J. Fairfax (James Fairfax) McLaughlin

Born in 1839 and remembered in library records as James Fairfax McLaughlin, he published under the name J. Fairfax McLaughlin and is associated with a small but distinctive body of late-19th-century nonfiction. Catalog and public-domain author records connect him with works including The Life and Times of John Kelly, Tribune of the People, The American Cyclops, the Hero of New Orleans, and Spoiler of Silver Spoons, and Matthew Lyon, the Hampden of Congress.

His writing seems to have centered on politics, public figures, and historical personalities, often with a vivid, combative tone suggested by titles like Pasquinade and Tilden Memorabilia. Another side of his work appears in College Days at Georgetown, and Other Papers (1899), which points to a more personal, reflective interest alongside his political subjects.

He died in 1903. Reliable biographical detail beyond his dates and published works is limited in the sources I could confirm, but the surviving record suggests an author who moved comfortably between biography, commentary, and historical sketch-writing.