Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-06-17
@epublifau Auminees.
JAMES ABRAHAM GARFIELD.
A sTALwART PEN.sXETCH OF THE NOMINEE
FOR PRESIDENT.
[By Z. V. Smalley, Republican Journalist

[By Z. v. smalley, Republican Journalistic
James Abraham Garfield was born Novem-
ber 10, 1881, in the Township of Orange,
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, about fifteen miles
from Cleveland. His father, Abraham Gar
field, came from New York, but like his moth.
er, was of New England stock. James was
the Youngest of four children. The father
died in 1888, leaving the family dependent
upon small farm and the exertions of the
mother. There was nothing about the elder
Garfield to distinguish him from the other
plodding farmers of the rather sterile Town
ship of Orange No one could discern any
qualities in him, which, transmitted to the
next generation, might help to make states
man, unless it was industry; but his wife,
who is still living at an advanced age, was
always fond of reading when she could get
leisure from her hard household duties, and
was thoroughly capable woman, of strong
will, stern principles and more than average
force of character. Of the children, no one
but James made the slightest mark in the
world. The older brother is farmer in
Michigan, and the sisters are, believe, far
mers' wives James had tough time of it
as boy. He toiled hard on the farm, early
and late in summer, and worked at the car
that he liked work. There was not lazy
hair on his head. He had an absorbing
ambition to get an education, and the only
road open to this end seemed that OF mutual
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 wages 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 boat. Then he de.
termined to ship as sailor on the lakes,
but al attack of fever and ague interfered
with his plans He was i'll three months, and
when he recovered he decided to 60 to a
school called Geauga Academy, in an ad-
Joining county. His mother had saved
small sum of money, which she gave him,
together with few cooking utensils and
stock of provisions. He hired small room
and cooked his own food to make his expen-
ses as light as possible. He paid his own
way after that, never calling on his mother
for any more assistance By working at the
carpenters bench mornings and evenings
and vacation times, and teaching country
schools during the winter, he managed to
attend the academy during the spring and
fall terms and to save little money towards
going to college, He had excellent health,
a robust frame and a capital memory, and the
attempt to combine mental and physical work,
which has broken down many farmer boys
ambitions to get an education, did not hurt
him.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE.
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 he had saved about half
enough money to get through college, pro
vided he could begin as he hoped, with the
Junior year. He got a life insurance policy
and assigned it to gentleman as security
for loan to make up the amount lacked.
In the fall of 1854 he entered the junior class
of Williams College, Massachusetts, and grad
uated in 1856 with the metaphysical honors OF
his class. have seen daguerreotype of him
taken about this time 1t represents a ralh-
er awkward youth, with shock Of light hair
standing straight up from big forehead and
frank thoughtful face, of very marked Ger.
man 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 from the Fatherland.
Before he went to college, Garfield had con-
nected himself with the Disciples, sect
having a numerous membership in Eastern
and Southern Ohio, West Virginia and Ken
lucky, where its founder, Alexander Camp
bell had travelled and preached. The prin-
cipal peculiarities of the denomination are
their refusal to formulate their beliefs into
creed, the independence of each congregation,
the hospitality and fraternal feeling Of the
members and the lack of regular ministry.
When Garfield returned to Ohio it was natu-
raj that he should soon gravitate to the
struggling little college of the Young sect at
Hiram, Portage county, near his boy hoods
home. He became professor of Latin and
Greek and threw himself, with the energy and
industry which are leading traits of his char
acter, into the work of building up the institu'
ton. Before he had been two years in his
professorship, he was appointed president of
the college. Hiram is lonesome country
village, three miles from railroad, built
upon a high hill, overlooking twenty miles
of cheese making country to the southwark.
1t contains fifty or sixty houses clustered
around the green, in the centre Of which
stands the homely red brick college struc-
ture. Plain living and high thinking was
the order of things at Hiram College in those
days. The teachers we're poor, the pupils
were poor, and the institution was poor, but
there was great deal of hard faithful study
done and many ambitious plans formed.
The young president taught lectured, and
all the time studied as diligently as any
acolyte in the temple of knowledge. He
frequently spoke on Sundays in the churches
of the towns in the vicinity to create an inter-
est in the college. Among the Disciples any
one can preach who has mind to, no ordina-
tion being required. From these Sunday
dscourses came the story that Garfield at one
time was minister He never considered
himself as such, and never had any intention
of finding career in the pulpit. His ambi-
ton, if he had any outside of the school, lay
in the direction of law and politics.
HIS MARRIAGE.
During his professorship, Garfield married
Miss Lucretia Rudolph, daughter ola far
mer in the neighborhood, whose acquaintance
he had made while at the academy, where
she was also pupil She was quiet, thoug ht-
full girl, of singularly sweet and refined dis
position, fond of study and reading, possess
ing warm heart and mind with the capacity
of steady growth. The marriage was a love
affair on both sides and has been thorough
" happy one Much of Gen. Gar6elds sub
senuent success in life NAV be attributed to