John FAIRFIELD, Congress, ME (1797-1847)

FAIRFIELD John , a Representative and a Senator from Maine; born in Saco, York County, Maine, January 30, 1797; attended the Saco schools, Thornton Academy, and Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine; engaged in trade; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Biddleford and Saco, Maine; appointed a trustee of Thornton Academy in 1826 and served as president of the board of trustees 1845-1847; appointed reporter of the State supreme court in 1832; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses and served from March 4, 1835, to December 24, 1838, when he resigned, having been elected Governor; Governor of Maine 1839-1843, when he resigned, having been elected Senator; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Reuel Williams; reelected, and served from December 4, 1843, until his death on December 24, 1847; chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses); died in Washington, D.C.; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Saco, Maine.

Bibliography

American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Fairfield, John. The Letters of John Fairfield. Edited by Arthur B. Staples. Lewiston, Maine: Lewiston Journal Co., 1922.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present