Education
Born in Keene, Ohio, Farwell attended the common schools and an academy in Cleveland, Ohio.
United States representative politician
Born in Keene, Ohio, Farwell attended the common schools and an academy in Cleveland, Ohio.
He moved to Iowa in 1852, settling in Jones County, Iowa, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1862, after the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army as captain of Company H, 31st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to major in 1864, and served until the close of the war.
He participated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Siege of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, and Sherman"s March to the Sea.
He served (from 1869 to 1873) as an assessor of internal revenue, then (from 1875 to 1881) as collector of internal revenue. After winning the general election, he served in the Forty-seventh Congress.
He served in Congress from March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1883. Returning to Iowa, he served as president of the Monticello State Bank.
He died in Monticello on September 21, 1909, and was interred in Oakwood Cemetery.
A dispute among the beneficiaries of his will was resolved by the Iowa Supreme Court in Farwell v. Carpenter, 142 North.W. 227 (Iowa 1913).
Farwell served as member of the Iowa Senate from 1865 to 1869.