Herbert Wesley Fairchild (1868 - 1955)

Born 8 Aug 1868 in Mount Pleasant, Brantford, Brant, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Farrington) Fairchild — married 15 Apr 1909 in Mary Ann's father's home in Cathcart, Ontario, Canada

Descendants

Died 28 Apr 1955 at age 86 in Ottawa, Ontario

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Biography

Herbert Wesley Fairchild, second son of William W and Caroline (Secord) Fairchild, was born in Brant County, Ontario, 8 August 1868. He started life on the Fairchild farm^[1] and remained with his parents,^[2] initially working as a farmer^[3] and then as a General Agent^[4], as we can see from the 1871 through 1901 Canadian census records.

As a young man, he was part of the “Fairchild orchestra", playing fiddle at barn dances while one of his sisters played piano.

With Reverend Francis Leigh officiating, Herb married Mary Ann Farrington^[5], eldest daughter of James and Mary Elizabeth (Laing) Farrington on the 15th of April 1909, in her father's 22-room farmhouse known as Derryharney in Cathcart, Ontario. Their marriage license indicates that the 40 year-old bachelor was of the Presbyterian faith while his 27 year-old bride was a spinster of the Episcopal faith. The license also indicates that Herb has become a surveyor. The newlyweds are mentioned with their children on page 201 of Timothy Marsh Fairchild's 1944 compilation "The Name and Family of Fairchild".^[6] They received a farm in Mount Vernon, Ontario as a wedding present but Herb soon divested himself of it. They may have lived on the Farrington farm “Derryharney" for a while early in their marriage as the 1911 Census^[7] shows Mary and their son, Herbert Farrington Fairchild, living at the big farm with her family. It is likely that Herb was away on a survey at the time.
By 1915, the family had moved to Ottawa. The Ottawa Directory shows the family of "Herbt W Fairchild" at 31 Rosebery Avenue in 1915^[8], and 1916^[9] but by 1921, they had moved to 414 Lewis Street, as we can confirm in both the 1921 Canada Census^[10] and the 1923 Ottawa City directory.^[11] Here Herb and Mary raised their family.

Herb worked as a surveyor on the original highway between Toronto and Hamilton, and for the Algoma Central Railway. In those days, much of the digging was done by immigrant Italian labour who spoke little English and didn't understand the significance of the blasting caps they had to handle. Herb told his son Jim that there must have been an Italian killed for every mile of track that was laid

But most of his adult life he worked for the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs, surveying the majority of Indian reservations in western Canada. In one of the survey reports, it was stated that "Mr. Fairchild was not a Dominion Lands Surveyor, but was an engineer employed by the Department of Indian Affairs and did survey work in respect to Reserves in Western Canada". The outfits were mostly composed of local Indians and the survey crew. One year his son Herb went with him and Jim spent three seasons on survey with his father. Jim said his father could run a line within 6 inches over 30 miles – he had seen it done. There is documentation related to a number of his surveys available on the internet if one looks for "survey" and "H.W. Fairchild". One report from 1931 regarding the Chapewayns stated that "Fairchild asked for more land than what was provided by treaty, which he considered to be too limited".

Herb was the honorary game warden when surveying in western Canada. They ate well and much was due to the hunting prowess of Herb and his sons. Herb was a member of the St Hubert gun club in Ottawa, and had a large collection of spoons from skeet shooting competitions.

His grandson, James B Fairchild, remembers being curled up in his lap while he told exciting stories about his life, especially encounters with the fearsome Sidehill Gouger.

He retired at age 65 and was sick for the last few years of his life.

He kept diaries all his life, but sadly, they were all lost when the old house in Ottawa was sold, lock, stock and barrel.

Herb died 28 April 1955 in Ottawa, Ontario.^[12] His wife Mary followed in 1969. Both were cremated and remains rest in Beechwood cemetery in Ottawa.

A family scrapbook had the following obituary from page 4 of The Ottawa Citizen dated May 2, 1955.

Final tribute was paid on Saturday to Herbert Wesley Fairchild, retired employe of the Department of Indian Affairs, at his funeral service held in the chapel of Hulse and Playfalr Ltd. Mr. Fairchild, who resided at 414 Lewis Street, died on Thursday following a brief illness at the age of 86. Rev. M. B. Black, of St. Matthew's Anglican Church, officiated at the service. Burial was in Beechwood Cemetery, Mr, Fairchild retired from the civil service in 1933. He was an ardent sportsman and was one of the oldest members of the St. Hubert Gun Club. A native of Mount Pleasant, Ont., he came to Ottawa 42 years ago. In 1909 he was married to the former Mary Farrington, at Cathcart, Ont. She survives In addition to three sons, Herbert of Ottawa, James of Lachine, Que., and Harold W of Vancouver; a daughter, Mrs. Helen Hinkel of Ottawa; and two sisters, Mrs. Charles Pinhey of Norwich, Ont., and Mrs. Ed Brooks of Brantford, Ont.; also nine grandchildren.

