Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/425

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FAIRCHILD
FAIRFAX
401

service, 12 Aug., 1864, but rejoined his regiment at Beaufort, S. C., in January following. He commanded a brigade of the 8d division of the 17th army corps from 15 Jan., 1865, till 1 April, and, on being mustered out in July, was brevetted brigadier-general, his commission to date from 13 March, 1865. On his return to Wisconsin he was appointed U. S. marshal, the duties of which office he continued to discharge until his death, which was caused by the reopening of his wound.


FAIRCHILD, Charles Stebbius, secretary of the treasury, b. in Cazenovia, N. Y., 30 April, 1843. He was graduated at Harvard in 1863, and, after studying at the law-school of that university, was ad- mitted to the bar in 1865. Subsequently he became a member of the law-firm of Hand, Hale, Swartz & Fairchild, and continued actively engaged in the practice of his profession for several years. In 1874 he was deputy attorney-general of New York, and in 1876 was elected, as a Democrat, to the attorney- generalship. He served in that capacity for two years, and then spent some time in travel abroad. In 1880 he settled in New York city, and devoted himself to the practice of law. He continued so en- gaged until 1885, when he was appointed assistant secretary of the treasury. While holding this office, he was frequently called on to represent Sec. Daniel Manning, and when the latter was compelled to give up the duties of the place, Mr. Fairchild became acting sccivtary. On 1 April, 1887, the resignation of Mr. .Manning v/ent into effect, and the portfolio was then given lo Mr. Fairchild. who thus became a member of President Cleveland's caliinet.


FAIRCHILD, Herman Le Roy, naturalist, b. in Montz'ose, Pa., 29 April, 1850. He was gradu- ated at Cornell in 1874. where he received the de- gree of B. S. From 1874 till 1876 he was professor of natural sciences in Wyoming seminary, and from 1877 till 1878 professor of geology ad mterim at Vassar. Prof. Fairchild then went to New York, where he has been occupied as lecturer in natural sciences in New York schools and in the Cooper Union. He is a member of several scientific socie- ties, and is secretary of the New York academy of sciences. His contributions to literature include articles on comparative physiology in the " Popu- lar Science Monthly," and more technical pa[)ers in the " Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences." He has also published " A History of the New York Academy of Sciences, formerly the Lyceum of Natural History " (New York, 1887).


FAIRCHILD, James Harris, educator, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., 25 Nov., 1817. While he was a child his father removed to Oberlin, Ohio, and he was graduated there in 1838, was tutor in 1838-'42, ordained in 1841, professor of languages in 1842-'7, professor of mathematics from 1847 till 1858, and professor of moral philosophy and theology from 1858 till 1866. He was elected president of the col- lege in 1866. During the years 1870-'l he travelled in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in 1884 he visited the Hawaiian Islands. He has edited "Memoirs of Charles G. Finney" (New York. 1876),and "Finney's Systematic Theology" (Oberlin, 1878) : and is the author of "Moral Philosophy " (New York, 1869) ; "Oberlin, the Colony and the College " (Oberlin, 1833) : and "Woman's Right to the Ballot" (1870).


FAIRCHILD, Lucius, statesman, b. in Kent, Portage co., Ohio, 27 Dec, 1831 ; d. in ^Madison, Wis., 23 May, 1898. He was educated at Carroll college in Waukesha, Wis. Jn 1846 his father re- moved to Wisconsin, then a territory, and settled in Madison. On the discovery of gold in California, the son, at the age of eighteen, joined with others, and with a four-yoke ox-team set out for the gold fields across the plains. After months of toil and travel the party arrived in San Francisco with a capital of twenty-seven cents. For six years he worked as digger, miner, prospector, and laborer, then returned to Wisconsin in 1855, not much richer than when he left. His entrance into politics be- gan in California with his election as delegate to a convention for the nomination of governor. On his way to the gathering his mule fell off a height, carrying with him all of young Fairchild's baggage. He finished the remainder of his journey on foot,, and sat in the convention without a coat and with- out a cent in his pocket. He was elected clerk of the circuit court in 1858, and in 1860 admitted to the bar. At the beginning of the civil war he was a member of a local company known as the " Gov- ernor's Guard," and promptly enlisted. He entered the service as captain in the 1st Wisconsin regi- , ment, and served in the three months' campaign. In August, 1861, he was commissioned by President Lincoln a captain in the 16th regiment of the regu- lar army, also about the same time a major in the 2d Wisconsin infantry. He accepted both aj)- pointments, and was the first officer of the regular army to receive leave of absence to serve with a volunteer regiment. At Bull Run he commanded the consolidated 2d and 7th Wisconsin regiments, forming part of the famous " iron brigade." At the beginning of the battle of Antietam he was sick in an ambulance at the rear, but went into action, where his regiment lost more than half its force. As colonel of the 2d Wisconsin, in the bat- tle of Gettysburg, he led a charge at Seminary Hill, where he lost his left arm.

While recovering from his wounds he was com- missioned a brigadier-general, 19 Oct., 1863, and shortly afterward elected secretary of state in Wis- consin, where he remained two years. He was then elected governor, and served for six con- secutive years, during which time he aided the Soldiers' orphans' home in Madison, and was one of the founders of tlie State board of charities and reform. Gen. Fairchild was appointed U. S. consul at Liverpool in November, 1872, and served six years. He was consul-general in Paris in 1878-'80, and then U. S. minister to Spain till 1882, when he resigned and returned to Madison, Wis. In 1886 he was elected commander-in-chief of the Griiiid armv of the republic.


FAIRFAX, Thomas, sixth baron, b. in England in 1691 ; d. in Greenway court, Va., in 1782. His family was a very old one. During the wars of the Roses, his ancestor, Sir Guy Fairfax, head of a younger branch of the family, became lord chief justice of England. His great-grandson, Thomas, was raised to the peerage by Charles 1. as Baron Fairfax, of Cameron. Thomas's brother, Edward, was well known for his translation of the great poem of Tasso; his grandson. Thomas, third Lord Fairfax, was commander-in-chief of the parliamentary forces in the rebellion against Charles I. The great general was succeeded in the baronetcy by his cousin, Henry, whose sons were Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax, and Henry. Thomas married,