http://www.thelizlibrary.org/fatherless/035.html
This child was born in 1837 in New Jersey, the fifth of nine children. His mother was the daughter of a shoemaker, and his father was an itinerant preacher. The family moved frequently. The child was a happy-go-lucky boy who liked to play pranks as well as outdoor sports, and was particularly devoted to his mother and sisters.
When he was in his mid-teens, his father died, and he was forced to drop out of school and get a job to help support the family. Because he had been a good student, he was able to get a job as teaching assistant, but in order to take it, he had to leave home. He spent a year away doing this, and not liking it, wanting to return, but there were no jobs available in the small town in which his mother and sisters lived. Thus, after quitting, and then looking unsuccessfully for different work, he left home again, and obtained a job in a lawyer's office. This was lucky, because it enabled him to "read for the bar" -- a form of legal apprenticeship which was permitted in those days -- even though he had never even graduated from high school.
After passing the bar, he settled down to practice law in Buffalo, New York. He began gaining a reputation for being extraordinarily honest and principled. He also gained a reputation for being tough, as well as a bit eccentric and something of a character. But people really liked him.
He served for a while as the local prosecutor, then for some years as the town sheriff. While he held this office, he also acted as the town executioner, actually hanging two men!
Later he served as mayor of the city. Some time later, his popularity continuing to increase, he was elected governor of New York, bucking the powerful Tammany Hall political machine in New York City to achieve this.
And still later, he became President of the United States, winning the popular vote three times.
He was the only Democrat ever elected to the Presidency during the 19th Century Republican era known as "the Gilded Age". He was the most conservative Democrat president ever in office, supporting small government and big business. He was an ardent supporter of keeping America on the gold standard. He was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.
He also was the only President ever to be married while in office. He married for the first time when he was 51 years old -- to a woman who was only 24. They ultimately had five children together. His first child, who was born while he was in office, had a candy bar named after her.
He was the first President to be in the movies. He also liked to hunt, and named his favorite hunting rifle "Death and Destruction." And he was the only U.S. President who personally answered the White House telephone.
When he was a boy, his nickname was "Big Steve". Today we know him best by his middle name.
Stephen Grover Cleveland, a boy from a "fatherless home."
Dec 27, 2009
Dec 20, 2009
Fatherless Child - Expose Number Thirtyfour
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/fatherless/034.html
This child was born in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1745, the fourth child in a family of seven children. His father died when he was six, and so he was sent off to live with his maternal uncle, a Presbyterian minister who had founded a school for children. An exemplary student, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton) at age 15, and then went on to study medicine, first in Philadelphia, and then London.
On the way to London, he became upset at seeing the conditions on dozens of slave ships in Liverpool Harbor. The impression this made on him would color his views and scholarship for the remainder of his life
At age 24, he returned to Philadelphia to practice medicine and teach chemistry at Philadelphia College. During this time, he also started writing articles and treatises on politics and in favor of the abolition of slavery, as well as on his scientific theories. These writings brought him to the attention of revolutionaries such as Thomas Paine, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. And so, in 1776, he was appointed as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress.
During the Revolutionary War, he served as Surgeon-General to the Continental Army until a falling out with General Washington ended his military career. He returned to teaching, writing, and practicing medicine, gaining prominence in the field of medicine. He married a young woman with whom he had 13 children, 9 of whom survived infancy.
He became a vocal proponent in favor of women's rights, and the rights of those with mental illnesses, as well as an outspoken opponent against the institution of slavery. He also advocated for universal health care and for education for all. He wrote the first American textbook in chemistry, and he tutored Meriwether Lewis to prepare him for the great Corps of Discovery expedition.
A deeply religious man, largely because of his maternal uncle's early influence, he disagreed with the concept of separation of church and state -- he believed that Christianity should be a part of public life as well as taught in the schools.
He wrote:
"The only foundation for a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."
While many of his ideas, such as the misguided medical practice of bloodletting, have been proved wrong, his thinking in other ways has been considered to have been ahead of his time. Perhaps his greatest legacy is that of advocating for the advancement of knowledge in all areas of life, and for our government to work for the benefit of all.
Today this child is sometimes called the "father of the public school system". And because of his work as a physician on behalf of those with mental disabilities, he also is considered to be a founder of the field of psychiatry.
On the seal of the American Psychiatric Association is a silhouette of that founder. The person it belongs to was human rights advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence,
Benjamin Rush, a boy from a "fatherless home."