Library and Archives Canada

1924.Norway House, Manitoba.Methodist Boarding School

1924 Qu'Appelle Valley flooding Manitoba

1931.Alberta.Janvier, Jackfish Lake, Big Point, Old Fort, Poplar Point, and Point Brûlé

1917, 1918.North Battleford, 1919 Pas Reserve, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933

Sources

1. ↑ 1871 Census of Canada, Item 3046889; District Brant South (15), Ontario; Schedule 1, Nominal Return of the Living, Sub-District Brantford West (c); Page 20, Line 15, Herbert Fairchild; Library and Archives Canada; Microfilm C-9914; Reference RG31 - Statistics Canada; (http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1871&op=img&id=4396289_00466); accessed:2022-02-06
2. ↑ 1881 Census of Canada, Item 4117258, Brant South, Ontario, Schedule No. 1 Return of the Living, Brantford West, Page 26, Family 126, Line 19, Herbert Fairchild; Library and Archives Canada, (http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e328/e008195814.jpg)
3. ↑ 1891 Census of Canada, Item 1119731, Brant South, Schedule No. 1 Return of the Living, Brantford West, Page 8, Family 156, Line 22, Herbert Fairchilds; Library and Archives Canada, (http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1891&op=img&id=30953_148128-00014)
4. ↑ 1901 Census of Canada, Item 2112765, Brant South, Schedule No. 1 Return of the Living, Brantford West, Page 8, Family 82, Line 29, Herbert Fairchild; Library and Archives Canada, (http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/1901/z/z002/jpg/z000052403.jpg)
5. ↑ "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-Y399-STT9?cc=1784216&wc=3NW9-W38%3A1584309303%2C1584325301%2C1584325302 : 28 May 2015), Marriages > 1909 > no 3238-6984 > image 821 of 1426; Archives of Ontario, Toronto.
6. ↑ Fairchild, Timothy Marsh, and Sarah Ellen Filter. 1944. "The Name And Family Of Fairchild Compiled By Timothy Marsh Fairchild And Sarah Ellen Fairchild Pub. 1944 : Timothy Marsh Fairchild : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. (https://archive.org/details/TheNameAndFamilyOfFairchildCompiledByTimothyMarshFairchildAndSarahEllenFairchildPub.1944/page/n203)
7. ↑ 1911 Census of Canada, Item 5603134, Brant, Ontario, Schedule No. 1 Return of the Living, Burford, Page 1, Family 8, Line 34, Mary Fairchild; Library and Archives Canada, (http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1911/jpg/e001978664.jpg)
8. ↑ The Ottawa City Directory.Ottawa, Ont.: Publisher Ottawa, Might directories, limited, 1915, Page 153.(https://archive.org/details/ottawadirec191500midiuoft/page/152)
9. ↑ The Ottawa City Directory.Ottawa, Ont.: Publisher Ottawa, Might directories, limited, 1916, Page 155. (https://archive.org/details/ottawadirectory00ottauoft/page/154)
10. ↑ 1921 Census of Canada, Item 2772896; District Ottawa (110), Ontario; Schedule 1, Population, Sub-District Central Ward (29); Page 34, Family 296, Line 44, Herbert W Fairchild; Library and Archives Canada; Reference RG31, Statistics Canada; (http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1921&op=img&id=e002949276); accessed:2022-02-06
11. ↑ The Ottawa City Directory.Ottawa, Ont.: Publisher Ottawa, Might directories, limited, 1923, Page 128.(https://archive.org/details/ottawadirec192300midiuoft/page/128)
12. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194818662/herbert-wesley-fairchild : accessed 23 January 2022), memorial page for Herbert Wesley Fairchild (8 Aug 1868–25 Apr 1955), Find A Grave: Memorial #194818662, citing Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ottawa Municipality, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by Fairch (contributor 49626811) .

Most of the details regarding the descendants of Herbert Wesley and Mary Ann (Farrington) Fairchild were supplied to his grandson, James B Fairchild by word of mouth from his children and grandchildren for inclusion in this profile and those of immediate family.