Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1851-01-17

'oanSon' no'e Of Tennessee, a nat,ye of North cor
DINA. 1'O'"' '"f
The following sketch of the extraordinary coroo-
o! tne hon. Andrew johnson, we find in the Nosb
vile Union. 1t is highly interesting, and tboaa
| be true A'1o"h 70
| About thirty years ago. son of one Of tho MA,
thy men OF North Carolina bathing in river =
that State. He ventured too far into the deon 1
ter, and being unable to SWIM he was about r. bo
drowned. An elderly man was on the bank and
seeing the imminent peril of the little bows situate;
he leaped into the water, and by severe exertion
succeeded in reaching the spot where he saw hin,
sink for the third time By diving to the bottom bo
found the body of the boy and succeeded in swim
ming with it to the shore The energies of the old
man were exhausted, and so soon as he had placed
the boy on the bank in lifeess condition he sunk
under the oFer-exertion and after died leayno
a motherless son of about ten years of age. The
timely exertlons of skilful physician rescued the
ttle BOY thus saved by the old man from the grave
out his skill could not the life of the old man
Inc old man was poor, and upon his death his son
was bound out to the Tailors trade under the laws
OF North Carolina. He served his apprenticeship in
the CITY OF Raleigh and at the age ftwenty-one he
went forth into the world with decent su;t az otbo
but without having been taught even so mnch "a TO
reau ana write. After tramping short time thro'
ooutn Carolina, he determined to wend his way to
the estern District of Tennessee where he under
$1,000 the wealthy gentleman then resided whose son
expense of his life. He set out on his tramp
westward with his bundle on his back, intending to
work his way by hating short time and doing
J eurney-Work in the several towns on his route He
reached Greenville, in East Tennessee, and deter
mined to call short halt. He soon discovered that
there was good opening for another shop, and he
concluded to hang out on his own hook. In short
time he succeeded in winning custom. and he had
also won the heart of an Intelligent and highly ac-
complished young lady They were married. and
that was end of his trampinp
The responsibilities of family induced him to
double his exertions, and his attention to business
secured him abundance of patrons He piled his
needle diligently during the day and at NIGHT be
went to school to his wife, who undertook to teach
him to read and write. He an apt scholar and
he had an excellent teacher. He became enamored
of books, and to them he devoted all the time he
could spare from his shopboard He prospered in
business and grew in knowledge. In a few years he
was considered of fine intelligence and of I'M
firing perseverance, whilst his character for sterling
integrity was fully established. In looking around
for suitable representative in the Legislature, the
people fixed their eyes upon the Intelligent and ener
getic Tailor He was elected TO the House of Rep
resentatives of the Tennessee Legislature, in 1886
He attracted particular attention for some weeks
after the commencement of the session, except for
the regularity of his attendance. He had but little
to say on the floor, although he was ALWAYS at his
post and ready to vote. 1t became necessary on one
occasion for him to say few words in opposition to
some measure, when to his surprise he was assaed
with something like rudeness by of the leading
lawyers and speakers of the assembly. By way Of
making the attack entirely overwhelming, the law
yer alluded to the occupation of the Tailor This
allusion kindled the Indignation of the young me-
chanic into blaze He took the floor in reply, and
poured forth torrent Of bold, bitter crushing phil
ipc and denuncation, mingled with ELOQUENT vindi-
cation of the mechanics ofthe State which comnlete
ly overwhelmed his assailant, and developed the
powers of his capacious intellect He took the
House and the gallery completely by surprise He
had their sympathies account of the rudeness of
the assault and the odds in favor of his assaant-
But one looked for such burst of Indignant elo-
quence followed. His character for high talents
and for bold, unshrnking courage was established,
and during the remainder of the session he ranked
amongst the ablest members of the body.
At the close of the session he returned to his shop
and there remained pursuing his trade and gather
ing fresh knowledge from hooks for several years
when the people again required his services in the
upper branch of the Legislature. By this time he
had made himself of the best informed men of
the Senate, and during the session he stood in the
front rank of that body. He next called by the
popular voice to Congress- and for the last years
he has adorned seat in that body. This is brief
history Of the rise of of the most remarkable
our State and his example deserves to be held up
Is beautiful commentary upon our free Institutions
ana as IA encouragement to other young in des
ntute clrcumSt"~nes. GREENE.