Garfield, Irvin McDowell

1870 - 1951  (80 years)

• Name	Garfield, Irvin McDowell  [1]
  	20251108GHLn- James A. Garfield Photo added by Bobb Edwards James A. Garfield VVeteran Famous memorial Name James Abram Garfield Birth 19 Nov 1831 Moreland Hills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Death 19 Sep 1881 (aged 49) Elberon, Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA Burial Lake View Cemetery Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA GPS- Latitude: 41.510092, Longitude: -81.591669 Plot Section 15, Grave 1 Memorial ID381 · Photos 20 Flowers 2k+ Added by Ryan David Schweitzer Added by Mark Collins 20th United States President, United States Congressman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 20th United States President for only 200 days, from March until September 1881. He was the 4th United States President to die in office and the 2nd one who was assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln. Born the youngest of five children in a log cabin, his father was a local wrestler who died when James was only 18 months old. Raised by his mother, he received a local rudimentary education at a village school. At the age of 16, he moved out on his own with dreams of being a seaman and got a job for six weeks as a canal driver near Cleveland, Ohio. He became ill and was forced to return home. Once recuperated, he began school at Geauga Seminary, in Chester, Ohio, where he became keenly interested in academics. In 1849, he became a teacher, and, from 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, and developed a regular preaching circuit at neighboring churches. He then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1856. In 1859, he began studying law and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1861, and during the same time he was elected an Ohio state senator. In the summer of 1861, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, he received a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army and given command of the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In November of that year, he was given command of the 18th Brigade under General Don Carlos Buell and participated in engagements against Confederate forces in Kentucky. In January 1862, his forces fought the Confederates at the Battle of Middle Creek and forced them to withdraw. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. In early April 1862, he commanded the 20th Ohio Brigade at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. That summer, his health suddenly deteriorated, including jaundice and significant weight loss. He was forced to return home where he regained his health, returning to duty that autumn and served on the court-martial of Major General Fitz John Porter. While recuperating, he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 19th district. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., and was promoted to the rank of Major General. In the spring of 1863, he returned to the field as Chief of Staff for General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland. In December 1863, he resigned from the United States Army to pursue politics and was elected to Congress for eight additional consecutive terms. Throughout his extended Congressional service after the Civil War, he fervently opposed the Greenback (paper money also known as a Legal Tender Note) and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He was Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views regarding Reconstruction, then favored a moderate approach for civil rights enforcement for former slaves. In 1879, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, filling the seat vacated by John Sherman, by acclamation of the Ohio legislature. In 1880, he was nominated to run as the Republican candidate for United States President, defeating front runner President Ulysses S. Grant's bid for a 3rd term. In the general election, he defeated the Democratic challenger Winfield Scott Hancock with a plurality of about 7,000 votes out of nearly 9 million cast and by nearly 60 electoral votes. At that time, he became the only person ever to be elected to the Presidency directly from the House of Representatives and was for a short period a sitting Representative, Senator-elect, and President-elect. During his short term, he managed to initiate reform of the Post Office Department's notorious "star route" rings and reassert the superiority of the office of the President over the United States Senate on the issue of executive appointments. On July 2, 1881, he was shot in the back by Charles J. Guiteau, a deranged political office seeker, at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., as he was preparing to travel to his alma mater, Williams College, to deliver a speech. He lived for 80 days after he was shot, but was unable to perform his presidential duties. He became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection, which caused his heart to weaken. He remained bedridden in the White House with fever and extreme pain. In early September, he was moved to the Jersey Shore in the vain hope that the fresh air and quiet there might aid his recovery. About two weeks later, he suffered a massive heart attack and a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm, following blood poisoning and bronchial pneumonia and died just two months shy of his 50th birthday. He was temporarily interred in a vault at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, until May 1890, when he was moved to his permanent mausoleum. His assassin was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death on January 5, 1882. In 1884, a monument in his honor was placed on the grounds of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in California, and in May 1887, the James A. Garfield Monument, which was created by sculptor Charles Niehaus, was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in the United States Capitol. Bio by: William Bjornstad Interment Date: May 20, 1890 Family Members Parents Abram Garfield 1799–1833 Eliza Ballou Garfield 1801–1888 Spouse Lucretia Rudolph Garfield 1832–1918 (m. 1858) Siblings Mehetable "Hetty" Garfield Trowbridge 1821–1911 Thomas Garfield 1822–1910 Mary Garfield Larabee 1824–1884 James Ballou Garfield 1826–1829 Children Eliza Arabella "Little Trot" Garfield 1860–1863 Harry Augustus Garfield 1863–1942 James Rudolph Garfield 1865–1950 Mary "Mollie" Garfield Stanley-Brown 1867–1947 Irvin McDowell Garfield 1870–1951 Abram Garfield 1872–1958 Edward "Neddie" Garfield 1874–1876 Flowers • 2403 Left by AlixG on 8 Nov 2025 Left by Cory Collins on 8 Nov 2025
  Birth	3 Aug 1870	Hiram, Portage, Ohio, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  FSID	LV4G-99F
  Death	19 Jul 1951	Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA   [1]
  	age 80
  Burial	Aft 19 Jul 1951	Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA   [1]
  Person ID	I110486	WETZEL-SPRING

