The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-06-19
JAMES ABRAHAM GARFIELD.
The Life and Record of the Republican
Nominee.

The following sketch of General
Garfield is from the pen of the well
known correspondent Mr.. E. V.
Smalley, and originally appeared in
the Philadelphia Times:
James Abraham Garfield was born
November 10, 1881, in the township
of Orange, Cuyahoga county, ONO,
about fifteen miles from cleveland.
His father, Abraham Garfield, came
from New York, but, like his mother
was of New England stock. James
was the youngest of four children.
The father died in 1888, leaving the
family dependent upon a small farm
and the exertions of the mother.
There was nothing at out the eldest
Garfield to distinguish him from the
other Pleading farmers of the rather
sterile township of Orange. No one
could discern any qualities in him
which, transmitted to the next gene
ration, might help to make states
man, unless it was industry; but his
wife, who is still living at an ad-
yanced age, was always fond of read
ing when she could get leisure from
her hard household duties, and was
a thoroughly capable woman, OF
strong will, stern principles, and
more than average force OF character.
Of the childrt n, no one besides James
has made the.slightest mark in the
world. The eldest brother is a far
mer in Michigan, and the two sisters
are, believe, farmers wives. James
had tough time of it as a boy. He
toiled hard OH the farm early and
late in summer and worked at the
carpenters bench in winter. The
best of it was that he liked work.
There was not lazy hair on his
head. He had an absorbing ambi-
ton to get an education, and the only
road opened tn this end seemed that
of manual labor. Ready money was
hard to get in those days. The Ohio
Canal ran not far from where he lived,
and, finding that the boatmen got
their pay in cash, and earned better
than he could make at farming or
carpentry, he hired out as driver
on the tOw-path. and soon got up to
| the dignity of holding the helm OF a
boat. Then he determined to ship
as sailor on the lakes, but an attack
of fever and ague interfered with his
plans. He was i'll three months, and
when he recovered he decided to go
to school called Geauga Academy,
in an adjoining county. His mother
| had saved small sum of money,
which she gave him, together with q
few cooking utensils and stock OF
provisions. He hired small room
and cooked his own food to make
his expenses as light as possible. He
paid his own way after that, never
calling on his mother for any more
assistance. BY working at the car
penter bench mornings and evenings
and vacation times, and teaching
country schools during the winter,
he managed to attend the academy
during the spring and fail terms and
to save little money toward going
to college. He had excellent health,
robust frame and capital memory
and the attempt to combine mental
and physical work, which has broken
down many farmer BOYS ambitious
to get an education, did not hurt
him.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE.
When he was % years of age he
concluded he had about all there was
to be had in the obscure roads
academy. He calculated that he had
saved about half enough money to
get through college, provided he
could begin, as he hoped, with the
Junior year. He got life insurance
policy and assigned it to gentle
man as security for loan to make
up the amount he lacked. In the
fall of 1854 he entered the junior elias,
of Williams College. Massachusetts
and graduated in 1856 with the met
aphysical honOrs Of his class. l have
seen a daguerreotype of him abou1
this time. 1t represents rather
awkward youth. with shock Of
light hair standing straight up from
big forehead, and frank, thought
full face, of a very marked German
type. There is not drop of German
blood in the Garfield family, but hi:
picture would be taken for some
FitZ or Carl just ever from the Faith
erland.
Before he went to college Garfield
had connected himself with the Dis.
ciples, a sect having a numerous
membership in Eastern and South
ern Ohio, West Girginia and Ken
lucky, where its founder. Alexander
Campbell had travelled and preached
The principal peculiarities OF the de
nomination are their refusal to for
mulate their beliefs into a creed, thu
independence of each congregation
the hospitality and fraterBal feeling
of the members of the lack of regu
lar ministry. When Garfield re
turned to Ohio it was natural that HI
should soon gravitate to the strug
Cling little college of the young sec
at Hiram. Portage county, near his
boyhood's home. He became pro
fessor of Latin and Greek and threw
himself with the energy and indus
try which are leading traits of hi
character into the work of buildin,
the institution. Before he had beer
two years in the professorship h
was appointed president of the col
lege. Hiram is a lonely country vii
lage, three miles from a railroad
built upon high hill, overloc kin,
twenty miles of cheese maxim,