The coat-of-arms of Fairchild indicate that family members
were in the Crusades from 1096-1400. Thomas Fairchild was among
the first settlers of Stratford, CT back in 1638 or 1639. He was
a merchant, trading principally with Indians. On the list of 1651
he had 6 rods and 9 feet of land and at his death on December
14th, 1670, his inventory was 350 pounds. He was head of the
draft board for the Narragansett Campaign in 1654. He was also
'Deputy' in 1654 and in 1664 he was appointed Justice of the Peace and
re-appointed afterwards. His son Samuel was the first white child born
in Stratford. Liberty Fairchild moved from Colebrook, CT., to
Constableville, Lewis Co., NY, in about 1809 with his in-laws where
Liberty became a carpenter. His son, Liberty Luman Fairchild, managed
to break the same leg 4 times as a child and was subsequently crippled
for life. He moved to Wisconsin in mid-November, 1856, with $7.56 in
his pocket. He often contributed "Rolling Prairie Reporter" articles
and other items to local newspapers such as the Beaver Dam Argus and
Citizen as well as being a sometime teacher, postmaster and proprietor
of a general store. One of his main businesses both in NY and WI was a
US and Canadian newspaper subscription service: offering newspapers at
reduced "club" rates. From L.L.'s autobiographical sketch:
"Politically was not a partisan. Religiously believed in good
works...Placed little faith in a great unknown hereafter. Our days and
nights passed pleasantly at home. We never expect to see a nicer, or
more heavenly place, than right here on earth." His daughter, Rose
Fairchild, was fifth cousin twice removed to both Sherman Mills
Fairchild and Lucius Fairchild; the common ancestor was Thomas.
George W. Fairchild, a founder of I.B.M. was the father of Sherman
Mills Fairchild (1896-1970), who founded Fairchild-Hiller Aircraft and
Fairchild Aerial Camera corporations as well as holding over 30
patents. Cassius Fairchild was the first mayor of Madison and the
father of Lucius (1831-1896). Lucius was a gold miner, lawyer,
general in the Civil War in the 2nd Wisconson Brigade, lost an arm at
Gettysburg and was a POW, became ninth governor of Wisconsin 1866-
1872, then was Ambassador to England and France, and finally was
Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in 1886. (The Name and Family of
Fairchild, T.M. Fairchild, Iowa City, 1944 and the bible:
Early Fairchilds in America by Jean Gilmore, Baltimore: Gateway
Press, 1991)
MY LINE
1614-1670 Thomas Fairchild\Cambridgeshire, England/Stratford, CT
1651-1703 Zechariah Fairchild\Stratford, CT
1703-1785 Abiel Fairchild\Stratford, CT/Derby, CT
1750-1815 David E. Fairchild\Derby, CT/Colebrook, CT
1786-1852 Liberty Fairchild\Colebrook, CT/Constableville, Lewis Co, NY
1827-1916 Liberty Luman Fairchild\Constableville, Lewis Co, NY/Rolling Prairie, Dodge Co, WI
1868-1894 Rose Fairchild\Rolling Prairie, Dodge Co, WI
