The race of brave, strong men from whom Ste-phen Gro-ver Cleve-land
sprang made their first homes here, in Mas-sa-chu-setts, as far back
as 1635. His fa-ther had charge of a small church in Cald-well, New
Jer-sey, and here, in a neat white frame house, which you may see for
your-selves to-day, was born, on March 18th, 1837, the boy who was to
rise, step by step, to the pres-i-dent's seat.
He was three years old when they moved to Fay-ette-ville, New York, and
here he first went to school and lived till he was twelve years old. He
showed a strong will, and a great love for books, as a small boy; he
would have his own way, if he could get it; and this was why he was sent
to a high school, when he was not so old by some years, as the rest of
the boys there; he gave his fa-ther no rest till he sent him; and once
there he made up his mind to lead his class.
He was just twelve when his strong will sent him to work in a store near
his home, so that he could help care for the big fam-i-ly in the small
home. The man who hired him, soon saw that, if he was young, he knew how
to work well, and that he could trust him; for two years he worked in
the store and then went back to his books.
But, just at this time, his fa-ther died; and he then had to find a way
to care for those in great need at home. With the same pluck that he had
shown in the past, he now went to work in a "Home for the Blind," in New
York. In this big cit-y, the bright boy saw and heard much which gave
him new thoughts, and put in his heart the wish to make his life a great
one. At the end of two years in the "Home," he made up his mind to learn
law; and he asked a man whom he knew to lend him twen-ty-five dol-lars
to start him. The fact that this man did so shows that he had trust in
young Gro-ver Cleve-land; he could now start his work, and went to
Buf-fa-lo to do so. Here he lived for eight years; at first he helped
his un-cle, in the care of a big farm, and the mon-ey he so made was
sent to his moth-er. Soon he had the chance to stud-y law; the place
where he went was two miles from his un-cle's home, but back and forth,
rain or shine, he walked each day. There is told a tale that shows how
he loved the books of law; for, the first day he went to this place, a
book was put in his hands to read; he kept at it for hours, till dark
came; then he found the rest of the men had gone home; all the doors
were locked; and he must stay there all night.
Such hard work soon made him a man who well knew the law; and folks gave
him big cases that brought him much fame. He did not go to the war, when
it broke out, for he felt that he could not leave his folks at home with
no one to care for them.
He rose fast in his law work; and more than one great case did he win;
he cared far more to take the part of the poor than of the rich; and at
no time in his life did he look for high place or fame; it came to him
though, for he was just the man to fill a high post well. His name was
soon known in his state and at Wash-ing-ton; for three years he was
Sher-iff of E-rie Coun-ty and then he took up his law prac-tise once
more; but soon he was put at the head of his cit-y as its May-or; and
then was made the Gov-ern-or of the great state of New York. Here he
did good work; he put down those who had tak-en bribes, and had not been
good, true men, and he tried to see that the laws were well kept; men
saw that he was the right man to fill this high place, for he had no
fear of what might be thought of him; he just did as he felt right; and
so, while he was still gov-ern-or, he was named for pres-i-dent by a
great vote, and was e-lect-ed. When he took the oath of of-fice in
Wash-ing-ton, he did not kiss the big Bi-ble which oth-er pres-i-dents
had kissed, but a lit-tle old book, much worn with use, which his
moth-er had giv-en to him when he first left home. He was in the chair
four years and while here, he took for his wife Miss Fran-ces Fol-som;
he was the first pres-i-dent to wed in the White House. Cleve-land was
pres-i-dent for four years; at the end of that time, the Re-pub-li-cans
placed Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son in the pres-i-dent's chair.
But, at the end of one term, once more the Dem-o-crats won the day; and
a-gain, in 1893, we see Gro-ver Cleve-land pres-i-dent.
In May of 1894, the World's Fair was o-pened; and few boys and girls are
too young to know some-thing of the beau-ty of the Great White Cit-y
built on the shores of Lake Mich-i-gan in Chi-ca-go. In the last years
of Cleve-land's term, there was much talk of the state of things in
Cu-ba. The men there wished to be free from Spain, who had ruled them,
with a hard hand, for hun-dreds of years.
Spain sent down troops of sol-diers; and harsh laws were made to force
the Cu-bans to keep the peace. But Cu-ba would not give up; and the
U-ni-ted States be-gan to feel pit-y for this brave lit-tle is-land,
try-ing to get free.
In the midst of the strife, Cleve-land's term of of-fice came to an end,
and he came to New York to live and take up law a-gain. He now has his
home in Prince-ton, New Jer-sey, and has a large law prac-tise.
[Illustration: GROVER CLEVELAND.]
[Illustration: BENJAMIN HARRISON.]