Julius J. Estey Papers

Jacob Estey was born in 1814 in New Hampshire. He ran away from an orphanage and became a plumber's apprentice in Worchester, Massachusetts. In about 1835 he bought a plumbing shop in Brattleboro and went on to become a partner in plumbing, lumber, slate, and marble businesses. He married Desdemona Wood of Brattleboro in 1837. They had two children: Abby Emily Estey (1842-1929, married Levi K. Fuller (1841-1896) in 1865) and Julius Jacob Estey (1845-1902, married Florence Gray ((b. 1848) in 1867).

In the early 1850s, Estey became involved with a company that manufactured musical instruments. In 1855, he and a partner took over the business. In 1863, he became its sole owner and began selling pipe organs. Three years later, his son-in-law Levi Fuller worked as vice-president and his son Julius worked as the secretary while Jacob himself was its president.

Jacob Estey was an economic force in the region and also served in state government, representing Brattleboro in the Vermont General Assembly and Windham County in the State Senate. He was a founder and supporter of the First Baptist Church of Brattleboro.

Jacob died in 1890 whereupon Julius took over the role of president. The business continued to be run by family members for four generations. In 1953, Rieger Organ Inc. of New Jersey purchased the majority of its shares. In 1960, operations in Brattleboro ended when the new parent company moved to California. The manufacturing complex in Brattleboro was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Several members of the Estey family were supporters of Shaw University in North Carolina, the oldest Historically Black University in the South. Jacob was a major donor to the 1873 construction of what is reputed to be the first building ever erected for the education of African-American females. Named Estey Seminary (later Estey Hall) in his honor, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.