Asa W. Farr
{{short description|19th century American politician}}
{{infobox officeholder
|name = Asa Farr
|state = Wisconsin
|state_assembly = Wisconsin
|district = Walworth 4th
| term_start = January 7, 1856
| term_end = January 5, 1857
| predecessor = Levi Lee
| successor = Elihu Enos
| title2 = District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
| term_start2 = 1851
| term_end2 = 1853
| predecessor2 = Charles R. Train
| successor2 = Charles R. Train
|party = Democratic
|birth_date = {{birth date|1821|2|28}}
|birth_place = Sharon, Vermont, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1863|10|6|1821|2|28}}
|death_place = Fort Baxter, Cherokee County, Kansas
|death_cause = Murdered
|restingplace = Pioneer Cemetery, {{nobreak|Lake Geneva, Wisconsin}}
|spouse = {{marriage|Elisabeth Hadley|1845}}
|children = {{unbulleted list
| Frederick Walton Farr
| (b. 1846)
| Ellen Elisabeth Farr
| (b. 1848)
}}
|profession = lawyer
|allegiance = United States
|branch = United States Volunteers
Union Army
|rank = 1st Lieutenant, USV
|serviceyears = 1861–1863
|unit = 3rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Cavalry
|battles = American Civil War
}}
Asa Walton Farr (February 28, 1821 – October 6, 1863) was an American lawyer and politician. He was district attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1851 to 1853. After leaving office, he moved to Wisconsin, where he represented Walworth County the Wisconsin State Assembly for one term. He served as a Union Army quartermaster officer during the American Civil War and was murdered by Confederate guerillas in the massacre at Baxter Springs.
Biography
=New England=
Asa Farr was born in Sharon, Vermont, in February 1821. He was raised and educated in New England. By 1841 he was residing in Lowell, Massachusetts. He worked as a printer was connected with the publication Vox Populi. He became a lawyer in 1845 and two years later formed the firm of Butler and Farr with Benjamin Butler. In 1851, Farr was appointed district attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts by Governor George S. Boutwell. He was removed from office for political reasons by Boutwell's successor, John H. Clifford.{{cite book |last1=Conklin |first1=Edwin P. |title=Middlesex County and Its People |date=1927 |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company |location=New York |page=198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoElAQAAMAAJ |access-date=6 August 2023}}
=Wisconsin=
Disheartened by his firing, Farr moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with his wife and children. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1853 and he formed a legal partnership with Charles Minton Baker.{{cite magazine|url= https://atthelakemagazine.com/walk-through-pioneer-cemetery/ |title= A Walk Through Pioneer Cemetery |date= August 25, 2013 |magazine= At the Lake |last= Schmelz |first= Lisa |accessdate= December 22, 2021 }}
Farr was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1855 and served in the 9th Wisconsin Legislature.{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1882 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1882 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Heg |editor-first= J. E. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1882/reference/wi.wibluebk1882.i0011.pdf |chapter= Annals of the Legislature |page= 192 |accessdate= December 22, 2021 }}
=Civil War=
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Farr volunteered for service in the Union Army and was enrolled as an assistant quartermaster in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment.{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/rosterofwisconsi01wisc |title= Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 |year= 1886 |publisher= Office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin |page= [https://archive.org/details/rosterofwisconsi01wisc/page/91/ 91] |accessdate= December 22, 2021 }} The 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry was involved in anti-guerilla operations in the Trans-Mississippi theater of the war, especially around the Kansas–Missouri border area.{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/militaryhistoryo00quin/ |title= The Military History of Wisconsin |year= 1866 |publisher= Clarke & Co. |last= Quiner |first= Edwin B. |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/militaryhistoryo00quin/page/909/ |chapter= Regimental History–Third Cavalry |page= [https://archive.org/details/militaryhistoryo00quin/page/916/ 916] |accessdate= December 22, 2021 }}
In October 1863, Farr was attached to the escort of General James G. Blunt near Fort Baxter, in Cherokee County, Kansas, when they came under attack from several hundred Confederate guerillas, led by William Quantrill. The Union caravan was overrun and many wounded and captured Union soldiers were murdered, including Farr, in what was referred to as the massacre at Baxter Springs.
Personal life and family
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|17173391| Asa Walton Farr }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-wi-hs}}
{{s-bef|before = Levi Lee }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nobreak|Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly}} {{nobreak|from the Walworth 4th district}} |years= January 7, 1856{{spaced ndash}}January 5, 1857 }}
{{s-aft|after = Elihu Enos }}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, Asa W.}}
Category:Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Category:District attorneys in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Category:Massachusetts Democrats
Category:People from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Category:People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War
Category:Politicians from Windsor County, Vermont
Category:Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts