Hiram Orlando Fairchild (August 14, 1845October 14, 1925) was an American lawyer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician. He was the 34th

speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly The Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly is the presiding officer of the Wisconsin State Assembly, the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Article IV of the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratified in 1848, establishes the legislature and s ...

and served as the first district attorney of

Marinette County, Wisconsin Marinette County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,872. Its county seat is Marinette. Marinette County is part of the Marinette, WI– MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Acco ...

. His name was often abbreviated as

Biography

Hiram O. Fairchild was born in

Newtown, Indiana Newtown is a town in Richland Township, Fountain County, Indiana, United States. The population was 256 at the 2010 census. History Newtown was platted in 1829. The Newtown post office was established in 1831. Geography Newtown is located at ...

, in August 1845. He was raised and educated there, attending high school in

Wabash, Indiana Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wabash County. Wabash is notable as claiming to be the first electrically lighted ci ...

. He went on to attend

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...

, where he graduated in 1866. On his graduation from college, he moved to

Fort Kearny Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the Or ...

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

, where he was employed to work on behalf of the business interests of former Wisconsin judge Levi Hubbell. After a year, he moved to

Oconto, Wisconsin Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located partially within the town of Oconto. History Oconto is h ...

, and studied law under his brother, John B. Fairchild. He was admitted to the bar in May 1870 and moved to the city of

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of th ...

, where his father was living. In 1874, he was joined by his brother and they formed the law firm Fairchild & Fairchild. Their partnership would last until Hiram's departure from Marinette in 1895. When Marinette County was organized in 1879, Fairchild was appointed the first district attorney for the county. He was subsequently elected to six more terms, serving from 1879 through 1891, and 1893 to 1895. Fairchild was a lifelong

, and his stretch as district attorney was only interrupted by the Democratic wave election of 1890. While serving as district attorney, Fairchild distinguished himself with the prosecution of Charles E. Crockett over the 1879 killing of John Kelley. Crockett was a saloon owner in the area and claimed he shot Kelley in self defense after a dispute over payment. Crockett had many prominent Wisconsin attorneys on his defense team, and, through their considerable efforts, managed to get a change of venue, and, after his conviction, managed to get the verdict stayed by the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

. Fairchild was the sole prosecutor on the case and handled the oral arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where he prevailed in the case ''Crockett v. State'', , upholding his conviction of Crockett on manslaughter charges. Running on the Republican ticket, he was also elected to two terms in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, serving in the

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

and 1885 sessions of the legislature. In the 1885 session, he was elected speaker of the Assembly by the Republican majority. He was also a delegate to the

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for presid ...

. In 1895, he moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he formed a new law firm. In his later years, he was known as one of the most prominent and distinguished lawyers in Wisconsin, working as the senior partner of the law firm Fairchild, North, Parker, and Bie. He argued the case of ''McDermott v. Wisconsin'', 228 U.S. 115, before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, and succeeded in striking down part of Wisconsin's 1907 Pure Foods law. In the Wisconsin Supreme Court case ''State v. Redmon'', 134 Wis. 89 (1907), he successfully argued for striking down a regulation on railroad car sleeping berths. And in ''Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. v. State'', 128 Wis. 553 (1906), he succeeded in striking down Wisconsin's attempts to implement an ''Ad valorem'' tax on railroad freight. Fairchild died of heart failure on the morning of October 14, 1925, after a long period of declining health. At the time of his death, he was referred to as the dean of the Brown County Bar.

Personal life and family

Hiram Fairchild was one of seven children born to Reverend John Fairchild and his wife Lorinda (' Bigelow). John Fairchild, was a Presbyterian minister and practiced at Marinette, Wisconsin, from 1863 until his death in 1885. Through his mother's Bigelow lineage, Fairchild was a distant cousin of U.S. President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

. Hiram's older sister, Sarah Jane, was married to Harlan P. Bird, who served eight years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

. Hiram Fairchild married Emma Haugh of

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only char ...

, on November 21, 1871. They had six children together, though two died in childhood. Another daughter, Bertha Basche, died in 1920, and Mrs. Fairchild died of pneumonia in 1923. Fairchild was survived by two sons and one daughter. Aside from his legal pursuits, Fairchild was a prolific

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er; at the time of his death, he was known as the dean of the Wisconsin golfing community.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1882, 1884)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1882 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1884

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild, Hiram Orlando 1845 births 1925 deaths People from Fountain County, Indiana People from Oconto, Wisconsin People from Marinette, Wisconsin Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Wabash College alumni Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly District attorneys in Wisconsin