”The House of Representatives of the Fifty Third Congress” (detail), The Graphic Chicago, 1893, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

FITHIAN, George Washington, a Representative from Illinois; born near Willow Hill, Jasper County, Ill., July 4, 1854; attended the common schools; learned the printer’s trade in Mount Carmel, Ill.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Newton, Jasper County, Ill.; prosecuting attorney of Jasper County 1876-1884; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Fifty-third Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress; railroad and warehouse commissioner of Illinois 1895-1897; resumed the practice of law and engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock raising in Newton, Ill.; was also the owner of an extensive cotton plantation near Falcon, Miss.; died in Memphis, Tenn., January 21, 1921; interment in Riverside Cemetery, Newton, Ill.