Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1895-03-12
a Remarkable Man.
Incidents in tile Career of Repre-
sentattce american Millionaire.

sentative american Millionaire.
No more imposing and important
edifice adorns any one of the many
thoroughfares of the metropolis OF
the new world than that marvellous
pile of iron, stone and granite de-
voted to the housing of the numer-
Gus business interests of him who,
but few years since, walked past
the site of this great commercial bee
hive and gazed upon the walls of the
structure that occupied the ground
on which his own building now
stands, penniless wanderer upon
the face of the earth. Not only was
Charles Broadway Rouss penniless
then, but he was actually over fifty
thousand dollars in debt.
A brief outlined sketch of the ca
reer of CharlesBroawday Rouss reads
more like tale from the Arabian
Nights Entertainment than a cor
rect history of the movements of a
single man whose phenomenal career
has caused him to be more often re-
ferred to in the business than any
other merchant of this country. Be
ginning life as country boy near
Woodsboro, Frederick county, Md,
to remove shortly afterward to Ber-
kelley county, w. Va, with his pa
rents and receive good education
in the old Winchester Academy, he
affords striking example of what
unaidcd pluck, energy and deter
mination can accomplish in less than
quarter of century. After COM
pleting his business education, he
entered the mercantile establish
ment of John Senseney, who, though
one of the leading traders of Win
chester, and frequently alluded to
as having been offered partnership
with George Peabody the philanthro-
pist of Alexandria, Virginia, would,
if compared with his former pupil,
present but an insignificant front in
this age of electricity and steam, but
who managed so thoroughly to instiI
good sound business principles in
the mind of his young apprentice
that the loss of his service was felt
and much depIored by his employer
when he -enounced the princely sal
ary of one hundred and fifty dollars
a year and began business for him
self.
Not contentcd with the education
received under the roof of the old
Winchester Academy, Mr.. Rouss
continued to devote every moment
of his spare time to the completion
of his education by the careful per-
usal of the lives of great men and
reading standard works of history,
and he became so well informed that
in short time his contributions TO
numerous periodicals were not only
published but eagerly sought after,
and had his mind been less active
and his turn less commercial he
would undoubtedly have enriched
the pages of history with some of the
choicest literature of his time, as ex-
tracts from his writings conclusively
prove him to be man of great depth
of thought, which, coupled with 4
poetic temperament and an easy,
somewhat forid style, combined to
make his articles both instructive
and enjoyable.
1t has often been stated by those
who knew him best that his constant
perusal of the life of Napoleon Bona
part stirred him to emulate that great
warrior. and there is little doubt bat
that had he continued his military
career he might have risen to one of
the most important commands within
the gift of the leaders of the Confed-
eracy, had the issue been different
from what it was. As it was, when
the Civil War broke out, although
he was doing by far the largest mer-
camille business in the little town OF
Winchester, he responded to the call
of arms, and proved his willingness
to fight for his convictions by selling
out his entire stock of goods to who
ever came and at whatever price was
offered, and enlisting as a private
soldier in Company B of the Twelfth
Regiment of the Virginia Cavalry.
lie served faithfully throughout the
war, and at the end, after tue sur
render of General Lee, he returned
to his home with no other earthly
possessions than his accoutrements
and a broken-down cavalry horse.
He tried, but soon tired of, the pur-
suit of agriculture, as it was not
t,.ood anou1b for his caDabiIities,