Born near
Rensselaer, Indiana, to James and Margaret, Faris attended the public schools. He was graduated from
Asbury University,
Greencastle, Indiana, in 1877. He studied law. He was
admitted to the bar in 1877 and commenced practice in
Indianapolis, Indiana. He moved to
Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1880 and continued the practice of law. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for judge of the circuit court in 1884.
Congress Faris was elected as a
Republican to the
Fifty-fourth,
Fifty-fifth, and
Fifty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1901). He served as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1900.
Later career and death He resumed the practice of law in
Terre Haute, Indiana, and shortly thereafter moved to
Washington, D.C., and continued the practice of law until his death in that city on April 17, 1914. He was interred in
Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute. ==Personal life==