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1834

Dad makes his son pay fifty bucks to pursue becoming a lawyer. Negotiating a deal in Waterville...

 

On May 15, 1834, LaFayette Wilbur was born in Waterville. He grew up on a farm, but desperately wanted to attend school to become a lawyer.

His father recoginized Wilbur’s determination and struck a deal. He would bring his son to Fairfax to study at the New Hampton Institution, but Wilbur would have to pay him $50 to compensate for his absence on the farm. His son agreed in an instant.

He taught school during summers to make money, and upon graduation landed a job at a law office in Morrisville. Wilbur eventually established his own practice in Jericho, and wrote a four volumne history called Early History of Vermont.

Top image taken by The Vermont Book Of Days courtesy the collections of the Vermont Historical Society.

Bottom image courtesy Fairfax: Its Creation And Development: 1763-1976 by the Fairfax Bicentennial Committee


The Vermont Book OF Days - New Hampton Institute
The New Hampton Institute in Fairfax, which burned in 1897.

At top, one of Wilbur's books, this one autobiographical.

May Archives | May 16

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