Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-03-04
a HOME PICTURE
"A Domestic Sketch of Hancock, the 8
peril" by One Who Knew Him.


perb," by One Who Knew Him.
Walking up from the little dock at
Governors island, past the blue-coated
sentry pacing up and down in front of
the pay department offices, down the
clean asphalt walk shaded by many
trees, one comes to row of comforta-
BILE, old-fashioned frame houses-ofi-
GERS quarters. The first of this-a big
double house with broad gallery in
front like q Southern house-is the
commanding officers quarters, and in
this house General Hancock lived for
fifteen years and died. Enter. Plenty
of space tor light and air. A wide hall
runs from end to end, and turning to
the right there are two big old-fash-
Toned drawing-rooms. Opposite the
entrance to the first hangs on the wall
a beautiful full-length portrait of
young girl of fourteen or fifteen. Be-
fore it stands always vase of flowers.
This is the portrait of 'sAda, sole
daughter of his house and heart'-the
daughter forever loved and lamented,
who died in 1875. How strange must
look that house without General Han
cocks soldierly figure moving about
always meeting guests at the door and
escorting them with old-time courtesy
to his own gate-for General Hancock
was the soul of hospitality. Did you
ever see him salute a private soldier?
Then you have missed seeing the finest
act of courtesy man could perform
for he returned the salute of drum
mer-boy as punctiliously as he did that
of General of the army
That hospitable door will open for
him no more-his place is henceforth
on "Fame's eternal camping ground. "
Let those who knew him tell of him in
his daily walk, his everyday life.
All things small and weak loved Gen.
eral Hancock. The children on Gov
ernor's island adored him. They
swarmed over his house, and when
Mrs. Hancock protested mildly against
their being admitted to romp in the
drawing rooms General Hancock took
it so much to heart that she yielded. 1t
was in vain that the officers wives on
the island forbade their children to go
so often to the Hancock house, think
ing they might be troublesome. They
would go and stand before the gate,
pressing their little wistful faces against
the iron railing until they caught sight
of General Hancock. He would have
the whole gang inside the gate in
minute. eff your mothers say any
thing to YOU he would say, '.just tell
them that am Major General Han
cock, and [ won't allow my authority
to be disputed here OF course the
youngsters were only too delighted to
take this view of the matter As
batch of the urchins under ten years
old agreed once respecting some new
domestic ordinance: ''Our mammas
better not try that. We're solid with
General Hancock and he won't let
en-" General Hancocks idols were
his three grandchildren, George,
Myra and Ada, and when he was pre-
pared for burial some of their tops
and playthings were found upon his
bed of death, where they had left them
They were the children of his son, Rus
sell Hancock, now dead, and their
home was ostensibly in Mississippi, but
General and Mrs. Hancock would send
for them early in May and keep them
until after Christmas every year. Cen
eral Hancock's grandson, who was his
namesake, died the very day he was
nominated for president in 1880. Ada
is a gentle ''mother-child" very like
Mrs. Hancock in her quiet, sensible
ways. Myra, named after Mrs. Han
cock, is General Hancock all over, and
was the dearest to her grandfather's
heart. She is a delicate, spirituelle
child, with beautiful features and the
sOftest manner-but regular Trojan.
She is not afraid of any thing on the
face of the earth, and could stand an
enfilading fire as well as General Han
cock himself. The General delighted
in her proves and her reputation as a
a warrior. She could vanquish boy
twice her size in single combat. and
had terrorized every youngster on the
island into state of abiect submission.
The fact is, General Hancock had es-
tablished a unique state of things
among his little friends on the island.
The boys had their orders never to dis
pute with the girls about any thing, and
the slightest infringement of this brought
out a terrible threat of the guard house
for the offender, so the boys were COM
pletely cowed by the girls.
General Hancock was a man of
strong domestic affections, and he
never got over his daughters death.
A singular circumstance occurred at
the time he lost his son. Russell Han
his daughter-in-law and her three
children started to meet Russell Han
cock, who was at that moment dying
in st. Louis, although neither they nor
General Hancock knew any thing of his
illness. After putting his daughter-in-
law on the train at New York he re-
turned to Governors island and
seemed depressed all day. That night
he went to his room. but his gloomy
feelings prevented him from sleeping.
He told Mrs. Hancock that he felt as if
some calamity were hanging over him.
She told him it was the going away of
the children that made him so unhap-
py. He insisted it was not. AS the
night wore on he became so uneasy
that he arose, dressed himself and
went down stairs, prepared, as he aft
erward said, to hear terrible news. At
six o'clock in the morning he saw a
messenger coming up the path to his
house, and opening the door received
the dispatch telling him of his sons
sudden death.
General Hancock had more sources
of grief than his domestic losses, and
foE years he was very unhappy man.
He never got over his defeat of 1880.
1t is not meant that he was soured by
| it-no word of complaint ever was
heard from his lips-but it broke his
| heart. He was man of intense am
bition-an ambition unmixed with any
| thing ignoble-and he was gratified be-
yond measure at the method of his
nomination. He thought at eleven
/ o'clock in the night of the election of