Early Life and Career
Farnsworth was born in Green Oak, Michigan, nephew of John F. Farnsworth, a prominent politician in the Democratic Party who later became a Republican, also serving as a Civil War general. His family moved to Illinois in 1854. A member of the Chi Psi Fraternity, Farnsworth was expelled from the University of Michigan following a drinking party in which a classmate died after being thrown from a window. He joined the army as a civilian foragemaster and served on the staff of Albert Sidney Johnston during the Utah War of 1857–1858. He also worked as a buffalo hunter and scout in the Colorado Territory.
Read more about this topic: Elon J. Farnsworth
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