Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-05-11
ALEX H. STEPHENS.
An incident of His Return to the
Home Of His Ancestors.

80 ACpOi ohlp q W uclllllSlOll llllG
2 viewer, Mr.. Stephens had something
r a foothold and concluded to pay Wis
to the home Of his ar cestors in Penn
sylyania. His uncle, James Stephen
his fathers elder brother who went
Georgia with his family in 1895, ha
returned to Pennsylvania and settle
near the old homestead in PER-
county. He had sweetheart upo
the banks of the Juniata before hi
father moved to Georgia, and when h
was twenty-one he returned to tn
Keystone state and settled near wher
he was born, and that section of PER-
county is to-day full of Mr.. Alex II
Stephens relations, whom he visits a
frequently rs his health will admit
Speaking last night of his first visit t,
the north and to the home of his an
cestors, he said:
81 was "a years old the year | frs
came to Pennsylvania. You ma,
imagine | made great preparations foi
the trip. 1t took me seven days Of
constant travel by stage, our only
means of conveyance, to reach Wash
ington. Here took in all the sights
| called upon Gen. Jackson, and went
to the senate and heard Webster make
his great speech on finance. | was a
close observer in those days, and made
the most of my opportunity. | went
from Washington to Baltimore, and
there spent day Or two. took my
first railroad ride when going between
those two cities. then took the stage
for Harrisburg, and when | reached
there / took the canal.boat up the
river to Newport. This was the near.
est point to my uncle's-James Steph.
ems. | spent the night at the county
hotel, and had a pleasant time with the
landlord. He got me conveyance
the next morning TO take me TO my
destination. L, was driven by a Ger
man, who said he didn't know wher
James Stephens lived, but he did
know where James StinGon lived As
| found that he knew the place, and
only failed in pronOuncing the name
we started, On the way | asked what
such land as We were passing through
was worth.
"'This on this side, said he, lis worth
SO an acre. That land on the other
side, covered with stun, 500
"Why is that?' asked.
"'Because the land that has got stun
enough on it to fence it is always the
most valuable.
"When we reached my uncle's place,
| found a stone house and neat stone
fences. naturally supposed, if the
driver had spoken truly, that he had
valuable farm.
"When went in and told Aunt Bet
sey who | was she summoned Uncle
James from the field and they called in
quite a number of other relatives from
The neighborhood. A nice dinner was
and | suppose a dozen or
more of my relatives gathered about |
The table, When my uncle stood up
and was carving The chicken, Aunt |
Betsy asked: ALEX, what business are
rou mp
81 am Il lawyer / replied.
"rhe uplilted knife fell from my
lncle's hand and he exclaimed in
mazement: "A lawyer! A lawyerr
ayes, a lawyer uncle. Why?'
"'Why, Alex, don't you have to tell
iel?'
a put in my defense of the profes.
lion as best could, which somewhat
atsied my uncle's mind; but when |
irst said | was Il lawyer there was a
oOk of astOnishment m his face, much
he same as if had proclaimed myself
/ burglar. lie could never really recon-
ile the profession Of a lawyer with
lis strict Presbyterianism. | stayed
week and went about among my rela-
ives; visited the old homestead, and
aw the Lighthouse where my grand
ather lived and where my father was
'Crn. l went to Baskin's Ferry, where
ny grandmother was born, and, indeed,
'isised all the points connected with
ny ancestors life in Pennsylvania.
thought it great state, but not near
y so nice to live in as Georgia. Indeed,
here is to my mind no stretch of this
ountry of equal extent that offers so {
many inducements to labor and capital
$ Georgia. l thought the same then. {
n those days boy in Pennsylvania at {
lmOst any work couldn't earn more {
han S25 year, while in Georgia he
ould earn 5000"