Lake Forest College - Forester Yearbook (Lake Forest, IL)

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U. R. FARXVELL 'R'

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In the jmnnorp uf thc iamwrable Qlbarlrs 75. iifarmcll this hunk is rcspcrtfullp hrniratrn hp the 6515155 uf 1905

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Charles Benjamin Farwell '1 Rf , ' 'Q' HARLES BENJAMIN FARXVELL was born in Painted Post, ' fill: X. Y.. ,luly 1, 1823. and spent his boyhood days on a farm. ln Q F- ' 1838 he came west with his parents to a farm in Ogle county. by in this state. His early life was thus trained in the practical ' school of long and tedious hours of labor, yet amid the condi- tions that then produced individuality and strong manhood. He came to Chicago in 1844. and soon entered the office of the county clerk of Cook county. ln 1853 he was himself elected county clerk, a position which he tilled for eight years, and in which he acquired that experience of local politics which made him a growing leader in the organization and direction of the Republican party. ln the meantime he had entered the service of the famous banker, George Smith, whose financial integrity and shrewdness in the days of wildcat currency gave him a national reputation. Mr. Farwell soon became Mr. Smiths right-hand man and cashier and received that superb training in sound financial methods which in after days was to make him one of the wisest of counselors in national affairs. Thus admirably fitted for both private and public business, he entered at the beginning of our civil war period upon a great career as a merchant and a statesman. For forty years he has been engaged as a principal and sagacious partner in building up and conducting the great mercantile house of tl. V. Farwell K Company. yet he found time for live years of service in the lower house of Congress from 1871 to 1876, and another five years in the senate from 1887 to 1891. ln the lower house he was a member of the committee on banking and currency. and was also chairman of the committee on manufactures. Through all these years his sound financial principles were a source of pride to his constituents and of strength to the Republican party. For his influence was far greater than the percentage of his individual vote. and he was. with his energy and clear-cut convictions, a power not only in the preparation of much legislation, but in the direction of national conventions. His voice was seldom heard in public speech: his personality was felt and recognized everywhere. But while his work as a business man. a Hnancier. and a statesman. is a part of our national history and is there written large, he found time for local interests and local services which indicate the broad mind of the man. It is for these especially that Lake Forest loves him and cherishes his memory. ln 1876 Mr. and Mrs. Farwell's oldest daughter was just tinishing at the high school in Chicago. Mrs. Farwell, a highly educated woman, who in her earlier years had been a successful teacher, was thoroughly in favor of co-education. She persuaded Mr. Farwell, inasmuch as nearly all the best collegiate institutions in the country were closed to women, to try the experi- 6