Fairfield, Edmund B. (Edmund Burke), 1821-1904

Edmund Burke Fairfield was minister, educator and college administrator in Ohio, Michigan and Nebraska, and republican politician, who first gained fame for a speech opposing slavery in the territories delivered in 1857.

Fairfield was born in August 7, 1821 Parkersburg, Virginia (later West Virginia). His father Micaiah was a slaveholder who emancipated his slaves when the family moved to Troy, Ohio and established a printing business. Edmund enrolled first at Denison University then spent three years at Marietta College before graduating from Oberlin in 19452. He then spent three years tutoring Latin and Greek at Oberlin and studying theology. He spent two years as a minister in New Hampshire and two years as pastor of the Ruggle Street Baptist in Boston.

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