The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1889-07-03

able training Of poverty IN early life,
and the mighty gift OF silence from his
earliest venture into politics until now.
In a career 80 long and so successful, he
necessarily became the target Of mreh
and violent abuse. He never denied
anything. He kept his temper and his
liver in good order and undertook to
live down detraction and outliye his de-
tractors. He has had remarkable success
in both.
HIS COUNTRY HOME.
During the later years of General Cam
erons life time, aud especially since his
retirement from active political leader
ship, with his abdication of the SENATOR
al seat for his son, J. Donald, his favor
ite place Of residence has been his Done
gal farm, in Lancaster county. Il is sit
uated near to Maytown, a little village
north Of Marietta, a station Of the Penn
sylvania Railroad, on the Susquehanna
river. His rural home was in the very
midst of region Of surprising agricultu-
raj beauty and fertility and comprised
several farms of the average Ian
caster county size of 100 acres This now
famous estate was not, as has been often
said, his ancestral homestead. Simon
Cameron made no secret of the fact that
his family were poor folk, who owned
none OF the beautiful domain OH which
he was born and which he lived 10 po-
ssess and to take such pride in For the
most part the rich valley of Donegal, like
all the beautiful county of Lancaster, is
occupied by the thrifty German; but to
this particular section more than a cen
tury and a half ago came band Of the
Scotch Irish race. who, as early rs I722,
established here the Donegal Presbyte-
alan Church. As soldiers, Indiantrad
preachers, politicians and pIblic-spiFited
citizens, the composite elements Of Penn
sylvania life had no better stock than
they.
The Scotch Cameron blood was inter
mingled in marriage with the Pennsyl-
vaniaDutch, and on his mothers side
General Cameron traced his Lineage to
people of the Reformed and Lutheran
faith. 1t IS certain that in his b0yhood
his lines were cast in the walks of power
ty, and among his earliest recolections,
cherished to his later days with sort Of
melancholy pleasure, was that OF the
stern rigor of the law, which, when he
was mere lad, caused an execution to
issue against his father for the debt of
another, which he had undertaken to paw.
There was then noexemption law and jail
stared the luckless debtor in the face.
The constable, who made his levy upon
bed and board, and was in the execution
of his duty bound to sell the pot from
the stove and the plate from the table,
kindly intimated to the mother that if,
after the levy and before the sale, food
for her little ones WAS saved Eom the cru
el writ Of the bailif, there would not be
keen circumspection of the shortage.
Young Simon Cameron and his broth
er Bill actually reclaimed and hid in the
straw pile few loaves of bread and
ham, and the mother saved the family
Bible, which was preserved to the last
and lay in the room at Donegal where
the venerable statesman underwent his
last illness.
1t was the recollection of these things /
that some years ago induced Gen Cam
eron to buy the Donegal ftrm, lying ad-
jacent as it does to the beautiful grounds |
of the old church, whose story is inter
woven with that of his race in this eoun- /
try and his most ardent hope for many
years has been that when the end came /.
it might find him resting peacefully amid I.
the broad acres which, if not the herit- !
age ofhis fathers, had been the scene of 4
their toll, and which will for generations
abide with his family and name.
He knew intimately the history Of the /
two great strains of blood 50 conspicuous /
in Pennsylvania - the Pennsylvania /
Dutch and the Scotch-IrIsh. The lore 1
of the old Donegal Church, and Of its pre-
Revolutionary pastors was familiar to him /
and when he came to reside for large |
portion of each year almost in the shade /
of its great oaks and by the big spring, he /
the idea in common with his 4
brother William of endowing the pastor I
ate literally and of establishing fund I
out of which should be supported a teach I
er-preacher, who would be an active ed /
ucational influence in the community. 4 /
churIish and ungenerous disposition I
manifested by some Of the members Of I
the church, suspicious AMI unappre- /
ciatiye Of his neighborly advances. frus- /
trated this purpose and turned him away /
from the execution Of his benefcent de- (
signs. The representative religious de- I
Of his mothers race. however. 1
engaged his interest, and some years ago [
the Lutheran congregation of Maytown .
received from him the donation ofacom- {
Portable parsonage. and within the past 1
wear the Reformed church there has had 4
a like gift from the venerable politician. 1
The spacious public square, which was a /
prominent feature Of the little village
with its historic town pump, had some
years ago fallen into decay and he con-
tributed freely to its restoration and /
MS GENEROUS CHARITY.
His private charities have been abund-
ant and transformations He often selec-
ted for the objects of them persons who
had been the friends Of his youth, bene-
factors of his early fortunes, or whose
ancestors had done friendly service to
him OF his. One of his closest friends,
and most intimate personal and political
associates, appealed to for some ehacter-
istie "reminiscences Of General Simon
Cameron, said that nothing in all his
knowledge or observation Of the man
had so deeply touched the relator as an
incident which occurred some years ago,
illustrating at once his forethought and
his kindness ofheart
One morning, said this informant,
he sent for me to meet him at the rail
road station and showed me some judg-
nents he held against two parties, in
ending, as supposed from the eonver-
;afiOn. to arrange for the release Of them I