Published: 1869
Total Pages: 0
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Born in Stockbridge, MA, 29 November 1815, Edward Henry Fairchild grew up in Brownhelm, Ohio, where his parents, Grandison and Nancy Fairchild, had a farm. He and his brother James were half of the first entering class at Oberlin College; he graduated in 1838. At age 21, after lecturing against slavery in Ohio as one of the Seventy sent out by Theodore Weld, he was commissioned by the American Anti-slavery Society for a three-month tour of Pennsylvania. At 22 he began teaching a large colored school in Cincinnati. He graduated from Oberlin's Theological Seminary in 1841 and then married Maria Babbit, who at one time had also lived in Brownhelm. The couple had four sons and one daughter: Charles, Henry, Julia, Arthur, and Eugene. Fairchild was ordained in the Congregational Church (after being rejected by the Presbyterians because he supported Oberlin). He served pastorates in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and continued to lecture against slavery. From 1853-1869 (approximately) he was principal of the Preparatory Department at Oberlin. In 1869 he became the first president of Berea College and served until his death in 1889. This series includes biographical information about President E H Fairchild and his family, especially during his years at Berea. In addition to his own memoir about his wife, there are recollections from a grandson, Frederick Hall; his brother, J H Fairchild; a granddaughter, Bertha Lauder; faculty colleagues; an anonymous student; and President Frost. Also included is a 1973 article about Fairchild by the Rev. Dr. Harley Patterson, recollections about Arthur Fairchild and his family, a newspaper account of Charles Fairchild and the Fairchild Spring, published materials by or about prominent nephews, and a legal record relating to E.H. Fairchild's sister-in law's will.