The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-01
From Smiths Forge to
a Seat on the Bench
Anthony Donovan an Hiterate Blacksmith in
Lies Prime, NolU One Of Wisconsin,
Most Esteemed Jurists
Special to The Journal.

Special to The Journal.
Madison, Wis, Sept Bottle life-story ,
of Anthony Donovan Is one Of the most |
remarkable in the, annals of the west.
When he had reached the prime of his
life, he was an illiterate blacksmith.
with only a few months of scholastic
training and with no appreciation of
the value of an education; now, at the
age of &c. he is one of the best read
men in Madison, the owner of one Of the
finest private libraries in Wisconsin,
judge of the municipal court of Dano
county and one of the most highly es-
teemed jurists in the state. It is doubt |
full whether any other citizen of Madi-
son enjoys such personal popularity
among both poor and rich.
dale, r. l., Dec. 26, 1S49. His father
came to Madison, Wis. in 1858. An
thony was only II when the civil war
broke out, but he was nevertheless de-
termined to enlist and go to the front.
Day. after day he would watch the
mastering place Of the Wisconsin
boarded train for the south he would
60 on and stay there until put off.
Finally, in February, 1865, when scarce
| ly IL, no ran away from home and sue
ceeded in cnlisting in the Seventy-sixth
Pennsylvania regiment, Company A,
In September Of that year he was
again back in Madison.
! Prior to his service in the war Mr..
Donovan had assisted his father in va
rious ways and had performed odd jobs.
He had no taste for school life and did
months altogether. After his return
from the war, he was apprenticed to a
blacksmith and worked at the black
smith trade until 1888. -.
Fired by Priests Eloquence.
The event which wrought complete
change in Mr.. Donovan's life, kindling
in him the fires of ambition, occurred
in the fall of 1869. Then there came to
Madison very eloquent Jesuit priest
who delivered lecture on the educs-
ton of the Christian boy. Mr.. Dono-
van accidentally attended the lecture
and received such an inspiration and
love. for books and learning that he
strai ghtway determined to make every
effort in his power to acquire an edu-
cation.
From that day on Anthony Donovan
was an inveterate reader. He read
evenings, on the Sabbath and in leisure
he bought was the Bible. He bought
it in numbers-two numbers a month at
50 cents 6: number, of which there were
thirty-two.
II read it from Genesis to the
Apocalypse says Judge Donovan. III
need not say. that I derived more knowl:
edge and wisdom from it's reading and
study than all the other books I have
read since. I know that the Bible is
sneered at by superficial men and
scoffed at by others, but I believe it is
book Of facts; a book Of miracles in
!, contestably proved; a book Of prophecy
cnfrmed by past as we'll as present full
fillment; a book Of poetry pure and
natural, and elevated even to inspira
ton; book of morals such as human
, wisdom never framed for the perfec-
= ton OF human happiness.
The second book Judge Donovan pur-
pere, out of whose. works he drew
; philosophy and beauty of thought. His
! third book was an abridged edition of
: Webster's dictionary; the fourth the
! autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin
! which was great help to him, teach
! ing him economy and practical wisdom
v Passion for Books.
e "My love for books grew almost tc
a passion,''' says Judge Donovan, 'sbut
0 my financial resources were SO limited
Y that 1 was unable to crafty it. I be
9 gan to reflect and wonder where I coul;
d economlze and use the amount saved il
2 the buying of good books. It dawnet
ty-hVe to thirty cents a day in cigar
J. and in other foolish ways that by lit
r tie effort and resolution, I could save
s and begin the building of library. ).
3. About this time book agent called
n upon me and wanted to sell me tn
:. Encyclopedia in twenty nine volumes
at Sc each. I was then running
shop of my own. told him if he woul
SEND me volume every sixty days
1 would take the work. He accepted M
offer and we closed the contract
IL; opened op an an account with mysel1
q day for my =" encyclopedia s'S So e whe
the. sixty days came around
had my Sc. This took 1,740 days of m
cigar money, almost five years, to-pa
n for this great library Of univers;
"This plan seemed to be working {
we'll that [ thought I could start al
other fund, and I said to myself,
were a drinking man, must spen,
at least, Is cents day for my drin]
So [ opened another account, which
called my drink, account and lai
70 away Ii cents a day; and I saw thu
- my cigar and drink account were pal
~ promptly at the end Of each week.
h ho think that is more than every man ca
~, say truthfully. = :, I
lc- Intellectual sprees.''
~ ~ 1T was now in sure way of getti1
80 books, but they did not come as ia
III as I wanted them; sometimes one
-. week and sometimes one month
~ wondered if there was any 9TH
u.s. scheme I could devise that would ju
~ tify me in making larger investme1
~ in books, for / had growing and i
NJ creasing family to take care Of. Blu
u after revolving the matter in my mil
e e.l- and rejecting seriously upon it, I di
~, y. covered q plan that helped me O
Ut. wonderfully, and it was this: If I we
DO a drinking man, I would go upon
spree now and then, and I never cou
by get out of it for less than $15 or So
M 4 shall have an intellectual SPREE
IN said to myself. At times T was COZ
TT. PEELED to restrain my intellectual a
The petite, but it would break out aga
nlg, with greater fury than ever. While
hr. these intellectual sprees, as [ call,
OF, them, I always bought whole sets
! | books. such as the works of Baco
full the ancient classics, the works of Scot
our Dickens Emerson Hawthorne Burk