Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-01-24
"THE BLIND TWADDLES. "
DEATH OF THE LAST MEMBER OF
A SADLY AFFLICTED FAMILY.


A letter from CarrolIton, Ohio,
to the CINCINNATI Enquirer says
On the evening of Sunday, De
cember 30, the little congregation
of the church at Morretown, JEFF
fersOn township, tdis state, who
had gathered to worship God,
were shocked and startled to find
at the conclusion of their service
that one of their congregation had
gone to worship his Maker nearer
the throne. "Blind Andrew Twad
die" remained seated in bis pew
after the Denedlcticn, and his
friends and nighbOrs passed down
the aisles. With "A calm smile up
on his aged face, his large eyes,
sightless no more now than they
had been during the thrrescOIe e
years and four Of his lie, turned
towards the rude pulpit, lie sat
quiet aud still in death. "The
Blind Twaddlers," as they are
known in this neighbOrhood, were
one of the most remarkable tamil-
les of this state, and perhaps of
the United States, and this was
the last one left. Sixty or seventy
years ago this family attracted al.
most universal attention from
physicians and scientific men gen.
orally throught the civilized world.
The parents-who have long years
ago gone over to the majority
nothing out of the common to dis
tinguish them from their neigh
bOrs. They we're a simple hOmely,
healthy couple, who were married
and were seeking to make them
selves a home by farming. But
there was born to them a large
family of children-nine in all
and of these the first seven were
born entirely blind, aud the last
two had but partial eyesight.-
Scientific men we're utterly st a
loss to account for this phenom'
enon. The father and mother had
excellent eyesight, and the eyes
OF their children were large, brown
and bright, but sightless. They
were without optic nerves. In al
other respects they were bright
healthy and intelligent children
The scientific journals and news
papers of that day had long &C
counts and various theories re
garding this, hut why it should
have been so is yet a mystery.
The state of Ohio, by special
act of its legislature, decided to thu
parents, for the support OF theiI
children, a quarter of a section
| (lG0 acres of the best of tht
agricultural lands of eastern Ohio
and the farm IS known to this day
as the "Bhnd Twaddles' Section
Upon this farm these young mel
and women-there were seven boy
and two girls-grew up in tota
darkness, became useful citizens
married and settled in the sur
rounding community and rearee
families in which no trace of blind
ness is shown. The blind peopl
all lived the prophets allotment o
threescore and ten. They were
nelookiug family, and when it
considered that their people, VIII
we're born blind and lived out thes
long and useful lives IN total dark
ness, became successful farmers
mllIers, dIstlllers, etc., 1t must b
conceded that they were remarl
able IN more senses than that
being born blind. They were
able to 60 to any place upon the
firms, or to surrounding town, an
perform all their necessary farI
work without attendance or hel
as if they had perfect eyesight.-
They cut timber in the wood
made rails, built fences, plowe
l their lands, owed and harveste
their crops, ran their grist mill an
a dist!llery, worked oxen an
horses, and, in fact, learned all
that by intuition, which Is suppose
imnoSslble for people withOl