Notes |
- The Snow Family, Boston Transcript, Note 2685 pt. I, gives his approx. b. date and says he moved to Stanstead, Canada.
BIRTH: MARRIAGE: DEATH: Valiant in the Faith, p. 643. Says he had no children.
SHIPLEY) 'II ON SNOW (7
Uncle Shipley And his wife, Jean Hunter lived in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada about 40 miles north of St.Johnsbury, Vermont. The town is on the border so that part of it is in Canada And part in Vermont. After Uncle Erastus paid his last visit to Uncle Shipley And Levi Mason n at Woonsocket,Rhode Island, I can find nothing more About Uncle Shipley until he was visited by his nephews, William J. and Edward H.Snow in 1901. I am inserting an Account of this visit from Edward's diary.
"Jan.29,1901 William J. and I left Brooklyn for Stanstead, Canada to visit Uncle Shipley Snow, the only surviving brother of our fathers. We stopped at St. Johnsbury on our way to Stanstead. We arrived there about 7:30 P.M. Tuesday night. Here our fathers had.been born. We walked around the town now about 7,000 population. The night was cold 24 below zero. We imagined that in their youth our fathers had been all. over the ground we were now walking on, and coasted down the hills that were covered with snow. We stopped at the Avenue House. Wednesday we called on the Editor of the St.Johnsbury Republic to whom we told our story. He treated us nicely And took a few items for his paper. He referred us to Rev. Fairbanks the historian of the town.
We called on Mr. Fairbanks. He could not tell us where the old Snow farm was, but told me the probable origin of my father's name, Erastus Fairbanks Snow. There was living, At St. Johnsbury, at the time of my father's birth, a prominent man by the name of Erastus Fairbanks, who was a brother and partner of the inventor of the platform scales. Father was undoubtedly named for him.
10:45 A.M. we took the train for Stanstead, and arrived at 2:20 P.M. We met Uncle Shipley who, with his wife, was with a Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Hunter. Mr. Hunter was Shipley's brother-in-law.
Uncle Shipley was glad to see us. "We made him guess whose sons we were. He looked and finally decided that William was the son of Erastus. We told him then that I was Erastus son and William was William's son. We remained with Uncle Shipley until Friday the 1st. During All this time we talked and he talked. We asked all the questions we could think of and so did he. Uncle Shipley is a grand old man, 85 years old, hale and hearty, clear headed, learned in religious lore, science, and Astronomy. He is honest and fearless, And beloved by everybody. For 15 years he was Mayor of Stanstead. He has lived there since he was 21. He said that he made a trip to Nauvoo in 1842 to visit his people. He is a harness maker And has made a fairly good living but is now living for the most part on the charity of Mr, And Mrs. Hunter. He built an $8,000 house which he had to mortgage. His wife, Aunt Jean, has been an invalid for 35 years. They have never had any children. He doesn't look like father Uncle William, or Willard (I never saw Uncle Zerubbabel but his mannerisms are like father's. He twitches his mouth and strokes his slender beard as he thinks out the thoughts which are sure to be worth something. He is an Agnostic I should say, He has had the Gospel preached to him by father, Uncle Zera, and Jacob Gates. He does not deny but will accept nothing that reason does not sanction. He treated us fine. So did Mrs. Hunter and her husband and daughter Fanny.
Uncle Shipley died in 1905 and I think he was buried in Stanstead.
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