This child was born in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1745, the fourth child in a family of seven children. His father died when he was six, and so he was sent off to live with his maternal uncle, a Presbyterian minister who had founded a school for children. An exemplary student, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton) at age 15, and then went on to study medicine, first in Philadelphia, and then London.
On the way to London, he became upset at seeing the conditions on dozens of slave ships in Liverpool Harbor. The impression this made on him would color his views and scholarship for the remainder of his life
At age 24, he returned to Philadelphia to practice medicine and teach chemistry at Philadelphia College. During this time, he also started writing articles and treatises on politics and in favor of the abolition of slavery, as well as on his scientific theories. These writings brought him to the attention of revolutionaries such as Thomas Paine, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. And so, in 1776, he was appointed as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress.
During the Revolutionary War, he served as Surgeon-General to the Continental Army until a falling out with General Washington ended his military career. He returned to teaching, writing, and practicing medicine, gaining prominence in the field of medicine. He married a young woman with whom he had 13 children, 9 of whom survived infancy.
He became a vocal proponent in favor of women's rights, and the rights of those with mental illnesses, as well as an outspoken opponent against the institution of slavery. He also advocated for universal health care and for education for all. He wrote the first American textbook in chemistry, and he tutored Meriwether Lewis to prepare him for the great Corps of Discovery expedition.
A deeply religious man, largely because of his maternal uncle's early influence, he disagreed with the concept of separation of church and state -- he believed that Christianity should be a part of public life as well as taught in the schools.
He wrote:
"The only foundation for a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."
While many of his ideas, such as the misguided medical practice of bloodletting, have been proved wrong, his thinking in other ways has been considered to have been ahead of his time. Perhaps his greatest legacy is that of advocating for the advancement of knowledge in all areas of life, and for our government to work for the benefit of all.
Today this child is sometimes called the "father of the public school system". And because of his work as a physician on behalf of those with mental disabilities, he also is considered to be a founder of the field of psychiatry.
On the seal of the American Psychiatric Association is a silhouette of that founder. The person it belongs to was human rights advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence,
Benjamin Rush, a boy from a "fatherless home."
Dec 13, 2009
Fatherless Child - Expose Number Thirtythree
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/fatherless/033.html
This child was born in 1819 in New York City to a family of genteel New England ancestry. He was the third of eight children. When he was 7, he had scarlet fever, which impaired his eyesight.
His mother was said to have been a social climber and spendthrift. His father, ostensibly a merchant and importer, borrowed himself into bankruptcy, and then died when the boy was 12. Because of these events, he was forced to leave school, and start drifting through a variety of odd jobs to support himself, including as a clerk at his eldest brother's hat store, as a farmhand, and even as a surveyor on the Erie Canal, which was then being built. But he was at loose ends. He felt somewhat rejected and neglected by his mother, who seemed to prefer other of her children to him. He did not really like what he was doing. He had always wanted to go to college and become a "great orator", but there was no money.
Without clear direction, when he was 18, he took a job as a cabin boy on a ship that crossed the Atlantic to Great Britain. When he returned, he worked for a few years as a school teacher, and started writing. But he was still dissatisfied. He signed on as a member of the crew on a ship embarking on a three-to-four year voyage in the South Pacific. What he saw and experienced during this period of time began shaping his views of people, politics, and religion.
Over a period of time when other young men his age were in college, he was obtaining an education of a different kind. He became very much a skeptic and free thinker, questioning the injustices he saw perpetrated by so-called good Christians, such as colonization and slavery.
He later wrote about the choice to become a sailer on that long voyage:
"Some years ago-nevermind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."
He developed a devotion to writing and literature, often using his unusual experiences as the setting for his stories.
When he was 28, he married and settled down with his wife on a farm in Massachusetts, not far from the home of a friend he would later make, another writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. He and his wife had four children, and for a number of years, they farmed and he wrote books. Later, however, he fell out of popularity as an author, in large part because of the themes in his works, which even included male bonding, with homoerotic undertones. Still later, his marriage went on the rocks, and his eldest son accidentally shot himself.
In his last book, written when he was an old man and nearly blind, published posthumously, he returned to the themes of sailing and the sea to contemplate justice, law, and human values.
Some of his quotes are:
"There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags;
and hell is a democracy of devils, where all are equals."
"Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges."
"Talk not to me of blasphemy, man. I'd strike the sun if it insulted me."
