A native of Vermont, his birth having occurred in Swanton, Franklin County, on the 25th of March, 1840, a son of Mason and Sally (Aseltine) Fitch, the former a native of New York. When the Captain was about ten years of age the family removed to Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York, where the parents remained until the close of the Civil war, when they removed to Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois. In the public schools of New York Captain Fitch obtained his education at St. Lawrence Academy and St. Lawrence University. He was pursuing a course of civil engineering when the war broke out, and in July, 1861, at Canton, New York, he offered his services to the government. On the organization of Company A, Sixtieth New York Infantry, he was appointed corporal, soon afterward was made orderly sergeant and for meritorious and gallant service was commissioned first lieutenant at Chancellorsville, while a short time afterward he was made captain. He served as inspector on the staffs of General Greene, Garey, Mendall and Bartlett for six months, and also held a commission as lieutenant colonel. At the close of the war Captain Fitch returned to his old home in New York, but after a short time came to the west in the fall of 1865, making his way to Chicago, thence to Omaha by way of the Missouri river and on to Fremont, Nebraska, where the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, expecting to enter the civil engineering department. He next proceeded to Fort Dodge by way of Lake City, and that winter was employed to teach the school at Lake City. He taught through the winter and is now one of the oldest school teachers still living in this part of the state. Subsequently he purchased a farm southwest of the town and carried on agricultural pursuits there until 1887, when he removed to Lake City, where he was engaged in merchandising as proprietor of a store, in partnership with J. J. Hutchinson for four years. Mr. Fitch has been honored with a number of public offices. In 1866 he was elected clerk of the district court and filled that position until 1873, when he was elected to represent his district in the state senate, in which he served until 1876, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the legislation enacted during that period. He was a member at the time the capitol was built and served as a member of the building committee. For six years he also held the office of-supervisor, and in his political views he has always been a Republican, strongly endorsing the principles of the party and doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. The Captain was married, in 1866, to Miss Sarah E. Lindsey, of Lake City, and a native of Michigan. The Captain is a member of the Grand Army Post.
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