Charles Benjamin Farwell was born at Mead Creek, near Painted Post, Steuben County, New York. Descended from Henry Farwell who was made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay, March 14, 1639, he was the second son of Henry and Nancy (Jackson) Farwell, who were married at Westminster, Massachusetts, on October.
He received his early education at Elmira Academy.
In 1838 his family removed to Illinois, settling in Mount Morris, the following year.
There he worked as farm-hand and surveyor.
In 1844 he removed to Chicago, where he found employment as clerk in various mercantile concerns.
Successful real-estate speculation laid the foundation of his fortune.
To Charles B. Farwell was attributed the completion of the Washington Street tunnel in Chicago.
He had early become interested in politics and served as clerk of Cook County from 1853 to 1861.
In 1870, as a Republican, he was elected to Congress over John Wentworth in a closely contested campaign.
He was elected once more in 1880 and, on January 19, 1887, was elected to the Senate to fill the vacancy left by the death of John A. Logan but was not returned in 1891 because of the reaction against the McKinley Tariff and the activity of the Farmers’ Alliance in Illinois politics.
In Congress he played no very active part.
The only subjects in which apparently he took any interest were the currency and banking, but his speeches display no particular insight into the question.
His role was that of a keen politician rather than that of a statesman.
In 1870, the Chicago Tribune had opposed him as the leader of the “Tammany” of Cook County, alleging corruption against him (Oct. 24, Nov. 1, Nov. 7, 1870).
On February 25, 1875, the Tribune assailed him for dodging a vote on what it termed a “tax grabbing, whiskey ring measure” in the House.
In 1880, as the Blaine leader in the state, he endeavored to manipulate the county and state conventions in such a way as to defeat Logan in the choice of a Grant delegation.
He was beaten by Logan in the struggle in the state convention and, apparently, had no decisive part in the later choice of anti-Grant delegates to the national convention (Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1880; Illinois State Register, May 22, 1880).
After 1870 Farwell's residence was fixed at Lake Forest, where he was active in the establishment of Lake Forest University and where his death occurred in his eighty-first year.
In the senatorial election of 1885, the Democrats switched their votes to him in a last effort to stave off the election of John A. Logan (Chicago Tribune, May 20, 1885).
Farwell was married on October 11, 1852, to Mary Eveline Smith of South Williamstown, Massachusetts. Four of their nine children reached maturity, and their oldest daughter, Anna, married Reginald de Koven, the composer.
