Who was Henry Sheldon?
Henry Luther Sheldon was born on August 15, 1821, and raised on his father Samuel’s farm in Salisbury, Vermont, six miles south of Middlebury. He was the youngest of four boys: Homer, Horace, Harmon, and Henry. His mother, Sarah Weeks, was a former teacher and had Henry reciting his ABCs by age three. In 1841, he moved to Middlebury, where he would remain for the majority of his life. A man of many talents and diverse interests, Henry was a clerk, businessman, railroad postman, organ maker, and entrepreneur, among other things. He dabbled in marble quarrying, real estate, lumber, and retail, all the while a fervent Mason and a devoted member of St. Stephen’s Church. Music was central to Henry and he served as church choir director and organist for 33 ½ years until his lifelong hearing impairment left him unable to hear even the booming church organ. Henry cultivated an active social life and was omnipresent around town, serving as elected officer of the village, a member of the Union Club and an enthusiastic participant in numerous other local organizations. He enjoyed playing cards, wrote amateur poetry, and was meticulous in the research of his family genealogy. It was not until his 50s that he developed the passion for collecting that would lead to the establishment of a museum to benefit future generations of Vermonters. Henry L. Sheldon passed away on February 28, 1907 and is buried in the West Cemetery in Middlebury.