| Interment Location | Visited | Sequence in Graves I Have Visited |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis, IN | August 20, 2004 | 7th Vice President visited |
Twice-elected as a U.S. senator and once victorious as a vice presidential nominee, Charles Warren Fairbanks is one of numerous notables interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, the third largest non-government cemetery in the nation. Other permanent residents include President Benjamin Harrison and two other vice presidents — including the one that bested him in his 1916 re-election bid for a non-consecutive second term, Thomas Riley Marshall.
Former Vice President Fairbanks is buried with several members of his family, including his children and wife, Cornelia Cole Fairbanks. “Nellie” — as she was called — served as president general of the Daughters of the American Revolution for four years, an achievement that is chiseled into the monument in the Fairbanks plot. Mrs. Fairbanks was more progressive than her reactionary husband, who worked to undermine the policy goals of the less conservative president whom he served under, Theodore Roosevelt.
The Fairbanks family members each have their own individual stones that denote their exact place of burial. Here I crouch by the vice president’s marker. He is buried kitty-corner to the first VP laid to rest at Crown Hill, Thomas A. Hendricks, who is buried a section over.
Fast Facts
Born: May 11, 1852 in Unionville Center, Ohio
Spouse: Cornelia Cole Fairbanks (m. 1874-1913)
Political Affiliation: Republican Party
Vice Presidential Tenure: 1905-1909 under Theodore Roosevelt
Died: June 4, 1918 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Cause of Death: Nephritis
Age: 66
Interment: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
"Political parties are undivided as to purpose -- the highest and best welfare of the country; their differences arise as to the best method of obtaining the end."
- Charles Fairbanks
1897 in an address at the memorial service of late U.S. Representative William S. Holman
Sources Consulted and Further Reading
Smith, William Henry. The Life and Speeches of Hon. Charles Warren Fairbanks, Republican Candidate for Vice-President. Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, 1904. From HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082348081&view=1up&seq=9&skin=2021.
