Charles S. Farnsworth

Charles Stewart Farnsworth (October 29, 1862 – December 19, 1955) was a United States Army officer and civic leader.

Early life Farnsworth was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania and attended local public schools. He worked for Western Union and the Bell Telephone company before being appointed to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York in 1883.

Military career Among his classmates there included several general officers of the future, such as Charles B. Wheeler, Edward C. Young, Richmond P. Davis, Edgar Russel, George O. Squier, Ernest Hinds, George W. Gatchell, Charles H. Martin, P. D. Lochridge, Nathaniel F. McClure, William C. Rivers, William Weigel, Thomas G. Hanson, Herman Hall, Marcus D. Cronin, Alexander L. Dade, Charles Gerhardt, James T. Dean, Ulysses G. McAlexander, Edmund Wittenmyer, Frederic D. Evans, Michael J. Lenihan, Mark L. Hersey and Frank H. Albright.

After graduating, 47th in a class of 64, Farnsworth was sent to various posts in the Great Plains. He was stationed at Fort Sisseton in South Dakota, Fort Shaw in Montana, and Fort Buford in North Dakota. In 1893 he became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of North Dakota. In addition to his teaching job, Farnsworth was also head coach of the school's football team from 1895 to 1896.

From left to right: Lieutenant Colonel Aloe, Brigadier General Lloyd Milton Brett, commanding the 160th Brigade, and Brigadier General Charles S. Farnsworth, commanding the 159th Brigade, at Camp Lee, Virginia, June 1918.

During the Spanish–American War, Farnsworth served as a quartermaster in Cuba and was an aide to Adna Chaffee.

After the war, Farnsworth was sent to Alaska where he founded and constructed Fort Gibbon. He was then sent to the Philippines where he founded and built Fort William McKinley. He also expanded the cantonments at the Presidio of San Francisco.

In 1909, he attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School. He graduated from the U.S. Army War College in 1916.

While the Silver Star citation reads as follows:

He also received the Croix de Guerre with Palm and the Legion of Honor from France. From Belgium, he received the Order of Léopold.

Later life and civic leadership Farnsworth and his wife moved to Altadena, California after his retirement and lived on Las Flores Drive, close to his son. They became involved in the community. Gen. Farnsworth was the president of the Altadena Citizens' Association and the Altadena Beautification League. He sat as president of the board of the La Vina Sanitorium. He was also a member of the Los Angeles County Planning Commission and the Criminal Complaints Committee of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.

In 1931, Farnsworth was Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses and was one of a few to ride a horse down the parade route in modern times.

Farnsworth was instrumental in the creation of Altadena Park in 1934. Farnsworth led the fundraising, designed the park, and supervised its grading and landscaping. The park was renamed in his honor in 1939.

His wife died in 1951. He died in 1955 at the Naval Hospital in Norco, California. They are both buried at the cemetery at the Presidio of San Francisco.

The Farnsworth Family Papers (Robert J. Farnsworth and Charles S. Farnsworth) collection is housed in the Rasmuson Library Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Personal life While at Fort Shaw, he married Laura Galey. They had one son, Robert. She died in 1890.

In 1894, he married Helen Bosard of Grand Forks, North Dakota. They had no children.

Head coaching record