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1910, page 540Albert Nelson Marquis, Who's Who in New England, 1915, page 55
Babbitt served in the Vermont State Senate from 1912 to 1913 and was the Senate's President pro tem.Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, 1912, page 14, Presidents Pro Tempore of the Vermont Senate since 1870, 2011, page 3
In 1920 Babbitt was an unsuccessful candidate for governor, losing the Republican nomination to James Hartness., Hartness and Dale are Easy Winners, September 16, 1920, Election Results, 1920 Republican Primaries, 2006, page 1
Babbitt was a prominent Mason, attaining the thirty-third degree of Scottish Rite Masonry and holding several leadership positions at the state and national levels.The Charlotte (Michigan) Republican, Proceedings of the Grand Council, 1914, page 72
Frederick H. Babbitt died in Boston on July 29, 1931., Frederick Babbitt, Bellows Falls, Dead, July 30, 1931
References