The daily gazette., 1879-07-15
FIRST EDITION.
OBITUARY.
WILLIAM ALLEN, OF OHIO,

U ODl " AN L.
WILLIAM ALLEN, OF OHIO.
Dispatches from Chillicothe, O., an
nounce that after q brief illness at his
at his home in Fruit Hill, Ex-Governor
William Allen, Of Ohio, passed quietly
away yesterday morning. Only few
weeks ago correspondent Of the Tines
heard from the father of the "Ohio Idea"
the story Of his life, and while he told 1t
he sat quietly upon the doorstep Of his
stone mansion and appeared strong in .
vigorous old age. He has filed many
high public stations, and 1t has twice dur
ing his long life seemed even probable
that he might be called to the highest
position attainable by an American citi-
zen. A wise and f0rcasting statesman
his warmest admirers will scarcely call
him, but no one ever doubted his entire
sincerity Of purpose or his devotion TO
the country Is he understood 1t. The
general feeling In regard to him among
all parties in the West resembled the
feeling in the East towards Horace Gree
ley, at whom though people often laugh
ed they laughed In kindly and good
natured-way.
William Allen was born in Edenton,
N. c., In 1906. While he was child his
father and mother moved to Lynchburg,
Va, where at the public school he stu
died until he was sixteen yeas old. 1t
is told of him that when he was only
nine years old he talked with Jefferson
and Jackson in public house in Lynch
burg. He was fond of recurring to this
Ii nd nc hnr 10 In thu trpn
cratic faith. His half-sister had married
a young man named Thurman, and they
had moved to Chillicothe, in Ohio, where
they were prosperous in their affairs with
family growing about them. When
young Allen was sixteen he, too, deter
mined to cross the mountains and make
for himself home and name in the
young but rapidly growing State of
Ohio. Meeting Kentucky drover who
had taken his stock to Virginia to find q
market, Allen asked and received per-
mission te accompany him on his home
ward Journey. In the middle of winter
when the obscure tracks over the Blue
Ridge were covered with snow the two
started on foot on their long tramp. On
through snOw-drifts and over fallen
trees, with blistering feet and almost
frozen bodies, the companions pursued
their weary walk until little town
twenty-one miles from GallipOlis was
reached and their paths diverged. -Four
hundred miles more had Allen to make
alone before he reached his sisters
house, end these were four hundred
miles of fatigue and privation. Starting
early in the morning for Gallipolis, he
did not reach it for twenty four hours
during all Of which time he had beer
walking through an unsettled country
whose few roads bewildered rather thar
| guided a stranger. With the sunrise
| however, his tired eyes were gladdenet
| by the sight of the broad Ohio, beyo,t
which nestled the little town of Gallipo
lis.
The lad was enabled through th'
open and unquestioning hospitality o
| the people who dwelt by the roadside to
make acquaintances which stood him II
| good stead when a few years later b,
appeared upon the hustings to'plead the
cause of jackson and the Democrat
against the Wings and the United State
Bank. Indeed, one of these aoquaint
ances made by chance trusted him be
cause he was stranger and lent him
horse on which he finished the journey
Arriving in Chillicothe he was welcom
| ed by his brother and sister and thei
son, now tolerably well known il
the United States Senate as Allen G
Thurman.
With the understanding that as muc
must be learned as possible in the shor:
est space of time possible, young ALLIE
was entered in the Chillicothe Academ
where he remained two years, and fro 4
which he went to the Office of Judg
Scott, then q prominent lawyer, to rea
Chitty and Blackstone. With Judg
Scott he did not long remain, because
in his own words, he twas pestered t
death by a lot of girls who morning
noon and night kept up an everlasting
chatter and banged away on an old pl
ano," and this in the next room. Leav
ing this scene of "chatter and bang" b
went to the office of Colonel Edwar
King, a son of Rufus King, of this city
and the father of Rufus King, of Cincin
natl, and before he was twenty-on
braved an examination for admission
the bar at Portsmouth where the Su
preme Court was sitting. With the say
ing wisdom of an older generation tha
the present he nerved himself with
pint of peach brandy made palatable b
mixture Of honey, and in five minute
after his examination began was prt
nounced fit to be member of the Obi
bar by one of the bluff old judges who's
simple but expressive verdict he thus n
cords: "Oh, HI that feller can TAX
care of himself; let's go an liquor.
He was q hard worker, and soon mad
himself of value to Colonel King, VIII
took him into partnership. Young A
len for a time did the work and XIII
found the wit. At twenty-five he WI
employed for the defense, and conducte
it successfully, in murder case
which the leading lawyers of Il
State were employed by the posec'
tion.
At this time-1S32-th Congression
district in which he lived was regardt
by the Democrats as hopelessly Viii
An election was approaching and Il
Democrats, to preserve their organic
ton, sought some one to be their cand
date against the Whig standard-beare
Duncan nlcArthur, who was then Cove
nor of Ohio. Aliens energy in discu
= sing the issues of the day made sens
ton and Mr.. Macarthur felt that he mu
do something to crush the young ma
r With this object he induced VILLA
Sumpter Murphy, an orator who W
afterwards distinguished in the dipl
matte service, to announce himself as
Independent Jackson candidate. Mu