ing till 1879, when he declined further service. He has always been interested in efforts to abolish capital punishment in this and other states.
Mr. Fay represented his city in the lower branch of the Legislature in 1857; was state senator in 1867; in both branches serving on committee on prisons, writing the report, and a special report against the use of the lash in the state prison. In the Senate he was chairman of committees on public lands, and education of deaf mutes, also on committee on license law. Originally a Whig, he was an active worker till he joined the Republican party, and continued his activity therein, as president of the Fremont Club and other political organizations—being delegate to city, county, district and state conventions.
He was delegate to the national Republican convention at Baltimore in 1864, which nominated President Lincoln, and was Massachusetts elector in 1868; was executive officer of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1869 to '77; general agent of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, from May, 1880, to the present time; chairman of civil service commissioners for Chelsea; an officer in the Chelsea Savings Bank since its establishment; and president of "Old Ladies' Home Association." He was selected as the first collector of internal revenue for Boston district, when that office was established in 1862, but declined to accept.
Mr. Fay was married in St. Albans, Vt., October 14, 1845, to Rebekah L., daughter of William and Lucretia Y. (Hazeltyne) Bridges. Of this union were three children: Norman W. (deceased), Harry F., and Sybil C., wife of J. W. Clark, Jr., New York.
Fay, James Monroe, son of Warren and Jane D. (Bell) Fay, was born in Chester, Hampden county, March 23, 1847.
His early educational training was in the public schools of his native place. His academic studies were pursued in Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham. He studied medicine with Wm. O. Bell, was graduated from Vermont University in the class of 1875, and began the practice of medicine in Colebrook, Conn., 1870. In 1873 he removed to his native town and practiced medicine there until 18S1, when he settled in Northampton, where he still remains in practice. He is one of the attending physicians in the Dickinson Hospital, Northampton.
Dr. Fay was first married in Northampton, May 10, 1872, to Harriette, daughter of James and Hannah (Hackett) Forsyth, who died February 8, 1886. His second marriage occurred in Hatfield, March 23, 1887, with Mary L., daughter of Elisha and Cordelia (Randall) Hubbard. He has two children: Clara E. and Grace L. Fay.
Dr. Fay was elected a member of the board of health of the city of Northampton, 1887, for three years, and now holds the position of chairman of the same. He is also the city physician, to which office he was chosen in 1888 and '89. He was member of the school board in Colebrook, and subsequently superintendent of schools at Chester for six consecutive years.
Fay, John S., son of S. Chandler and Nancy (Warren) Fay, was born in Berlin, Worcester county, January 15, 1840. He obtained his education in the public schools of Marlborough, and at the Commercial College in Worcester.
When twenty-one years old, at the outbreak of the civil war, he enlisted as a private in company F, 13th Massachusetts infantry. He was with the army continually, in all of the marches and engagements of his regiment, till April 30, 1863, when, in an action near Fredericksburg, Va., he received a wound from a shell which necessitated the amputation of his right arm and right leg. While in the field hospital he was taken prisoner and confined in Libby prison for a month. He did not succeed in reaching his home until October—the most mutilated and crippled of all who survived of the eight hundred and thirty-one who enlisted for the war from the old town of Marlborough.
In 1865 Mr. Fay was appointed postmaster of Marlborough, by President Johnson, and by successive appointments has held the position ever since. He has been an active Grand Army man, and has held many offices in Post 43, which he aided to organize. He is also a prominent Odd Fellow and a member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
November 20, 1869, Mr. Fay married Lizzie Ingalls, daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Pratt) Ingalls, of Marlborough. Their only child is Frederic H. Fay.
Fessenden, Anson Darwin, son of Benjamin and Betsey (Stevens) Fessenden, was born in Townsend, Middlesex county, February 18, 1839.
He was educated at the public schools, Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, and Union College. His intention of completing a liberal education at college was diverted by the outbreak of the civil war.