BIOGRAPHY: Sidney T. Fairchild; Cazenovia, Madison co., NY
surname: Fairchild, Childs, Stebbins, Jackson

Transcribed by W. David Samuelsen
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AN INLAND EMPIRE AND THEIR PEOPLE, BIOGRAPHICAL, VOLUME IV, W. FREEMAN GALPIN,
PH.D.
Publishers, LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC., NEW YORK, 1941, expired
copyright.

     SIDNEY T. FAIRCHILD, the eldest son of John F. and Flavia Fairchild, was
born at Norwich, New York, November 15, 1808, and died at Cazenovia, New York,
February 15, 1889.

     He became a resident of Cazenovia in 1825, and, after attending the
seminary then just instituted; entered Hamilton College, but soon removed to
Union College, where he graduated in 1829. He studied law in the offices of
Childs and Stebbins, at Cazenovia, and of Joshua A. Spencer, at Utica, and was
admitted to the bar in 1831. He commenced the practice of law in partnership
with E. P. Hurlbut, at Utica. In 1834 he married Helen, the second daughter of
the late Perry G. Childs, of Cazenovia, and in the following year, upon the
death of Mr. Childs, removed to Cazenovia, and entered into partnership with
the late Charles Stebbins, under the firm name of Stebbins and Fairchild. Upon
the organization of the Syracuse & Utica Railroad Company this firm became its
attorneys, and, upon the consolidation of this company, with others, into the
New York Central Railroad Company, continued in charge of its local business.
About 1858 Mr. Fairchild was appointed general attorney of the New York
Central Railroad Company, having his office at Albany, and since that time has
continued in the service of that company, withdrawing latterly, however, from
charge of the general legal business of the corporation. His last work in his
profession was the argument of a cause in the Court of Claims of the United
States, in which the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company was
complainant, and in which a favorable decision was rendered in January, 1889.

     He was a director and the secretary and treasurer of the Third Great
Western Turnpike Road Company during the last twenty-five years of its
existence, a director of the Madison County Bank, the president of the
Cazenovia & Canastota Railroad Company, and for many years previous to his
death a trustee of the Union Trust Company of New York.

     In his profession Mr. Fairchild was thoughtful, studious, indefatigable,
cautious, persistent, sagacious, learned. As an advisor he was discreet and
candid. In the preparation of his cases he was thorough and exhaustive, both
as to the facts, as far as possible, and as to the law. In making his briefs
it was his habit first to reflect long and deeply upon the principles
involved, and then to resort to the books for authorities in support of his
opinions, or for precedents which it might be necessary to combat. An adverse
opinion, unless it was from the court of last resort and squarely upon the
point, did not shake his convictions, once deliberately formed. In the earlier
years of his practice, it was his custom to make as complete a brief as
possible, even in the most trifling cases. As an advocate he did not possess
nor claim, and probably did not desire, the grace of eloquence or the power of
persuasion. He never talked to the bystanders or for display. His aim was
always to enlighten the dullest juror in the panel, or to convince the court.
his forensic efforts were, therefore, labored, exhaustive, and often prolix.
As a draughtsman, both of pleadings and of other instruments, he was probably
unsurpassed, if indeed he was equaled in central New York. For clearness,
conciseness, comprehensiveness, aptness and neatness, his papers of all kinds
were models. It was his habit, before drawing any intricate document, to
reflect long upon the object sought, and, after formulating in his mind the
scheme of the paper, to commit it to writing. It was rarely necessary for him
to make a second draft, or to amend the original. It may he doubted whether
there can be found upon the files of the court, or elsewhere, a paper of his
which contains a proviso, or in which is an erasure or an interlineation.

     Upon arriving at manhood, after a candid and thorough examination of the
questions which were at issue between the two great political parties, he,
contrary to parental influence, united with the Democratic party. For the last
forty years, at least, he has been a prominent and trusted leader of that
party, attending its conventions local, State, and national - and largely
influencing its policy and the policy of the administration whenever that
party was in power. He was the valued friend and adviser of Seymour, Richmond,
Cassidy, Hoffman, Tilden, Robinson, and Cleveland, and his opinions were
always received with respect and deference. He was, however, no slave to party
platforms or political chieftains, and whenever his party strayed from what he
regarded as true Democratic principles or practice, no criticism was more
scathing than his. He never sought or held office, except those of clerk and
president of his village, and was never a candidate for office but once, and
then only at the request and in the interest of a friend, and in a hopeless
canvass.

     As a man he was absolutely pure and just. From this it resulted that he
had little tolerance for those whom he regarded as vicious or dishonest, and
judged them unsparingly. His opinions were not borrowed from others, but were
the product of his own intellect. They were his offspring, and he cherished
and adhered to them with the tenacity of a parent. His convictions were not
the subject of compromise, and his estimates of men were without
qualification. Yet, withal, he was modest and unassuming, and without a spark
of personal vanity. To his friends he was loyal and true. His time, his labor,
and his influence were ever at their service. To his dependant. he was a kind
and indulgent master, always sympathizing and assisting them in trouble, and
ever aiding them towards and rejoicing in their prosperity. In the practice of
his profession the widow and the helpless found in him a painstaking, prudent,
and feeling adviser, defender, and helper and all without fee or reward.

     For those who were nearest to him he had a lavishness of affection, a
wealth of tenderness, an intensity of devotion, and a depth of sentiment but
little suspected by those who knew him but casually. But into this phase of
his character the writer of this notice does not dare further to enter.

     His family consists of his widow and three children: Katherine S., wife
of John Stebbins, of Cazenovia; Charles S. Fairchild; and Sophia C. F., wife
of the Rev. Townend G. Jackson, of Baltimore, Maryland.