  
  

  Father	Garfield, James Abram Pres,   b. 19 Nov 1831, Moreland Hills, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA d. 19 Sep 1881, Elberon, Monmouth, New Jersey, USA (Age 49 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Rudolph, Lucretia,   b. 19 Apr 1832, Garrettsville, Portage, Ohio, USA d. 14 Mar 1918, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, USA (Age 85 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	11 Nov 1858	Hiram, Portage, Ohio, USA
  Family ID	F62453	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Emmons, Susan
  Marriage	16 Oct 1906	Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA
  	LDS
  Family ID	F62465	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 3 Aug 1870 - Hiram, Portage, Ohio, USA Marriage - 16 Oct 1906 - Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA Death - 19 Jul 1951 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA Burial - Aft 19 Jul 1951 - Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1115] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for James A. Garfield (53) facts 20251108GHLn- 20251108GHLn- James A. Garfield Photo added by Bobb Edwards James A. Garfield VVeteran Famous memorial Name James Abram Garfield Birth 19 Nov 1831 Moreland Hills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Death 19 Sep 1881 (aged 49) Elberon, Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA Burial Lake View Cemetery Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA GPS- Latitude: 41.510092, Longitude: -81.591669 Plot Section 15, Grave 1 Memorial ID381 · Photos 20 Flowers 2k+ Added by Ryan David Schweitzer Added by Mark Collins 20th United States President, United States Congressman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 20th United States President for only 200 days, from March until September 1881. He was the 4th United States President to die in office and the 2nd one who was assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln. Born the youngest of five children in a log cabin, his father was a local wrestler who died when James was only 18 months old. Raised by his mother, he received a local rudimentary education at a village school. At the age of 16, he moved out on his own with dreams of being a seaman and got a job for six weeks as a canal driver near Cleveland, Ohio. He became ill and was forced to return home. Once recuperated, he began school at Geauga Seminary, in Chester, Ohio, where he became keenly interested in academics. In 1849, he became a teacher, and, from 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, and developed a regular preaching circuit at neighboring churches. He then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1856. In 1859, he began studying law and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1861, and during the same time he was elected an Ohio state senator. In the summer of 1861, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, he received a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army and given command of the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In November of that year, he was given command of the 18th Brigade under General Don Carlos Buell and participated in engagements against Confederate forces in Kentucky. In January 1862, his forces fought the Confederates at the Battle of Middle Creek and forced them to withdraw. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. In early April 1862, he commanded the 20th Ohio Brigade at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. That summer, his health suddenly deteriorated, including jaundice and significant weight loss. He was forced to return home where he regained his health, returning to duty that autumn and served on the court-martial of Major General Fitz John Porter. While recuperating, he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 19th district. