The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-06-24
JAMEs ABRAHAM GARFIELD.
a staI@art Peh.sketei OF the Nominee Cor.
ht,s PresideRt.
fBy e. Y. saa0ey a Repubhsan Jo.rnaii.t.1 ]

-a..s L.. !. ~
James Abraham Garfield was born No
yemher 10. 1881. in the township of
Orange, ,Cuyahoga county Ohio. about
eT, 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
1888, leaving the family dependent
upon small farm and the exerlions of
the mother. There waj nothing about
the elder Garfield to ';stinguish him
from the other plodding farmera of the
rather sterile tOwnship Of Orange. No
one could discern any. qualities in him,
which, transmitted te. the next genera.
tion, might help to make a q stateaman,
unless 1t 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, aud was a thoroughly capa.
ble woman, of strong will, stern princi-
plea and more than average force Of
character. OF the children, no one be-
sides James hus made the slightest mark
in the world. The older brother IL q
farmer in Michigan. end the two sisters
are, believe, farmers wives. James
had q tough time of it as boy. He
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 40
sorbing ambition to get an education,
and tue only road open to this end seem.
ed 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
III cash and earned better wages than he
could make at farming or carpentry, he
hired out as aFdrfver on the towpath,
and soon got up to the dignity of holding
the helm OF boat Thea 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. j. His mother had
saved q 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 alter that, never
calling on his mother. for any more as
sistRnce. BY working mt the carpenters
bench mornings and evenings andr,Naca-
tion times, and teaching country schools
in the Winter, he managed TO attend
the academy during the Spring and Fall
terms and to save o little money towards
going to college. BE had. excellent
health, robust frame and capital
memory, and the attempt to combine
mental and -pysical work.. which has
broken down many farmer boys ambi-
tiops to get an education, did not hurt
him.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE. M
When he was swenty-three years of age
he concluded ne had got about all there
was to be had in the obscure cross roads
academy. He. calculated that he had
saved abont half enough money 10 get
through college, provided he could begin,
as he hoped, with: the Junior year. He
got q life Insurance. policy and assigned
it to to gentleman as security for q
loan to make up the amount he lacked.
In the Fall of 1864 he enieredthe junior r
class of Williams College, Massachusetts,
and graduated in 1856 with the meta
physical honors Of his class. / have seen
O. daguefrsotype of him teken about this
time. It represents q rather awkward
ingsstraight up from big forehead, and
frank, thoughtful face, SsRNefy mark
cd German type. There is not q drop OF
German blood In the Garfield family hut
this picture wonld. be taken for some
Fritz pH CaEl, just oyer from the Faith
erland. asifsFfig $3.50 ~ s.5G,s
Before he-went to college Garfield had
connected himself with the Disciples, q
sect having a numerous membership in
Eastern and SnMthern Ohio, West Wiz
gipia and Kentucky, where its founder,
Alexandea. Campbell, had travelled and
preached. The principal peculiaisties of
the denomination are their refusal to
formulate their beliefs into.n creed the
independence of egch congregation ~ he
hospitality ard fratesnaE feeling Eofc tie
members, and the laok-of o regular
ministry.a When Garfield returned TO
Ohio it was natural that he should soon
grayitate to the struggling little college
OF the young sect nc Hiram; Portage
county, near his boyhood's home. He
became professor of Latin and Greek,
and threw himself with the. energy end
industry, which ere, leading traits OF, his
character, into the work of building up
the institution. Before he had been two
years in his protessofship he was ap.
ram is q lonesome country village, three
p;ies from . railroad, built Up0n q high
nill, overlooking twenty miles of cheese
1aking country to the southwark. It
contains fiftysS; sixty houses clustered
around the green, in the centre of which
stands the homely red brick college
structure. Flain living and high think
ing was the order. OF things sc Hiram
College in those days. The teachers
were poor, aud the institution was poor,
dut taufo TTd5 . KT5ae deal "a haId, faith