Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-07-05
Remarkable Families.

ADOuO 1HoAbg ycdic dSO ehC opCC-
tator in the gallery of the national
House Of Representatives might have
Seen, sitting side by side, three mern-
bers who bore decided, though n',t
close, resemblance to each other. They
were three brothers-Isra Elihu ard
Cadwallader Washburn. 1t was note
worthy, too, that the three represented
different States in the Union.
Israel came from Maine, the parent
State of all the brothers. Elihu was
sent by Illinois. Cadwallader was
member from the younger and more
western State of Wisconsin.
All three of these men afterward
achieved yet higher distinctions in
public life Israel became governor
of Maine. EIihu, who had secured Cen
eral Grant his opportunity for fame,
was made that Presidents first secIe-
tary of state, and during the period Of
the Franco-German war was our min
ister at Paris. If we mistake not
CadwalladeE before his death, was
governor of his adopted State.
These were not all the members OF
this noteworthy family Of Maine-bred
boys. A still younger brother was af-
terward a member Of Congress from
another Western State, and yet other
brothers occupied positions of import
anee and trust.
Our free republic has witnessed more
than one family in which talent and
eminenee were hereditary. Wedo not
believe in those hereditary distinctions
and privileges which pertain to the
nebilities in Europe. If the son Of a
famous father becomes himself famous
in this country, he must do 80 by su-
perior qualities of his own, and not by
a reflection Of the paternal greatness
or by right Of birth alone.
The most remarkable instance of the
display Of high mental qualities in an
American family through several gen
erations is that of the Adamses. The
elder John Adams and his son, John
Quincy Adams, occupied the
PRESIDENTIAL chair, in each case,
of very conspicuous personal aloil-
ity. Charles Francis Adams, in the
third generation, was long a prolni-
nent candidate for the presidency, and
was one Of the ablest statesmen this
country ever sent to represent it at the
British court.
In the fourth generation three sons
Of Charles Francis Adams have made
a national reputation by brilliant in
tellectual qualities of their own, and
one Of them has already been seriously
thought Of by his party as candidate
for the vice-presidency.
Another noteworthy American fam
lily is that Of the Bayards, Of Delaware.
Three generations of Bayards have sat
successively as United States senators
from their little State; and the pres
ent senator, perhaps an ADLER man than
either his father or grandfather, is a
conspicuous candidate for the presi-
dency.
1t is a somewhat striking fact that
usually, in these cases Of inherited
ability, the sons have been children
not only of talented fathers, but of
mothers Of sterling and superior char
acter; and sometimes the brilliant son
has shown qualities inherited rather
from the mother than from the father.
The elder Adams wife, Abigail
Adams, was a noble type of the New
England matron in the days Of the
Revolution. The wife Of her son, John
Quincy Adams, was one Of the most
brilliant and amiable women who ever
presided over the social amenities Of
the White House. In each of these
cases the son certainly derived much
Of his talent from his mother Youth 5
Companion.