Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 04.djvu/52

 FAIRFAX

FAIRLAMB

FAIRFAX, Donald MacNeill, naval officer, was born in Fairfax county, Va., Aug. 10, 1822; son of Albert Fairfax; grandson of Thomas and

(Gary) Fairfax; great-grandson of the Rev.

Bryan Fairfax, 1730-1802, eighth baron of Fair- fax; great^ grandson of Col. Sir 'William Fair- fax, lieutenant of the county of Fairfax, Va., and president of the council, whose daughter Anne mar- ried Lawrence, half brother of George Washington; an d a lineal descendant from Sir Guy Fairfax, lord chief justice of England during the War of the Roses. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman from North Caro- lina, Aug. 13, 1837, and made the cruise around the world on the Columbia, 1838-40, and again in 18-15-47 under Commodore Biddle. He took part in the destruc- tion of the Sumatra villages, the abode of pirates in B39, and was on board the Princeton in 1844. He was on the California coast during: the Mexi- can -.var, and was one of the party that captured William Walker the filibuster. He commanded Greytown, Nicaragua, 1858. He was made mas- ter, Aug. 4, 1840; lieutenant, Feb. 26, 1851; com- mander, July 16, 1863; captain, July 23, 1866; commander, Aug. 24, 1873, and rear-admiral, July 11, 1880. He was on board the San Jacinto, Commander Wilkes, when that vessel stopped the British passenger steamer Trent, and Lieu- tenant Fairfax, by orders, removed Mason and Sliiell, the Confederate commissioners, to the Saa Jacinto, Nov. 8, 1861. He commanded the Cayuya in the West Gulf squadron, 1863-63, and the iron- clads Nantucket and Montaukot the South Atlan- tic squadron under Dahlgren and Duisont, 1863- C4. He was in command of the naval academy at Newport, R.L, 1864-65; on the flag-ship lihode Island, in the North' Atlantic squadi-on, 1866-07, and on the sloop Sitsquehanna, 1867-68. He com- manded the naval station, New London, Conn., 1873-78; served as governor of the naval asy- lum, 1879-81, and Sept. 30, 1884, was placed on the retired list at his own request. He died in Hager.stown, Md.. Jan. 10, 1894.

FAIRFIELD, John, governor of Maine, was born in Saco, ilaine, Jan. 30, 1797; son of lehabod and Sarah (Nason) Fairfield, and grandson of the Rev. John and Mary (Goodwin) Fairfield. He attended the i)ublic schools and the Limerick (Maihe) academy, engaging in business for a

CyVfU' — TXcyiy^JiM^

time. He was admitted to the bar in 1826. In 1832 he was appointed reporter of the supreme court of Maine and published Nos. 10, 11 and 13 of the reports of the state of Maine. He was a representative in the 34th and 25th congresses, 1835-38, resigning his seat on being elected gov- ernor of Maine in 1838. He was re- " '

elected in 1839, de- feated in 1840 and again elected in 1841 and 1842. He resigned as governor in 1843 to accept a seat in the U.S. senate, having been elected to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Reuel Williams. He was re-elected to the sen- ate in 1845 and served uutil his death. He was mar- ried, Sept. 35, 1835, to Anna Paine, daughter of Dr. Thomas G. Thornton, U.S. marshal of Maine. She was named for her aunt, Anna Paine Cutts, a sister of Dolly Paine Madison. Governor Fair- field died in Wasliington, D.C., Dec. 24, 1847.

FAIRFIELD, Sumner Lincoln, poet, was born in Warwick, Mass., June 25, 1803. He was edu- cated in the public schools and in Brown univer- sity, but was not graduated on account of illness. He spent several years as a tutor in Georgia and South Carolina, and in 1825 went to England as correspondent for New York papers. He re- turned to the United States in July, 1826, and lived in Elizabeth, N.J., in Boston, Mass., and in other cities. He was master of the Newtown academy, near Philadelphia, in 1828. and jmb- lislieJ and edited in Philadelphia the Xorik Amtr- ican Magazine, 1833-38. He was married in 1826 to Jane Frazee, and in 1846 she published his Life. The more important of his jiublished works are: Lays of Melpomene (1834); The Sisters of St. Clara (1837); Cities of the Plain (1838); Heir of the World (1S28); Ah.i.lJ.,,,, II),' Spirit ,,/ Drstnirtion (1830); Tin Lnst M,iht ,./ P,,i„iH;i (is:!-i): P,„ms and Prose }rritit„js I 1S4II); and S, I, rt P,„„,s (IS(iO). He died in New Orleans, La.. March (>. 1844.

FAIRLAMB, James Remington, musician, was born in Philadelpliia, Pa., Jan. 23, 1839; son of Jonas Preston and Hannah (Kennedy) Fair- lamb, and grandson of Jonas Fairlamb and of Thomas P. Kennedy, both of English descent. His father was a prominent lawyer, and his paternal grandfather was connected with the shipbuilding firm of Harlan & HoUingswortl). Wilmington, Del. He attended the public schools of his native city and received his first musical