The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-06-24
JAMES ABRAHAM GARFIELD.
A stalwart Pen-sketch OF the Nominee for
President.
TBy E. p. smaQey a Republican, journalist

Astalwart Pen-sketch OF the Nominee for
President.
lBy E. p. SmaQey Republican Jo'1rnaet's.1
james Abraham Garfield was born No
vsmber 10, 1881, in the township OF
Orange, .Cuyahoga county, Ohio, about
fifteen. miles from Cleveland. His faith
or. Abraham Garfield, came from New
York. but like his mother, was OF New
England stock. James was the young
est Of four children. The father died in
1883, leaving the family Dependent.
upon q small farm and the exertions of
the mother. There vas nothing about
the elder Garfield to distinguish him
from the other. ploddipg farmers OF the
rather sterile township Of Orange. NO
one could discern any qualities in him,
which, transmitted to the next genera
tion, might help to make a statesman,
unless it was industry; but his wife,
who is still living at an: advanced age,
was always fond Of residing, when she
could get leisure from her hard house,
hold duties, and was thoroughly capa-
ble woman, of strong will, stern princl..
Piles and more than average force OF
Character. Of the children, no one be-
sides james has made the slightest marx
ia the world. The older brother is
farmer in Michigan, and the two sisters
are, I believe, farmers wives. James
had tough time of it as a boy: be
toiled hard on the farm, early and late
in Summer, and worked at the carpen.
ter's bench in. Winter. The best of it
was that he liked work. There was not
a lazy hair ON his head. He had an ab-
sorbing ambition to get an education,
and the only road open to this end SEEM
ed that of manual labor. Ready money
was hard to get in chose days. The Ohio
Canal ran not far from where ne lived, ana
finding that. the ;boatmen got their pay
in cash and earned better wages than ne
could make at farming or carpentry, ne
hired out, as asdrfver on :the towPath,
and soon got up to the dignity of holding
the helm of boat. Then he determined
to.ship as sailor on the lakes, but an
attack of fever and; ;ague interfered with
/. his plans. He was ill three months,
and when he recovered he decided to go
to a school called Geauga Academy, in
an adjoining county. His mother had
saved small sum Of money, which she
gave him, with few cooking utensils
and q stock Of provisions. He hired q
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 as
sistance. BY working at Che carpenters
bench MORNINGS aud evenings and ,yaca'.
tiontimes, and teaching country schools
in tie Winter, he managed to attend
the academy during the Spring and Fall
terms and to save q little money towards
going to. college. He had. excellent
health, q robust frame and capital
memory. and the attempt to combine
mental and .pysical work, which has
broken down many farmer boys ambi-
tious to get an education, did not hurt
him. -.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE. 8
When he 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 be had
saved about half enough money to get
through college, provided ,hecould begin;.
as he hoped, with the junior year. de
got a life insurance policy and assigned
it to to gentleman as security for
lean to make up the amount ne lacked.
In the Fall of 1854 he entered the junior
class of Williams College, Massachusetts,,
and graduated in 1856 with the meta.
physical honors of his class. have seen
daguetreotype of him taken about this
time. It represents q rather awkward
youth, with shock of lighthair, stand.
ingsstfaight up from big forehead, and
q frank, thoughtful face, OF aNery mark
ed German type. There is not drop. OF
German blood in the Garfield family but
this picture would. be taken for some
Fritz or Carl, just over freni the Faith
erland. s,s 9a
Before he went to college Garfield had
connected himself with the Disciples,
sect haVing q numerous membership IN
Eastern and Southern Ohio, West Vir-i
einia and Kentucky, where its founder.
Alexander Campbell, had travelled and
preached. The principal peculiaritles OF
the denomination are their refusal to
formulate their beliefs into a creed, the
Independence of each congregation. the
hospitality and fraternak feeling of the
members. and the lackof regular
ministry. When Garfield returned to
Ohio it was natural that he should soon
gravitate to the struggling little college
of the young sect at Hiram, Portage
county, near his boyhood's home: he
became 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 he had been two
years in his professorship he was ap-
pointed President of the college. HI
ram is q lonesome country village, three
miles from a railroad, built upon high
hill, overlooking twenty miles Of cheese
making country to the southward: 1t
contains fifty.or sixty houses clustered
around the green, in the centre OF which
stands the homely red brick college
structure. Plain living and high think
ing was the order of things at Hiram
College in those days. The teachers
were Door, and the institution was poor,
but there was great deal Of hard, faith
full study done and many ambitious plans
formed. The young President taught,
lectured and preached, and all the time
studied as diligently as any ecolyte In
the temple of knowledge. He frequent.
" spoke on Sundays in the churches Of
the towns in the vicinity to create an
interest in the college. Among the Dis
ciples any one can preach who has
mind to, no ordination being required.
From these Sunday discourses came the
story that Garfield was minister. He
never considered himself such, and never
had apy intention of finding a career in
the pulpit. His ambition, if he bad any
outside of the school, lay in the dlrec'
ton of law and politics.
HIS MARRIAGE.
During his professorship Garfield
IL <lo