Representative William Craig Fields

William Craig Fields (February 13, 1804 – October 27, 1882) was a U.S. Representative from New York who served in the United States Congress from 1867 to 1869. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the legislative process during the early Reconstruction era, contributing to the development of national policy and representing the interests of his upstate New York constituents at a time of significant political and social transformation in the United States.

Fields was born in New York City on February 13, 1804. He attended the common schools of the city, receiving a basic education typical of the period. Little is recorded about his family background or early employment, but his later prominence in business and local government suggests that he acquired practical skills and community connections in his youth that would support his emergence as a merchant and civic leader after he left New York City.

In 1836, Fields moved from New York City to Laurens, a town in Otsego County, New York. There he engaged in mercantile pursuits, becoming part of the commercial life of a growing rural community that was increasingly tied to regional markets. Reflecting the broader industrial expansion of the mid-nineteenth century, he expanded his activities beyond general commerce and, in 1847, entered the manufacture of cotton and linen goods. This enterprise placed him within the developing textile industry of upstate New York and underscored his role as a local entrepreneur contributing to the economic growth and diversification of the region.

Alongside his business interests, Fields became deeply involved in local governance and the administration of justice. He served as Justice of the Peace for sixteen years, a position that entrusted him with important judicial and administrative responsibilities in Laurens and the surrounding area. In this capacity he would have handled minor civil and criminal matters, officiated legal instruments, and helped maintain local order, and his long tenure demonstrated the confidence placed in him by his neighbors. His administrative capabilities were further recognized when he was elected clerk of Otsego County, a post he held from 1852 to 1855, during which he managed county records, oversaw official documentation, and supported the functioning of county government.

Fields continued his public service at the county level during the turbulent years surrounding the Civil War. He served as Supervisor of Otsego County in 1865 and 1866, participating in the oversight of county finances and local policy at a time when communities across New York were adjusting to the war’s aftermath and engaging with the broader national debates over Reconstruction, veterans’ affairs, and economic readjustment. These roles in county government helped establish his reputation as a capable administrator and public servant and provided a foundation for his subsequent election to national office.

Elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress, Fields served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1869. His term coincided with the critical early phase of Reconstruction following the Civil War, when Congress grappled with questions of readmitting the former Confederate states, protecting the rights of newly freed African Americans, and reshaping the balance of power between the federal government and the states. As a representative from New York, he took part in the legislative deliberations and voting that helped define federal policy during this period, aligning with the Republican Party’s broader program of national reunification and reform and representing the concerns of his upstate constituency within these national debates.

After completing his single term in Congress, Fields retired from public life and returned to Laurens, New York. He resumed a quieter existence in the community where he had long lived and worked, remaining there for the rest of his life and withdrawing from further electoral politics. William Craig Fields died in Laurens on October 27, 1882, and was interred in Laurens Cemetery. His career, spanning local judicial service, county administration, and a term in the national legislature, reflected a sustained commitment to public service and civic responsibility in both his community and the nation.