Charles Stewart Farnsworth was born October 29, 1862, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, the son of Issac and Sarah (Moore) Farnsworth.  The family later lived in Butler and Clarion, Pennsylvania, where he attended public schools and Carrier Seminary at Clarion.  He then worked for Western Union telegraph Company and Bell Telephone Company until 1883, when he entered the U. S. Military Academy.  He graduated from West Point in 1887.  Later in his career he attended the Army School of Line and Staff College (1909-1919) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Army War College in 1916 at Washington.  He married Laura J. Galey on July 20, 1887, who died May 20, 1890, at Fort Shaw, Montana.  They had one child, Robert James Farnsworth.  General Farnsworth served at Fort Sisseton, South Dakota; Fort Shaw, Montana; and Fort Buford, North Dakota.  In 1893 he became the Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, a post he held until 1897.  While there, he married Helen D. Bosard on November 28, 1894, the daughter of Grand Forks Attorney, James H. Bosard. After serving at the University, he served at over 25 different stations, including Pershings Punitive Expedition in Mexico (1916).  On May 22, 1918, during World War I, General Farnsworth became Commander of the 37th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces  During that period it took part in the occupation of the Bacarat (Vasges Mountains) and Panne (St. Micheil) sectors and the offensives in the Argonne-Meuse and Ypres and Lys.  In April, 1919, he returned to the United States and became head of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia.  In 1920, he became Chief of Infantry, a position he held until his retirement in 1925.  General Farsworth and his wife retired to Altedena, California, where they led active lives in the community.  Mrs. Farnsworth died July 22, 1951, and General Farnsworth on December 19, 1955.  They are buried at the Presidio, San Francisco. 
 

Charles Farnsworth Papers  |  Military