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., and was promoted to the rank of Major General. In the spring of 1863, he returned to the field as Chief of Staff for General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland. In December 1863, he resigned from the United States Army to pursue politics and was elected to Congress for eight additional consecutive terms. Throughout his extended Congressional service after the Civil War, he fervently opposed the Greenback (paper money also known as a Legal Tender Note) and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He was Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views regarding Reconstruction, then favored a moderate approach for civil rights enforcement for former slaves. In 1879, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, filling the seat vacated by John Sherman, by acclamation of the Ohio legislature. In 1880, he was nominated to run as the Republican candidate for United States President, defeating front runner President Ulysses S. Grant's bid for a 3rd term. In the general election, he defeated the Democratic challenger Winfield Scott Hancock with a plurality of about 7,000 votes out of nearly 9 million cast and by nearly 60 electoral votes. At that time, he became the only person ever to be elected to the Presidency directly from the House of Representatives and was for a short period a sitting Representative, Senator-elect, and President-elect. During his short term, he managed to initiate reform of the Post Office Department's notorious "star route" rings and reassert the superiority of the office of the President over the United States Senate on the issue of executive appointments. On July 2, 1881, he was shot in the back by Charles J. Guiteau, a deranged political office seeker, at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., as he was preparing to travel to his alma mater, Williams College, to deliver a speech. He lived for 80 days after he was shot, but was unable to perform his presidential duties. He became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection, which caused his heart to weaken. He remained bedridden in the White House with fever and extreme pain. In early September, he was moved to the Jersey Shore in the vain hope that the fresh air and quiet there might aid his recovery. About two weeks later, he suffered a massive heart attack and a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm, following blood poisoning and bronchial pneumonia and died just two months shy of his 50th birthday. He was temporarily interred in a vault at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, until May 1890, when he was moved to his permanent mausoleum. His assassin was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death on January 5, 1882. In 1884, a monument in his honor was placed on the grounds of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in California, and in May 1887, the James A. Garfield Monument, which was created by sculptor Charles Niehaus, was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in the United States Capitol. Bio by: William Bjornstad Interment Date: May 20, 1890 Family Members Parents Abram Garfield 1799–1833 Eliza Ballou Garfield 1801–1888 Spouse Lucretia Rudolph Garfield 1832–1918 (m. 1858) Siblings Mehetable "Hetty" Garfield Trowbridge 1821–1911 Thomas Garfield 1822–1910 Mary Garfield Larabee 1824–1884 James Ballou Garfield 1826–1829 Children Eliza Arabella "Little Trot" Garfield 1860–1863 Harry Augustus Garfield 1863–1942 James Rudolph Garfield 1865–1950 Mary "Mollie" Garfield Stanley-Brown 1867–1947 Irvin McDowell Garfield 1870–1951 Abram Garfield 1872–1958 Edward "Neddie" Garfield 1874–1876 Flowers • 2403 Left by AlixG on 8 Nov 2025 Left by Cory Collins on 8 Nov 2025 Garfield, Jas Abram, Pres fag_ 20251108GHLn- findagrave Added by: Bobb Edwards on 29 Dec 2010 President James A. Garfield 20251108GHLn- James A. Garfield Photo added by Bobb Edwards James A. Garfield VVeteran Famous memorial Name James Abram Garfield Birth 19 Nov 1831 Moreland Hills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Death 19 Sep 1881 (aged 49) Elberon, Monmouth County, New… Garfield, Jas General fag_ 20251108GHLn- Added by: Lyle Brennen on 18 Feb 2023 Brig. Gen. James A. Garfield, officer of the Federal Army Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.06455/ In the summer of 1861, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, he received a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army and given command of the 42nd…

  
  

TEST MARKER

TNG ID: I110486

FSID: LV4G-99F