Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1880-07-01
GENERAL ARTHUR.
A Vermont Mans RecOllectIOns
of His Youth.

Some one writes from Saratoga to the
Rutland (Vt.) Herald and Globe some
interesting "reminiscences of the Repub-
lican candidate for Vice President. He
says:
Nearly fifty years ago the writer, then
a small boy, lived in remote district
in the town of Fairfield, VT, which
joins st. Albans Oh the east. I we'll
remember the advent to that neighbor-
hood of a Baptist preacher of Irish
birth, but. of remarkable ability and
eloquence. He drew audiences unheard
of before in that rustic community,
where there was a fiourishlng Baptist
| Church. He at first preached in the
district school-house, which soon failed
| to hold half his audience. Finally q
spacious neighboring barn was pressed
into service as a place Of worship. |
well remember the appearance of that
audience. The women were mostly
seated In imprOvised seats of slabs upon
| the barn floor. The deacons and older
| men occupied the stable, the young
| folks climbed upon the hay-mow, while
certain adventurous boys perched eloft
among the beams. To this audience
that eloquent and well-educated young
minister preached with great effect,
| and many conventions were the re-
suit of his labors. A Westinghouse
was soon built, in which he afterward
preached. On moving his family to
the place of his labors, there was no
house suitable to receive them; the
large families Of the farmers filed all
desirable tenements. The minister,
with his wife and four young daughters,
moved into a small log cabin, only a
| few rods from the humble dwelling of
| my parents, to remain there till small
but comfortable parsonage should be
built across the way. One night my
mother was mysteri0usly absent, and
our anxious inquiries concerning her
! whereabouts were answered grayely
but evasively by .ourI father, but she
1 returned in the morning to the care of
her own little flock, with her face
radiant with smiles, and astonished US
with the intelligence that new boy
had been sent to the minister's during
the night. She said that the reverend
gentleman quite forgot the dignity Of
his Office, and nearly danced up and
down with wild delight when my
grandmother informed him that ''lt
was boy" and that boy, born in that
humble log cabin, is the Republican
candidate for Vice President Of the
United States. He was named for the
attending physician, Chester Abel
Arthur. BE was not, as stated in the
Herald, the Oldest of four daughters
and two sons; he was the fifth child,
the four daughters preceding him
hence the delight Of his father on the
advent of a boy, as having daughters
was getting rather monoton0us to tht
poor clergyman, and probably he woult
have danced as vigorously as David die
before the ark had he known that boy
was to be Vice President of the Unitet
States. On visiting my own birthplac'
last summer, I had the curiosity Il
Identify the site Of the old log cabir
iwhere General Arthur was born. l
was in the northeast portion of Fair
field, about mile east of the old brlcl
} meeting house, so long conspiciou
feature in the landscape, and where nj
father, Rev. DR.. Arthur preached. II
- rugged pasture on the hillside only
islight hollow marks the spot wher
stood the log cabin in which. the dis
: tinguished son Of Vermont FIRST sav
the light fifty years ago next autumn
The old parsonage where he spent hi
early childhood Is still Standing"