Facts, Analysis, and Narrative about the Thomas Fairchild (1610-1670) Lineage
(Thomas – Zachariah – Caleb – Gershom – Hezekiah – Benjamin – Joseph Sirah – Dr. John M. – Robert Eldridge)
Started March 2013 and still actively managed as of April 2023
(Thomas G. Kessler, Punta Gorda, Florida, kesslertg@gmail.com)
Jean Fairchild Gilmore books about Fairchild family
and other resources are available here: EarlyFairchildsinAmerica.Wordpress.com
Overview
My mother’s name was Sue Kate Fairchild Kessler. She was born on a farm in Madison County, North Carolina outside of Asheville, North Carolina. When she finished high school, she sold her pet hog and used the money to buy a bus ticket to Baltimore, Maryland. World War II created opportunities for women to obtain employment in non-traditional industries such as manufacturing and she was able to obtain a job at Glenn L. Martin aircraft manufacturers in Essex, Maryland. There she met my father, Edgar Franklin Kessler, Jr. and they eventually married and had four children: Edgar III (b: 1947), Thomas (b: 1953), Terry (b: 1958), and Bonnie (B: 1962).
I had the opportunity to visit my mother’s family a couple of times and learned a great deal about the Fairchild generation that included Mom. The details are set out here in the chapter that deals with her generation. It is an amazing tale detailing how a family who lost its father early struggled through world wars and the great depression. Their farming heritage and ability to overcome substantial challenges deserves a great deal of respect from the ancestors who have followed them.
In truth, I had no idea until recently about the genealogical roots of this branch of my family. My brother and I spent many years researching our paternal roots and have documented the Kessler lineage dating back to Europe and Switzerland (KesslerFamilyHistory.wordpress.com). I was quite proud that we were 8th generation Americans and there was a lot of family lore passed down that needed to be recorded while I’m still alive. But, to be honest, I had no real awareness that the Fairchild heritage is even more riveting and that we are 11th generation Americans on the maternal side; that our roots lead straight back to the New England Puritans who emigrated from England to avoid religious persecution. This manuscript is the story of the Fairchild lineage. Readers are also encouraged to visit our family tree located on Ancestry.com (and maintained using FamilyTreeMaker).
I have done my best to faithfully record all facts that I have uncovered. I have also, at times, developed narratives that reflect the times that the generations lived in and possibly reasons why they migrated from New England to New Jersey to Virginia to Kentucky and then to North Carolina. I have acquired books and used online Internet resources, have chased down maps and other records using Ancestry.Com and have done all that I can to record the family history for the generations that follow. I hope that subsequent generations continue the work that my brother and I and many others started and use it to communicate the past to the Kessler and Fairchild relatives who are not yet born.
Acknowledgments
I discovered that many more genealogists shared interest in the Fairchild family lineage than the Kessler family lineage. In some respects, doing this genealogical work was a bit easier because so much was already documented. But my interest is taking the work beyond just the facts and figures of names, dates and places. I continuously wanted to know why things happened and that often led me to search for things that had not been collectively organized in any one location.
For those who worked very hard over many years doing genealogical research and paving the way for those of us who follow, our appreciation is extended. The following individuals made significant contributions based on years of effort and research:
- Edgar Franklin Kessler III
- Chris Fairchild <fishinfoolc@embarqmail.com>
- W. Bruce Fairchild, Author (Thomas Fairchild Puritan Merchant and Magistrate
- Jean Gilmore Fairchild (post-humus credit for all her ground-breaking 30 years of work)
Table of Contents
Chapters
| 1 | European Heritage |
| 2 | American Generation 1: Thomas Fairchild (1610 – 1670) |
| 3 | American Generation 2: Zachariah Fairchild (1651 – 1703) |
| 4 | American Generation 3: Caleb Fairchild (1693 – 1777) |
| 5 | American Generation 4: Gershom Fairchild (1728 – 1778) |
| 6 | American Generation 5: Hezekiah Fairchild (1760 – 1816) |
| 7 | American Generation 6: Benjamin Fairchild (1792 – 1860) |
| 8 | American Generation 7: Joseph S. Fairchild (1826 – 1904) |
| 9 | American Generation 8: John M. Fairchild (1845 – 1932) |
| 10 | American Generation 9: Robert Eldridge Fairchild (1879 – 1922) |
| 11 | American Generation 10: Sue Kate Fairchild (1919 – 1986) |
| 12 | American Generation 11: Children of Sue Kate Fairchild Kessler |
| App A | References |