The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-06-25
M. +. AUNGSTS
BRILLIANT ADDRESS AT THE
ESSIG FAMILY REUNION,
Held at the Residence of Simon Essie,
June II, 1SO6-Sentiments Ex-
pressed That Went Home TO the
Hearts of All His Hearers.

nat "euN w NhC
Hearts of All His Hearers.
At the Essig reunion, Deputy Probate
Judge Maurice f.. Aungst delivered the
oration of the day, and it was replete with
splendid things. 1t was eloquently and
forcibly delivered, and Mr.. Aungst has
been warmly congratulated upon it, That
the whole Essig connection may read It,
the address is appended in its entirety:
Mr.. President Ladies and Gentlemen:
The history of the Simon Essig family
has been so repeate ily and eloquently
told upon former occasions Of these reun'
ions. that 1t has become q familiar story
to all of you. All the virtues and COM
mendable traits in the character of Simon
Essig and perhaps much more, have been
narrated i'm your hearing until little that
is new or entertaining on that subject
remains to be said. And IL anything to
the contrary ever could have been said, 1t
is likely to have long been forgotten.
!. There are some people who have many
things to be proud of, and there are
others who have nothing to be proud OF
but their ancestry. want TO congratu-
late the members of this family today in
the fact that you do not belong to the
latter class,
shall not therefore, in the brief time
that shall ask your indulgence this af-
ternoon, weary you with any extended
narration of the early history and achieve
ments of the Essig family, nor shall I
trespass upon the proprieties of this oc-
casion by indulging in any praise or
flattery of those who are fortunate enough
to be present.
Neither is this an occasion for fault
finding, because we all have enough Of
those self-confessed-to leave that matter
pass, without further comment.
Nor would it be proper for speakers
upon these occasions to tell you Of their
troubles, because you all, no doubt have
enough of your own
To know, then, what to say, in this
magnificent presence, this afternoon, is
perhaps as perplexing problem as to
know how TO say 1t.
We gain q knowledge Of most material
things only by comparison, and when this
test is applied to the Individual members
of this great and now numerous family,
we find many things in common that
are highly satisfactory, and the degree
of success that has crowned the honest
labors Of so many of you, is certainly
sufficient cause for oongratulation.
The modern idea of success is miscon-
ception Of the meaning of that term We
are apt to measure a mans success in life
solely by the amount Of wealth he has ac-
cumulated. Measured by this standard
this family would not furnish many shin
ing examples But this should be and is
the least important of all tests.
The family virtues, contentment, the
requirement of al education, individual
independence the happiness of those
about you and depending upon you, are
of far greater Importance. Measured by
these latter tests, the descendants of
Simon Essig, when compared with others
of equal degree and opportunity, cer-
tainly show results that are entirely salts
factory.
You are to be congratulated in the fact
that so many of you are still engaged in
that ancient and honorable occupation
the tilling of the soil. do not mean be-
cause it is particularly profitable from
pecuniary standpoint, for those who are
in position to know better, place little
reliance in the man who tells you what
great fortunes can be made by tilling the
soil. That kind of man might be q
success at writing articles for an agrioul-
tural paper, but as practical farmer he
would be conspicuous failure.
Dismiss from your mind the idea that
success means the accumulation of wealth
and you will agree with me in the asser-
tion that Of all human pursuits, farming
Is the most conducive to health, happi-
ness, contentment and the acceleration
and growth OF the family virtues. And as
a safe, judicious and permanent invest
inent, farming is as profitable as any Of
the other human avocations. If you don't
believe it, sell your farm, and go into the
city and invest your hard-earned savings
in some of the many pursuits that are
always inviting you to invest How
many men of your own acquaintance have
sold or mortaged the old homestead and
have gone into the busy marts of the city, |
and experimental in some "get rich |
quick" plan of acquiring massive for |
tune You need not go outside the borders |
of Plain township to find many striking |
examples of this monumental folly.
And elthough the old farm could be |
purchased now at a lower figure than |
that for which 1t was sold how many of |
these fortune ohaters could come back |
to the country, and again acquire title to |
the dear old farm, from which they now
painfully wish they had never departedY |
"Htn bH6 HiStOTy VI JDe ursU century OF |
our national life shall have been written,
there are four men whose names will |
stand out prominently as she greatest
Americans of the century. These are
Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Lin
coin. Three of these four greatest men
in the history of our country, Washing
ton, Jefferson and jackson, were particu-
larly fond of farming. At the close of the
revolutionary war, Washington in let
ter to Lafayette, expressed great delight
in the fact that he had at last become a
private citizen. 1t is in this latter that we
find that oft-quoted phrase, "under the
shadow OF my own vine end flg-tree, free
from the hustle of a. camp and the busy
scenes of public life. " and which he con-
cludes by saying this shall be the order
of my march until sleep with my
fathers
"Under the shadow of my own vine
and fig-tree" Beautiful thoughtl The
never drePmed, and poet
never penned more elegant sentiment
A few years later we find Washington
leaving Mt Vernon, and to
use his own words, with mind oppres-
sed with more anxious and painful sensa-
tlons than I have words to express, " TO
the duties of president of the Uni
ted States. All the power and honor and
prestige of the highest office in the gift of
the American people had no charms for |
these great men that could compare with {
the beautiful fields and domestic felicity {
Of Mt. Vernon, the peaceful and pictures
que seclusion OF Monticello, or the quiet
yet romantic retreat of The Hermitage.
According to that elegant form of mod
ern political prevariohtion called statis-
tics. over 40 per cent. Of the American