The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-04-28
The Wldowhood Of the Presidents
-. Mother.

Mrs. Garield's maiden name was
Eliza Ballou. She was q descendant Of
Maturin Ballou, Huguenot of France.
driven from his country upon the revo-
cation of the edict of Nantes.
He joined the colony of Roger Will
iams, came to America and settled in
Cumberland, r. ]. There he built q
church which Is still carefully preserved
as relic OF the past 1t is known as
the Elder Bauou meeting-h house. When
it WINS built there wore no saw-mills, no
nails, and few tools in the country. Its
galleries and pews. even its hopr are
hewn out Of solid logs. and put together
with. wooden pegs. Here Maturin Bal
lou preached the gospel. aud his son,
and grandson. aud great grandsons
alter him to. the tenth generation. "A
race Of preachers sprang from this pio-
near minister. a well rs many lawyers,
doctors and othcr public men. eminent
for their talents and force Of character
Some Of them figured in the American
Revolution a. heroic in war as they
were renowned in peace.
Abram Garfield and Eliza Ballou.
both emigrants from the State of New
York. were married in 1921. They had
gone in 1850 to Orange. Cuyahoga
Ohio, where q year later their
SON James was born, being their fourth
child. Their log house was built where
the heavy forest was but partly cleared
away. The fences were not yet made
about the fields when the father, in
fighting q forest fire that threatened the
Of tkeir home. 4ovarheated
himself. was suddenly chilled, and in q
few. days died. His last words to his
wife, as he looked upon his children,
were: ~ have planted four saplings
here in this forest / must now leave
them to your care. ~
= A happier family never dwelt in q
palace than had been in that cabin
homo. Little James was but eighteen
months old whom his father died too
young to understand his irreparable
loss or feel the pangs of griet that we'll
nigh crushed other hearts The neigh
bors came-only four or five families in
q radius Of ten imiles-and lwept with
the widow and fatherless. With their
assistance the lifeless form was inclosed
in . rough coffin and buried in corner
of the wheat field near by. No sermon,
no prayers. except the silent pray ers
that went up from aching hearts; Win
eoA "oS oHRAOoShihS. SOuiu huIu0u
experience be more dreary than o
woman left q widow alone with her
children in q wilderness swept by win
try storms. The howl Of the wolves
and the cry Of the panther never sound
ed % terrible as sduring those long. des-
olate winter nights. It seemed to the
weary ones that spring would never
come again. But at last it did come
an a ko -
dead things Of the field and forest re-
turned to life, save only the dead in the
corner of the wheat-field, and hope was
not revived in the cabin. There was
no money in the house, there was a
debt on the farm, and the food supply
was limited.
Then Mrs. Garfield sought the advice
of neighbor, who had been kind in
her time Of trouble. He advised her to
sell the farm, pay the debt and return
TO her friends. believing 1t impossible
for her to support herself and children
there. Her reply was characteristic.
al can never throw myself and my
children upon the charity of friends.
So long as have health. I believe my
Heavenly Father will bless those two
hands and make them pble to support
my children. My deap husband made
this home at q sacrifice of his life, and
every log in this cabin is sacred to me
now. 1t seems to me holy place that
Unjust preserve rs faithfully as would
guard his grave"
Her ncighbor left her, and she went
to the friend that never fails, and asked
God to make the way of duty clear to
her, and when she came from her
place of prayer she felt that new light
and strength had been given to her.
She called her Oldest son, Thomas,
to her. and though he was only a
child OF ten years old. she laid the
whole case before him. With the
resolu'e courage of his race, he gladly
promised that he would plow and SOW,
cut wood and milk the cows, il she
would only keep the farm. So this
brave mother and son commenced their
work. She sold part of the farm, and
paid every dollar of debt. Thomas pro-
cured horse. Flowed and sowed and
planted. Tho mother, with her own
hands, split the rails and completed the
fencing. But the harvest was still far
away. and tho corn was running low.
The mother carefully measured her
precious grain, counted the days to the
reaping time, and finding it would be
exhausted long before that time at their
present rate Of consumption, she re-
solved to live on two meals day her.
self, that her children might not suffer.
Then, as the little store rapidly disap-
pearcd. she ate but single meal her.
self. concealing her self-denial from her
children, until the blessed harvest
brought relief. That year it was very
abundant, and the wolf Of hunger never
came % nsAr their Asor again,