Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-09-21
BIOGRAPHICAL.

The following sketch Of Gen. Garfield was pre-
pared by personal and intimate friend at the tim
Of his nomination at Chicago last year. We repro
duce 1t as faithful history of his career up to tn
time he became candidate for president, and sine
then his career is too familiar to need tcapitulaon
ED. GLOBE.
James Abraham Garfield was born No
vember 10, 1881, in the township of Or
arng, Cuyago county, Ohio, about fifteer
miles from Cleveland. His father Abra
ham Garfield, came from New York, but
like his mother, was of New England
stock James was the youngest of foul
children. The father died in 1888, leav-
ing the family dependent upon a small
farm and the eXertiOns of the mother
There was nothing about the elder Gar
field to distinguish him from the other
plodding farmers of the rather sterile
township of Orange. No one could dis
Germ any qualitls in him which, trans
mitted to the next generation, might help
to make statesman, unless it was in
dustry; 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 srong will,
stern principles and more tlan an average
force of character OF the children no
one besides James has made the slightest
marx in fine world. The older brother is
a farmer in Michigan, and the two sisters
are, | believe, farmers wives. James
had tough time of it when a boy He
toiled hard on the farm early and late in
summer, and worked at the car
printers bench in winter The
best of it was that he liked. work.
There was not lazy hairOn his head.
He had an absorbing ambition to get an
education, and the only way open to this
end seemed that Of manual labor. Ready
money was hard 10 get in those days.
The Oslo canal ran not far from where
he lived, and, fin6irg 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 uD to the dignity
of holding the helm of a boat. Then he
determined to ship as sailor on the
lakes, but an attack &C fever and ague in
terfered with his plans. He was i'll three
months, and when he recovered he de-
cided to go to school called Geauga
academy, in an adjoining county. His
mother had saved small sum of money,
which she gave him, together with few
cooking utensils and stock of provis-
IONS He hired small room and cooked
his own food to make his expenses as
light as possible He paid lis own way
after that, never calling on his mother for
OF q a
carpenters bench morning 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 ex-
cellent health, a robust frame and capital
memory, and the attempt to combine
mental and physical work, which has
broken down many farmer boys ambitious
to get an education, did not hurt him.
GARFIELD AT COLLEGE.
When he was twentythree 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
ges rough college, provided he could
beg. as he hoped, with the junior ,vear.
He got re insurance policy and as
signed it to gentleman as security for a
loan 10 make up the amount he lacked.
In the sall of 1854 he entered the junior
class OF Williams college, Massachusetts,,
and graduated 1 1856 with the meta
honors o. his class. [ have seen
a daguerreotype OF him taken about this
time. 1t represents rather awkward
youth, with shock OF light hair stand
ing rather straight up from big fore
head, and frank, thoughtful face, of
very marked German type. There is not
a drop OF German blood in the Garfield
family, but this picture would be taken
for some Fl'iz or Carl just over front
the Fatherand.
Before he went to college Garfield had
himself with the Disciples, a
sect havirg q numerous membership in
eastern AT. southern Ohio, West Virginia
and Kentucky, where IFS founder, Alex
ander Campbell, bad travelled and
preached. The principal peculiarities of
the denomination are their refusal
to formulate their beliefs into creed, the
OF each congregation, the
and i:aternal feeling OF men,
bers and the lack Of 9 regular ministry.
When Garfield returned TO Ohio 1t was
natural that lie should soon gravitate to
the struggling little college o. the young
sect at Hiram, Portage county, near his
bovhood home. He became professor of
Latin and Greek, and threw himself with
the energy and industry which are lead
inc traits o. his character, into the work
of building I'D ;2e institu :on. Be ore he
had been Two years in his p-ofessorship
he was appoin I'd Dresiden. OF the college.
Hiram is a lonesome cOC~tTy village,
three miles ION railroad, built upon
high hill, overlooking twenty miles of
cheese making country 10 the southwark
1t contains fly or sky houses clustered
around the green, 4 ne center Of which
stands ne homely red brick college struc-
ture. Plain living end thinking was the
order of things at L. ram college in those
days. The teachers were poor, the pupils
we're poor, 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
acolyte in the temple Of knowledge.
He frequently spoke on Sundays in the
churches of the towns in the vi
cinity to crea.e a, interest ~ he college.
Among Ire disa pes any one can preach
who has mind ., no ordination being
required. From these Sunday discourses
came The story IA Garfield at one time
was minister. Re never considered
himself such and never had any intention
Il I, 1T,,t
oition,if ne had any outside of the school,
lay in the direction of law and politics.
HIS MARRIAGE.
During his professorship Garfield mar
ried Miss Lucretia Rudolph, daughter Of
a farmer in the neighborhood, whose ac-
quaintance he had made while at the
academy, where she was also pupil.
She was g quiet, thoughtful girl, of sim
gularly sweet and refined disposition,
fond ~ ct11Gu oud rpodinU nocSpccinU q