A rumor that Chester A. Arthur had actually been born in Canada, where his father had lived for some time before his son was born, was at one time circulated by political enemies who wished to disqualify Chester Arthur from the Presidency. Arthur insisted that he had been born in Fairfield, Vermont on October 5, 1830. Ultimately, Arthur had to be taken at his word as poor birth records made his place of birth impossible to substantiate either way.
