Daily Republican., 1888-11-17
DISTRESSED REFUGEES.
NINE OF THEM SEEK RELIEF
IN THIS CITY.
The Hardships of q Family of Refugees
from Jacksonville. FIoridA-They
Appeal to the kympathIes OF
General Public,

Passing along lincoln street las
n'Eht sbost 7,3O O'Clock a reporter o.
tao REPUBLICAN was attracted by tht
sight Of number Of men and boz
passing snd carrying Well-flled market
ba ikets and packages in their armP
They stopped at the high ste ps leading
10 the front door Of Ne. 1901 L,peo. .
street Passing up the Btspa they en-
tsred, and the reporter with o friend,
who had his baskct on his arm, entered
with them.
A touoh OF the electric bell biouRh,
Friend Miles, q neighbOr, 10 the door,
but be did not live thsre; he was on on
eTTaud OF mercy, Passing along ovei
the bare tiaors to The middle room,
what ) Sight was NEIL
There were pine refugees from Jack
souville, Florida. They had iust bss1
hsought In during the day and hRd beer
/ SsYeh POSSESSION OF the houEe q month
without rent by the big hearted owner,
Mr. Seeds.
Here were two parents and seven
children, the oldest but 1S, . couple Of
LlonthS ego happy in Jacksonville,
Fi0ilda, and in eood circumstances,
nov refugees from their once happy
home and from q fever stricken olty,
and In destltutloi and want. But they
we're being cared for and were being
made as comfortable az possible By
kind, sympathiz'ng neighbors. They
we're not hur CRY then, bat they were q
short time before. They had neither
be g nor baggage; ell they had wsre the
soanty clothes upon their backs. Bu,
they had love ard affaotion for each
other, snd their destitute condition
seemed to draw them closer together
They we're laughing through their teArs
last niEat because they had symps-
thizeEs sud people who were willing 10
help them. Big hearted Sam. McOlr-
mick had sent them in some chAirE,
some one else had sent them In a table
friend Miles came tugging in Q mat
tress, John B. Taylor, the baker, was
there with basket of his best bread
and BILLY" Forrest, the butcher, With
a heart as big ss bis body, oAms In puf-
fog With g basket Of meat AND grocer
ieri Friend Buck had a basket of the
best potatoes he could find am leaf Of
bread, and he went off In the hunt for
butter. The table was piled hign up,
A neiRhbof had sent in stove and
another some GOAL. Nine persons and
only one mattress for them TO lie or
That would never do. Hands went
down into deep pookeis and q wagon
was despatched d.wn town after
smother mattress. Quilts and clothing
o1me In the mother, handsome, In
.illgent lady, alternately laughed and
oded IS she told the story OF their prl-
Ya.ion9 and suhsrlnRsi tho children,
LITTLE "tots" some Of them, Ger there
we're Two families Of childrsn,) laughed
aud Jumped around the Rroanlng table
The father was out looking after work,
That Was what he wanted. The family
have no dishes, no clothing but what is
on their back, nor no furniture, There
are nine Of them and they are oommeno
toR life anew, but under much more
disoonFARing circumstance than when
they first started. They are real and
worthy objects Of sympathy and charity
aud the kind people OF Wilmington
viii not zee them want. Ths story OF
their sutherlng is long ore and as re
lated By the wife II Is something liha
this:
The name of the husband and father
IL John A. Smith, and ho 10 the sen OF
foimerly Hel.-knowu minister at Flush
log Long Island. He and bis wife
weht down to Jacksonville, florida,
e.evsn years ago, and worked at his
trade, tnat OF carpenter. ETerythin1
went well with them until she yailu y
fever broke out, when business was aus
pended and those who had any monty
laid by bad to live on 1t. Mr., Smith
had q little money, bat IL RrAduAlly
dWindled away under pressing necea-
stiles, and being out Of work lie had no
way OF making up the losses. To add
to his mlsfortunes, his brother, whose
wife died eighteen months ago, took
the yellow fever and died, leaving four
small children that fell to the oEre of |
Mr.. Smith. He now had seven children |
to look after aud take care OF, instead |
OF three, aod his little treasured rs- |
sources were more heavily drawn upon
His troubles were inorsased by his |
oldest boy, lad 13 years Of age, who |
took siok of the yellow fever and for |
several days lowered bstWeen life and |
death, but finally recovered by careful |
treatment. All Mr.. Smiths money |
was now gone but $50, and With this |
scanty fund he resolved, with his |
family, to get away from the plague
stricken city and come north.
Applying to she authorities for \ mar
NIT to leave, It WAS granted, and after |
every preoauuen had been taken, he |
and his family were allowed to pass
the quarantine aud depart, but they |
were not permitted to take anything |
with them but the soAntiest olothip9 |
for Themselves. They left JacksonyiIIe |
on the 2lst OF October, and having sew |
srsl quarAnlines TO pass, and being de.
tanned At number of points on the |
way, they arrived by boat ct Jersey
City on Ta@sIay. Failing to secure
work theTe, ds employees OF the Penn
Reiiroad Company had them
sent do 20 Wilmington on Wednes.
iay, thleEin7 that Mr.. Smith could
ucTa easily find work in this city. Tbs
fAmily lodged at Water and Marker
streets on Wednesday night On ThurI-
Jay Mr Smith left his family at the P
w. q B. depot while he went ont
through the city to hunt work. Not
being s1ocessful, be returned and made
Known his dlttressed condition, when
I'D was Immediately furnished, and
dr. qarwood, 81 the European Hotel
odged them and fed them for the might.
Through the aid Of friends, Mr., smilh
md bis family were furnished the
iOuse In which the reporter found them
SIT night It Is understood that there
re several contractors who vera will.
ng TO give him work tmn ediately, until
1Sh time as be can seoUra g permanent
ttuation In some Of Wilmington's big
,Ar shops.
Nobody need be afraid to 90 and see
hem ycr fssr OF the yellow lever. They
'1sEsa several quRrantines, and come
Fith can Eill OF health.
-
EF, Eimms' nye cure