Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1913-03-12

he renamed C00Fo d lew Gays Out
found no employment SO on the 4th day
of July he set out for Montreal. leay-
ing his wife and child in Fairfield.
He made the journey to Montreal on
foot. He obtained employment with Lee
& McGrand on the Lachlne canal at
seventy cents per day and board him
self. He walked six miles per day to
and from his work. His hands were
soft after teaching the previous win
ter and the ocean voy age, and his
hands blistered through the hot DAYS
of July and August. He worked I'M
til the Goth of September with pick,
shovel and wheelbarrow. The handles
of his implements were often stained
with blood. His hands ever after bore
the marks of these days.
On the goth of September, the water
could no longer be kept out of the canal
so on that day 1900 men were dis
charged. Nearly all of them were
Irish immigrants and not one in 100 of
them knew what way to turn for shell
ter or employment. He took his little
bundle and started to Join his wife
and child in Fairfield. He performed
the journey on foot. stopping over night
in st. Johns On the eve of the Sec
ond day ne arrived in Fairfield. What
to do he did not know. A Vermont
winter coming soon. No use for him
to apply for a school for there was a
bitter feeling against all foreigners es-
pecially Irish Catholics, SO taking his
wife and child he went to Burlington,
hired room with chance to cook on
stove with another family and leav-
ing them there started to seek work on
the Vermont Central railroad which
was then in course of construction.
He stopped over night in the town of
Richmond. Passing through the vii
lage Of Montpelier about noon on &
bright October dav he noticed a large
building with a large crowd of we'll
dressed men emerging from it. He
inquired what that meant and was told
that this was the state capitol and the
| legislature was now in session. He
had not enough money to pay for din
ner SO bought a few crackers and con-
tinued his way through Mortified and
in the town of Braintree about three
! o o'clock in the al ternOOn came to where
the men were at work on the railroad.
He came to the foreman asked if he
wanted help, he answered that he did,
DO you want to work." McElroy an
swered that he did, "Wen.' said the
on the hill you can go there and be
ready to begin work in the morning.
He asked the foreman if he had time
to make quarter that day. The man
! looked at his watch and told him that
! he had. so putting down his little bun
die and taking off his coat he went to
work and worked until evening and
! then went to the boarding house wi
/ the rest Of the men. The wages were
81 % per day with 81 IS per week out
| for board. Here he worked until
! Thanksgiving, which was on that year
! November the 28th. THIS was the first
snowstOrm OF the season. The con
tractor wanted him to stay through the
winter but he thought the prospect for
outdoor work was poor in this climate
SO getting his pay he retraced his steps
to Burlington, took his wife and child
to WilIiston, hired tenement and went
to work with the farmers, threshing
grain with a fail. He threshed 1000
bushels of grain that winter, the
wages being $40 per month. The mex
July, 1847. his wife's mother and broth
erS joined them bringing with them
a malignant fever which he contracted
and for weeks lay victim to the fe-
yer. He always spoke highly of old DR..
Cole. who treated him through his
sickness, charging him only for the
medicine which he used, aoout 81. 90.
! Recovering from the fever he went
threshing again. his second winter in
America. In the spring of 1848 he
sought and obtained work on a farm in
the town Of Underhill. He worked for
a man by the name OF Edward J Johnson
for the small wages of $1,000 per
month. In 1849 and 1850 he worked
for Hon. Joseph Kingsbury, wages $40
and $11 per month.
I. IL.
his wife and three children to the
cupied by Frank Morgan. Here he
lived five years and here three of his
children were born. On the 9Th OF
May, 1856. he with his wife and family
moved to the west hill in Westfeld.
where he lived neighbor to the late
Hon. N. C. HOyt, Mr.. Trumpass. also
the late Mr.. Deblois. Here on the 18th
day of April, 1858. his young wife died
leaving him with seven young children,
the oldest Il and the youngest an in
FAINT Of 10 days. His mother-in-law
Mrs. Finnegan adopted and brought up
the infant (Joseph McElroy Of
Truckee, Cal, while his own mother,
lady then 81 years old came to be his
housekeeper and a mother to his chill
dren.
On the lSt day OF March, 1861, he pur-
chased of John Murray the farm or
which he has resided until his death
Feb. 27. Through all his long life he
has been a sober, industrious mar
never used tobacco in. any form and
was always great advocate of tenn
perance His fondness for books was
remarkable. He always preserved his
schoolbooks and in his late home car
be seen today the arithmetic, geogra.
ply, grammar and dictionary. which
he used at school nearly 80 years ago.
one of them. the arithmetic, bears the
date 1884. He was a good mathemati-
clan. a fair penman, and a correct &C
countant. There were few better read
ers and although he spoke with rich
north of Ireland brogue his language
was almost always grammatical. His
, mother lived with him until her death
September 18th, 1876. About his 10th