Representative Benjamin Lewis Fairchild

Benjamin Lewis Fairchild (January 5, 1863 – October 25, 1946) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York whose nonconsecutive service in Congress extended, in total, from 1895 to 1927. Over the course of five terms in office, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the federal government.

Fairchild was born in Sweden, Monroe County, New York, on January 5, 1863. During his youth, his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he attended the public schools. He also pursued business training at a business college in Washington, reflecting an early interest in practical and administrative work that would later inform his government service and legal career.

After completing his early education, Fairchild entered federal service in Washington. From 1877 to 1879 he was employed in the draftsman division of the United States Patent Office, gaining experience with technical and legal documentation. He then served as a clerk in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1879 to 1885, a period during which he became familiar with the operations of the federal bureaucracy and the handling of official government documents and currency production.

While working in Washington, Fairchild studied law at the law department of Columbian University, now known as the George Washington University Law School. He graduated in 1885 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Following his admission, he moved to New York City and commenced the practice of law. His legal career in New York provided the foundation for his later political activities and helped establish his reputation within the Republican Party.

Fairchild entered national politics as a Republican and was first elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress, serving from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897. This initial term marked the beginning of his long, though intermittent, congressional career. After this first service, he unsuccessfully contested the election of William L. Ward to the Fifty-fifth Congress, demonstrating his continued engagement in electoral politics even when not in office. His early congressional service placed him in the House of Representatives during a period of economic and political transition in the late nineteenth century.

Returning to Congress two decades later, Fairchild was elected to the Sixty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1919, representing New York as the United States entered and fought in World War I. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1918 to the Sixty-sixth Congress but remained active in public life and party affairs. He was again elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress, serving from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1923, and once more sought to continue his service, though he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress.

Fairchild’s final period in the House began when he was subsequently elected to the Sixty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative James V. Ganly. He was reelected to the Sixty-ninth Congress and served from November 6, 1923, to March 3, 1927. Across these nonconsecutive terms—1895 to 1897, 1917 to 1919, 1921 to 1923, and 1923 to 1927—he contributed to the legislative process during a transformative era that included industrial expansion, World War I, and the early years of the 1920s. A member of the Republican Party throughout his career, he consistently participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the House of Representatives.

In his later years, Fairchild resided in Pelham Manor, New York. He died there on October 25, 1946. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City, a resting place for many prominent figures in New York and national history.