Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-10-17
DOLLNER TELLS LIFE STORY
Born in West Virginia, Came West to
Grow Up with Country.
HOME HIS HAVEN OF REFUGE
Commenced hts Career Rs = school
Teacher, Became n Lawyer and
for Years Represented lowe
In Congress.

His own story Of his life was told by
Senator Jonathan Prenuss Dolliver to a
representative OF The Bee I'm the fall OF
1900 when he was appointed senator by
Leslie NJ. Shaw, then governor Of Iowa
to fiji out the unexpired term OF the dead
Senator Gear
The story was given at the senator's
home in Fort Dodge, Ia, where Mr., DOLL
yer always was a popular idol. Affable.
approachable, always good-humored. ne
was intimately acquainted with nearly all
Of the men Of his home city. His neigh.
bors regarded his advancement In public
| affairs as honors conferred upon them
selves, as we'll as upon him
The Dolliver home is unpretentous and
I yet comfortable Fort Dodge people say
that there the happiest days OF the sena-
tors life were spent A unique feature Of
the home is the den" a separate build
ing standing in the same yard with the
house. This was the workshop Of Senator
Dolliver and here many OF the most i'm
portant Of his literary and political labors
were performed Speaking Of the den"
to the representative Of The Bee, Senator
! Deliver said:
Contents of the Den.
1T originally was built by my father
| it while he was building his new house.
The overflow Of books and especially Of
public documents. became so great that
Mrs. Dolliver finally forbade me to bring
any more Of them into the house. IN or
der to meet the situation she purchased
this building, which at that time was re-
ferred to az the shack We refitted it and
put huge fireplace in the center and COW
cred the walls with shelving for books
making II altogether the most popular
room on the place and most comfortable
refuge for the labors Of life.
Whenever another carload OF documents
arrives we just add shelving enough to
accommodate them and put them here.
II has served to entertain my constituents
and has become a favorite resort for pic
mic parties cheated out of their trip to
the woods by storm. There is nothing fine
about 1t. II there were ] uoubt whether
l should be as comfortable in It as l am.
1t simply is big and hospltable and as It
suits me no question ever arises as to
what impression it makes on others"
Asked by the interviewer for a story of
his life and his labors, Senator Dolliver
said:
story of HIS Life.
Il was born down in the mountains Of
West Virginia. Ny father was of New
| England stock his ancestors having como
| from the coast OF Massachusetts,. where
they all were seafaring people He was
born in Saratoga county, New York, and
MS youth was spent on the coast OF New
Jersey, his father being a sea captain
When boy he emigrated to Ohio and was
a merchant in little town ten miles be-
low Columbus, until he became a Metho-
dist minister and was sent by the Ohio
conference into the mountains across the
river. They never sent him back and n
few years later he married the daughter OF
Robert Brown, near Kingwood, Preston
county, Virginia That is as near as
come to being an Ohio man.
I was brought up on the old farm of
my grandfather until 1868, when 1 was
10 years old. In that year the family
pulled up stakes and my father resumed
the career OF a circuit rider. We moved
to Granville, village on the Monongohela
river, two miles below Morgantown, the
seat Of the West Virginia university from
which seven years later my brother and
were graduated.
In the fall Of 1875 l started west to
groW up with the country and landed at
sandwich, DeKalb county, Illinois l got
country school At Victor Center and that
winter taught the young ideas how to
Morgantown, West Virginia IN the law
office Of my uncle, Hon. John ]. Brown.
Early in Politics.
4 think ! would have made good
progress in the study OF law II the politi-
cal campaign had not got so hot, for
took the stump for Hayes and Wheeler and
raised flag poles in their behalf all over
Monongohela county. Unfortunately the
campaign lasted all year and there was
more interest taken after the election
than before, 80 that practically laid aside
my Blackstone and Chitty and spent my
whole time in researches concerning the
law OF the electoral count, a study 10
which attribute most Of my interest in
politics. and which became the foundation
OF what little know about the structure
and system OF our government
My uncles's law libreary contained the
Congressional Globe beginning with 1850.
This set Of books with a generosity. which
at the time think overestmated, he
presented to me. Beginning with 1850 /