WILBUR FISK OSBORNE FAMILY
Civil War Major, Industrialist
| After serving for four years with the Connecticut Artillery during the Civil War, Major Wilbur Fisk Osborne married Ellen Lucy Davis of Oxford, 9 Oct 1867 in Seymour, New Haven, Connecticut and moved into the house which is now a museum which encompasses the house and grounds of the former Frances Osborne Kellogg Estate. The house was originally constructed in the mid 1800's. It was enlarged and completely remodeled in the Colonial Revival style during the 1920's. Accepted for the National Register of Historic Places, it's restored interior now displays the original contents of the estate which constitutes a significant collection of antiques and fine arts.The Museum's grounds are landscaped with formal flower gardens, ornamental shrubs, and flowering trees. The Kellogg Estate, at 500 Hawthorne Avenue in Derby, CT, is approximately 7 miles west of New Haven. The Center is located within Osbornedale State Park. |  |
| A native of Derby, Wilbur was the son of John White Osborne, the co-founder of the Osborne & Cheesman Manufacturing Company, a pioneering brass industry in the Naugatuck Valley during the Industrial Revolution. Reorganized as the Schneller, Osborne, and Cheesman Company in 1882, it dominated the eyelet manufacturing business in both this country and Europe throughout the turn of the century. He also served as president of the Schneller Stay Works of Ansonia, Connecticut Clasp Company of Bridgeport, and the Union Fabric Company, and was an incorporator of the Derby Silver Company. Active in many civic projects, Wilbur founded the Derby Neck Library and later persuaded Andrew Carnegie to assist in funding the construction of the edifice which houses it to this day. |  |
FRANCIS ELIZA OSBORNE
"All my life has been a series of hurdles.
I no sooner get over one than there is another ahead...with the
bars set a little higher."
Frances Eliza Osborne was the last of four children born to the Major
and Mrs. Wilbur Fisk Osborne, and the only one to survive childhood. She
was born in the house at 500 Hawthorne Avenue in 1876, and lived there
until her death in 1956 at the age of 80. At age 16, she lost the vision
in one eye due to an accident, and, as a result, never completed her public
school education. At age 31, Frances decided to assume her father's business
responsibilities after his death in 1907. In an era when women were denied
leadership opportunities in the business world, she succeeded through pure
determination and an excellent business sense. Her successes included becoming
president of Union Fabric Company, vice president of Connecticut Clasp,
treasurer of the F. Kelly Company, as well as a founding partner of Steels
and Busks, Ltd. of Leicester, England.
| I n 1919, at age 43, Frances married Waldo S t e w a r t Kellogg, a NewYork architect who had been trained at Cornell University and Paris. Waldo joined his bride in Derby, continued his work, the most prominent local example being the Allingtown Veterans Hospital in West Haven. His talents as a revivalist architect are easily discerned in the remodeling and fine detailing work done in their house during the period of their marriage. Following the death of her husband in 1928, Frances Osborne Kellogg remained dedicated to her business and civic responsibilities until her own death in 1956. |  |
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