The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-10-20


one term. After that, for about twelve
years, he was cashier of the Second
National Bank at FreepOTt. He was a
very good man, very piOus man and an
intelligent man. About thirty years
ago he became interested in the publi-
cations of John H. NOyes, who 8 the
founder of the Oneida Community, and
was under his influence more or less
during that entire period. l used to
hear him talk about the Community a
great deal in his family and l became
interested in it in that way in my early
bOyhOOd. My mother died when | was
seven years old. | know very little
about my mother. l understood she
was a woman of fine mind and lady
highly spoken OF. / have brother
named John Wilson Guiteau; he is eight
years older than am. He was born at
Ann ArbOr, Mich. He lived at FreepOrt
in his early days, and he went to Daven-
port, Iowa, in 1854 and lived there some
fifteen years. He was a lawyer by pro-
fession and practiced at Davenport
York city and entered the employ of the
United States Life Insurance Company.
He was with them two years, and was
one of their principal men. He has
great deal of insurance brain.
have a sister who is married to George
ScOville, Esq, an attorney at Chicago
They were married in 1853 and have
several children. My mother died at
FreepOrt when / was seven year old,
and my father was widOwer for five
years. He then married lady at Free
port named Maria Blood in 1853. They
have two children living-a daughter
(my half sister, about twenty-five years
old, and a son (my half bTOther) about
twenty-three years old, and think that
she lost one child in infancy"
EARLY LIFE AND HISTORY.
Guiteau next gives the story of his
life. He was born at Freeport, ILL.,,
September 6, 1841. AS boy he says he
knew Mr.. Z. B. Washburne and General
John M. ScOfield, whom he remembers
as cadet at West Point. He went to
school to Mr.. Burchard, the present Di-
rector of the Mint. Reading Guiteau's
life, as written by himself, it is easy to
see that he is a creature of the most in
tense vanity. 81 was always" he tells
us, ambitious to be somebody and was
great reader" His father took the
Tribune and he had great reverence
for Horace Greeley and Henry Ward Bee
cher, from whom he declares he got most
of his political and social views. His ia
ther was a whig and a republican; of
moderate means; in religion a sort of
fanatic who believed in what were call
ed the new ideas of the time. Noyes, of
the Oneida Community. a great
impression on him, and he endeavOred
to inculcate the doctrines of that pecu-o
liar establishment on his family. Gui-
teau places all his misfOrtunes and fail
ures in life to his early training, and he
Is especially severe on his father, to
whom he attributes most of his calami-
ties and ill-success. In 1859 he desired
to go to college. His father, he says,
opposed the idea, but finally consented,
and he went to Ann HaTbOr, in Michi-
gan. Some mOney-abOut $2,0OO-had
been left him by his maternal grand
father, Major John Howe, who fOndly
declared that he "had more brains than
all the rest of fhe Guiteau family" and
who took ''a great interest in him."
Guiteau's intention was to spend two,
years there fitting himself for the study
and practice of the law, but instead of
going to college he joined the Oneida
Community. This was in June 1860.
His father advised him, he says, to take
this step, and he has never ceased to re-
pent of it. He remained there five
or six years, during which he had
scarcely anything to do with his family.
The picture he draws of it is gloomy
one. NOyes was harsh, cold, cruel, and
exacted the most degrading service. He
service in the kitchen and on the farm.
There was, however, a pretty good Ii
bTaFy there and in it he spent all the
time at his disposal. With the female
portion of the society he did not get
along very well. They made fun of
him and wounded his self-esteem. He
made up his mind to leave in short
time, and turned his eyes toward New
| York. This was in 1860. He had about
$1,000, and he conceived the idea of
starting religious newspaper here, for
which he had hit upon the name of the
| New York Daily Tribune. The story of
| Horace Greeley and the. foundation of
the Tribune were i'll his mind, and he
| thought he could accomplish what Mr..
Greeley had accomplished. Nothing, he
says, ever came of it. His New York
trip was not a success. He made him
| self at home in the rooms of the Young
| Mems Christian Association, became
acquainted with the Secretary, Mr.. Me-
Burney. He tried to find something to
do; lived in HOboken in an humble way
from April to August, in 1865, and in
distress again turned to Oneida. He
wrote to them and secured a position
on trial in the New York agency, where.
he remained until the following No
vember, when he again Joined the par
| ent establishment. His second visit
lasted until November, 1866, when he
again left. The story that he was ex-
PEELED he Indignantly denies. In No
| vember, 1866, he was again in New
York, hanging around the quarters of
| the Young Mems Christian Association,
boarding in Brooklyn and attending
| Plymouth church.
DOWN ON THE BLACK LIST.
81 was" he writes, "in great distress.
l could not get money enough to pay
my board during the summer, and
owed several parties for board, and they
were pressing me for it, and finally L
| got my name on the black list there as
boarding house beat, and it was cir
culated among boarding house keepers.
That was in 1874, and one, night in
December, 1874, had not any money or
any place to go to. 1t was raining-a
cold, bitter night, remember-and /
went up to the St. Nicholas Hotel desk
like man, registered my name and
told the clerk l would like room. He
gave me a room and l was there a week,
and during this time / was pressing the
Herald to settle my claim. l needed
the money, was in great distress of
mind. l could not get anything to do
and | had not any money. 1 went
around to the newspaper offices during
the fall trying to get something to do,