Ebenezer J. Ormsbee

Ebenezer J. Ormsbee
41st Governor of Vermont
In office
October 7, 1886 – October 4, 1888
GovernorLevi K. Fuller
Preceded bySamuel E. Pingree
Succeeded byWilliam P. Dillingham
35th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office
October 2, 1884 – October 7, 1886
GovernorSamuel E. Pingree
Preceded bySamuel E. Pingree
Succeeded byLevi K. Fuller
Member of the Vermont Senate
In office
1878–1880
Serving with Horace H. Dwyer, Levi Rice, Charles A. Rann
Preceded byNer P. Simons, Samuel Williams, Henry F. Lothrop, Charles W. Brigham
Succeeded byWalter C. Dunton, Royal D. King, Orel Cook, Emmett R. Pember
ConstituencyRutland County
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1872–1874
Preceded byZachariah Clark
Succeeded byStephen L. Goodell
ConstituencyBrandon
State's Attorney of Rutland County, Vermont
In office
1871–1873
Preceded byHorace G. Wood
Succeeded byMartin G. Everts
Personal details
Born(1834-06-08)June 8, 1834
Shoreham, Vermont, U.S.
DiedApril 3, 1924(1924-04-03) (aged 89)
Brandon, Vermont, U.S.
Resting placePine Hill Cemetery, Brandon, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Jennie L. Briggs
(m. 1862; died 1866)
Frances Wadhams
(m. 1867)
ProfessionAttorney
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States (Union)
ServiceUnion Army
Years of service1861–1863
RankCaptain
UnitCompany G, 1st Vermont Infantry
CommandsCompany G, 12th Vermont Infantry
WarsAmerican Civil War

Ebenezer J. Ormsbee (June 8, 1834 – April 3, 1924) was an American attorney and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he served as lieutenant governor from 1884 to 1886, and governor from 1886 to 1888.

A native of Shoreham, Vermont, Ormsbee attended academies in Brandon and South Woodstock, then studied law at a Brandon legal firm. After attaining admission to the bar, he enlisted in the Union Army for the American Civil War. Ormsbee served with the 1st Vermont Infantry in 1861, then joined the 12th Vermont Infantry as commander of its Company G. After leaving the army in 1863, he practiced law in Brandon.

A Republican, Ormsbee served as Rutland County State's Attorney from 1871 to 1873. He represented Brandon in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1872 to 1874 and Rutland County in the Vermont Senate from 1878 to 1880. In 1884, he was elected lieutenant governor, and he served until 1886. He was the successful Republican nominee for governor in 1886 and served until 1888. During his governorship, he oversaw the initial efforts of the newly-organized state railroad commission and board of health.

After leaving office, Ormsbee practiced law in Brandon and served on two federal commissions, one to negotiate a compromise with the Paiutes in Nevada to relinquish part of their Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, and one to negotiate competing land claims in Samoa with commissioners from Germany and Great Britain. He remained active in politics, including supporting the presidential campaigns of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. He practiced law until a stroke at age 80 caused him to retire, and he was the longtime president of the Brandon National Bank. Ormsbee died in Brandon on April 3, 1924. He was buried at Pine Hill Cemetery in Brandon.