The Columbus journal., 1880-06-23
THE MAN.
Something About las. A. Gar.
field. the Republican Nom.
iuee for President.

Nov. Is, 1881, in the Township Of
Orange, C~uyahogs county, Ohio,
about fifteen miles from Cleveland.
His father, Abraham Garfield, 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
a small farm and the exertions of
the mother. There was nothing
about the elder Garfield to distin-
guish him from the other Flooding
farmers of the rather sterile Town
ship of Orange. No one could dis
cern any qualities in him, which,
transmitted TO the next generation,
might help to make a statesman,
unless il 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 a
thoroughly capable woman, of strong
will, stern principles. and more than
average force of character. OF the
children no one besides James has
made the slightest mark in the
world. The older brother is a far
mel in Michigan, and the two sis
tiers are, | believe, farmers wives.
James had a tough time of il as a
boy. lie toiled hard on the farm
early and late in summer, and work
ed at the carpenters bench in win
ter. The best of il was that he liked
work. There was not a 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 manual labor. Ready
money was hard to get in those
days. The Ohie 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 car
pentry, he hired out DIS a driver upon
the tow-path, and soon got up to the
dignity of holding the helm of a
boat. Then he determined to ship
as a sailor on the lakes, but an at
tack of fever and ague interfered
with his plans. He was i'll three
months, and when he recovered he
decided to go to a school called
Geauga academy, in an adjoining
county. His mother had saved a
small sum of money, which she gave
him, together with a few cooking
utensils and a stock Of provisions.
He hired a 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 assist
ance. By working at the carpen-
ter's bench mornings and evenings
and vacation times, and teaching
country schools through the winter,
he managed to attend the academy
during the spring and fall terms,
and TO save a little money towards
going to college. He had excellent
health, a robust frame, and q capital
memory, and the attempt to COM
bine mental and physical work,
which has broken down many far
mer boys ambitious to get an edu-
cation, did not hurt him.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE.
When he was % 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
assurance policy and assigned it to
a gentleman as security for a loan
TO make up the amount he lacked.
In the fall of 1854 he entered the
Junior class of Williams college,
Massachusetts, and graduated in
1856 with the metaphysical honors
Of his class. have seen a daguer-
reotype of him taken about this
time. Ii represents a rather awk-
ward youth, with a shock of light
hair standing straight up from a big
forehead, and a frank, thoughtful
face, Of a very marked German type.
There is not a drop of German blood
in the Garfield family, but this pic
ture would be taken for some Fritz
or Carl just over from the Father
land.
Before he went to college Garfield
had connected himself with the Dis
ciples, a sect having a numerous
membership in eastern and southern
Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky,
where its founder, Alexander
Campbell, had travelled and preach
ed. The principal peculisrities of
the denomination are their refusal
to formulate their beliefs into a
creed, the independence of each con-
gregstion, the hospitality and fra
ternsl feeling of the members, and
the lack of a regular ministry.
When Garfield returned to Ohio il
was natural that he should soon
nro vito "a N tho ofrnnUl;nn litslo ool-