The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-07
General Grants Mother.

It is a commonplace OF history that
great men have had mothers s5le 10
transmit some measure OF strength Of
character or keen intellect &c the son.
The case OF General Grant IS no excsp-
ton 10 the rule. His mother. Hannah
Simpson. seems 10 have been a woman
OF remarkable self-con1rol and strength
of character. Friends of the parents
were won't 10 observe that Ulysses Soy
his reticence. his patience, his equable
temper from his mother; others de-
clared that from her he derived his
sense and her own husband. Jesse
Grant. testified that her sgeadlness ard
strength Of character have been tae stay
of the family through life" X was no
ticeable that IN the primitive conditions
OF life az Point Pleasant. Ohio. where
Grant was born. his mother never COM
planned Of any hardship CT toll or de-
preston. Her son once remarked that
he never saw her shed a tear in his life.
She never boasted. but she was eX-
tremely proud OF her ancestry, and OF
her family history.
II is interesting 70 recall that the
mother OF Geseral Grant was a Penn
sylvanian. being born al Whitemarsh. in
1893 Her early home. stone house
with wooden additions. IS sun standing
in Montgomery county. The property
came into tie Simpson family n 156S.
when Grants great-srandfsthe pur-
chased a farm OF 164 acres with a plain
house of logs without the Cupboard
coating since added. So the general
came Of good Pennsylvania ancestry on
one side Of the house. the other being
Connecticut folk who had fought through
/ the Revolutionary war.
The foremost general Of his times grew
up a happy and peaceful boy. There Is
little record Of his fighting, and he was
a great favorite with the girls because
of his gentleness. We are told that
Grant as a boy never leased children
younger than himself nor tortured ami
mails; he was the most unmiItaTy Of
boys in q military age" having small love
for guns, and could not bear TO see things
killed.
These traits. due no doubt, 20 mater
nal influence. stayed with the great SOL
der TO the end. There is a reflection o.
II in that paragraph of the terms OF sur
render az Appomattox, where, owing 20
the coEqueror's kindly foresight, the vic
tors relinquished claim on the horses Of
the Confederate cavalrymen as being pri-
vate property, so that the conquered
could ride their horses back 90 their farms
and use them for the spring blowing.
Jesse Grant. father of the future gen.
al, uaQ COnIrmeO DeIeL tistl Ills pcy
was a child Of destiny. y phrenologist
had predicted a distinguished future for
the quie; boy. of which the villagers
made mock. There Is no doubt that the
parents both made great sacrifices 20
give the boy. Ulysses, an education.
The story of his life, with its clouds OF
encouragement and apparent failure,
and subsequent success and glory. is one
that we would not willingly miss from the
pages of history.
Grants mother was not present at his
inauguration at Washington. and never
went TO the capital while her son was
president. There Is a story told that a
visitor called on her at her home, at
COvington, Kentucky, about the time OF
Grants Inauguration to the presidency.
The visitor asked IL Mrs. Grant wasn't
feeling proud of her sons success. and
then II she wouldn't ike to go 10 Wash
ington. The mother of Grant looked at
he loquacious guest as If she bad not
heard the personal question, and muir
INJURED some inaudible comment. not re-
plying directly.