The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1880-06-17
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
Sketch ~ hls Lifa and p,h,s~ O..

JAMES A. GARFIELD.
Sketch ~ hls Lilo aud Public aarvao.e.
James Abraham Garfield was born Noyem.
ber Is, 1881, in the township of Orange, Cuya
hogs county, Ohio, about fifteen miles from
Cleveland. His father, Abraham Garfield
came from New York, but like his mother. Va,
OF New England stock James was the vonnp.
est Of four children. The father died in 1SsS
leaving the family dependent upon a small
farm and the exertions OF the mother. There
was nothing about the elder Garfield to dis.
tinguish him from the other ploddinp farmers
of the rather sterile township of Orange. M
one could discern any qualities in him which.
transmitted TO the next generation, might
help to make statesman, unless It waa in
dustry; but his wife, who is still living at an
advanced age, was always fond of reading
when she could get leisure from her h.rd
household duties, and was thoroughly capa.
ole woman, OF strong will, stern principles and
more than average force Of character. or the
children no one besides James has made the
slightest mark in the world. Tho older bro.
ther is farmer In Michigan, and the two sis
ters are, believe, farmers wives. James had
q tough time OF it when a boy. He toiled
na, hs1d ION on the farm carly and late In summer.
. NE
ter. The best of 1t was that he liked work.
There was not a lazy hair on his head. He
had an absorbing ambition to get an educa-
tion, and the only way open to 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, aud, fi..ding that the
better wages than he could make at
farming or carpentry, he hired
out, as driver on tho tow-path and
soon got up to the dignity Of holding the
helm of boat. Then lie determined to ship
as sailor on the lakes, bnt an attack of fever
and aguc interfered with his plans. He was
Ill three months, and when he recovered he
decided to 20 to school called Geauga Acad-
emy. in an adjoining county. His mother
had saved small sum of money, which she
gave him, together with few cooking uten-
sils and stock Of provisions. He hired a
small room and cooked his own food to make
his expenses as light as possible He paid
bis own way after that, never calling on bis
at the carpenters bench morning and even
ings and vacation times, and teaching coun.
try schools during the winter, he managed to
attend the academy during the spring and fall
terms and to save little money towards 90
Ing to college. He had excellent health. q
robust frame and capital memory, and the at-
tempt to combine mental and physical work,
which has broken down many farmer bows
ambitious to get an education, did not hurt
him
When be was twenty three years of age he
concluded he had got about all there was to
be had in the obscure cross roads academy
He calculated that he had saved about hall
enough money to get through college. pro-
vided he could begin, as he hoped, with the
and assigned it to q gentleman as security fol
q loan to make up the amount ne lacked In
the fall OF 1854 he entered the junior class OF
Williams College, Massachusetts,, and gradu.
ated In 1856 with the metaphysical honors ol
his class. I have seen q daguerreotype ol
him taken about this time. It represents q
rather awkward youth, with a shock OF light
hair standing rather straight up from bii
forehead. and frank, thoughtful face, of very
marked German type. There is not a drop Of
German blood IN the Garfield family, but this
picture would be taken for some Fritz or Carl
just over from the Fatherland.
Before he went to college Garfield had con-
nected himself with the Disciples, a SECT hav-
Ing numerousImembership in Eastern and
southern IN Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky,
where its founder, Alexander Campbell, had
travelled and preached. The principal pecu-
liarities Of the denomination are their refusal
to formulate their beliefs into q creed, the in
depenaence OF each congregation, the hospi-
tality and fraternal feeling Of members and
field returned to Ohio it was natural that he
should soon gravit ate to the struggling little
college Of the young sect at Hiram, Portage
county, near his boyhood's home. He be-
came professor Of Latin and Greek and threw
himself with the energy and industry which
are leading traits OF his character into the
work of building up the institution. Before
was appointed president of the college, Hi
ram is q lonesome country village. three
miles from railroad, built upon high hill
overlooking twenty miles of cheese-u.aking
country to the southwark. It contains fifty
or sixty houses clustered around the green,
in the centre Of which stands the homely red
brick college structure. Plain living and
I thinking was the order of things at Hiram
College in those days. The teachers were
poor, the pupils were poor and the institution
was COOr, but there was great deal of hard
| faithful study done and many abitious plans
! formed. The young president taught, lee.
tured and preached, and all the time studied
as diligently as any acolyte in the temple ol
knowledge. He frequently spoke on Sun
days in the churches of the towns in the vi
! cinlty to create an interest in the college,
Among the Disciples any one can preach who
has mind to, no ordination being required
From these Sunday discourses came the sto
ry that Garfield at one time was q minister.
he never considered himself such and never
pulpit. His ambition, II he had any outside
OF the school, lay in the direction Of law and
politics.
During his professorship Garfield married
| Miss Lucretis Rudolph, daughter of farmer
in the neighborhood, whose acquaintance he
had made while at the academy, where she
| was also pupil. She was quiet, thought
full girl, of singularly sweet and refined dispo
| sition, fond OF study and reading, possessing 9
| warm heart and q mind with the capacity ol
steady growth. The marriage was love af
fair on both sides and has been q thoroughly
happy one. Much of General Garfleld's sub
sequent success in life may be attributed to
companionship Of his wife and the stimulus
OF a loving home circle. The young couple
bought a neat little cottage fronting on the
college campus and began their welded life
poor and in debt, but with brave hearts.
In 1859 the college president was elected to
the State Senate from the counties Of Portage
aud Summit. He did not resign his presiden.
cy, because he looked upon few months in
the Legislature as an episode not likely to
change the course Of his life. But the war
came to alter all his plans, During the win.
ter Of 1851 he was active in the passage of
measures for arming the State militia, and his
eloquence and energy made him conspicu.
summer OF 1861 he was elected colonel OF an
infantry regiment (the Forty -second) raised in
Northern Ohio, many of the soldiers in which
had been students at Hiram. He took the
field in Eastern Kentucky, was soon put In
command of brigade, and by making one ol
the hardest marches ever made by recruits
surprised and routed tho rebel forces, under
Humphrey Marshall, at Piketon.
From Eastern Kentucky General Garfield
was transferred to louisville and from tha,
place hastened to join the army Of Genera
Buell., which he reached with his brigade in
time to participate in the second days fight
ing at Pittsburg Landing: He took part in
the siege OF Corinth and in the operations
along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad
In January, 1853. he was appointed Chief o
Staff of the Army of the Cumberland and bore
| . prominent share in all the campaigns in
Middle Tennessee in the spring and summer
| of that year. His last conspicuous military
service was at the battle OF Cbickamauga
For his conduct in that battle he was pro
NOTED to a major generalship. It is said that
he wrote all the orders given to the army tina,
1AN-- ~