Call him Ishmael, if you like. He is now recognized as one of the greatest American authors, and you might even have read one of his books, such as Moby Dick.
Herman Melville, a boy from a "fatherless home."
This child was born in 1819 in New York City to a family of genteel New England ancestry. He was the third of eight children. When he was 7, he had scarlet fever, which impaired his eyesight.
His mother was said to have been a social climber and spendthrift. His father, ostensibly a merchant and importer, borrowed himself into bankruptcy, and then died when the boy was 12. Because of these events, he was forced to leave school, and start drifting through a variety of odd jobs to support himself, including as a clerk at his eldest brother's hat store, as a farmhand, and even as a surveyor on the Erie Canal, which was then being built. But he was at loose ends. He felt somewhat rejected and neglected by his mother, who seemed to prefer other of her children to him. He did not really like what he was doing. He had always wanted to go to college and become a "great orator", but there was no money.
Without clear direction, when he was 18, he took a job as a cabin boy on a ship that crossed the Atlantic to Great Britain. When he returned, he worked for a few years as a school teacher, and started writing. But he was still dissatisfied. He signed on as a member of the crew on a ship embarking on a three-to-four year voyage in the South Pacific. What he saw and experienced during this period of time began shaping his views of people, politics, and religion.
Over a period of time when other young men his age were in college, he was obtaining an education of a different kind. He became very much a skeptic and free thinker, questioning the injustices he saw perpetrated by so-called good Christians, such as colonization and slavery.
He later wrote about the choice to become a sailer on that long voyage:
"Some years ago-nevermind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."
He developed a devotion to writing and literature, often using his unusual experiences as the setting for his stories.
When he was 28, he married and settled down with his wife on a farm in Massachusetts, not far from the home of a friend he would later make, another writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. He and his wife had four children, and for a number of years, they farmed and he wrote books. Later, however, he fell out of popularity as an author, in large part because of the themes in his works, which even included male bonding, with homoerotic undertones. Still later, his marriage went on the rocks, and his eldest son accidentally shot himself.
In his last book, written when he was an old man and nearly blind, published posthumously, he returned to the themes of sailing and the sea to contemplate justice, law, and human values.
Some of his quotes are:
"There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags;
and hell is a democracy of devils, where all are equals."
"Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges."
"Talk not to me of blasphemy, man. I'd strike the sun if it insulted me."
Call him Ishmael, if you like. He is now recognized as one of the greatest American authors, and you might even have read one of his books, such as Moby Dick.
Herman Melville, a boy from a "fatherless home."
Dec 6, 2009
Fatherless Child - Expose Number Thirtytwo
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/fatherless/032.html
This child was born in 1948 in Georgia, the second of three children in an impoverished family. His mother worked as a maid. The town in which they lived lacked a sewage system or paved roads. When he was still a toddler, his father abandoned the family.
When he was seven, the one-room house he lived in with his mother and siblings burned to the ground. He and his brother were sent away to live with his maternal grandparents. In some ways, this was better -- he now ate regularly and lived in a house with indoor plumbing. But his childhood was unhappy. His grandfather, a demanding and strict religious man, sometimes made him feel ashamed of the poor community of his origins, and also of his difficulty speaking standard English.
The child was a good student, however, and in his spare time, he liked to go to the local library. Occasionally after school, he also accompanied his grandfather to work. When he was halfway through high school, he was sent to a seminary to become a priest. He did fairly well there, and then transferred to another seminary in Missouri. He was not happy at this school at all, and soon quit. After taking some time off, and extricating himself from his controlling grandfather, he re-enrolled in a different college, where he decided to major in English, and did very well, graduating ninth in his class.
After graduating, he married his college sweetheart, and was accepted on scholarship into one of the country's top law schools. When he successfully finished law school, he went to work in the Missouri Attorney General's office, and then for a large pharmaceutical company as a corporate lawyer. Through these experiences and the contacts he made, he secured a job with an administrative agency of the federal government. He worked at this job for some years, during which he went through a divorce and then, two years later, happily remarried.
In 1990, he was appointed to the position of judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Subsequently, in a controversial nomination process, he was appointed to another judicial position. Some have claimed that emotional issues from his difficult childhood carried into his adult life. But no one could say that he did not achieve for himself extraordinary personal success. He is U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas, a boy from a "fatherless home."
This child was born in 1948 in Georgia, the second of three children in an impoverished family. His mother worked as a maid. The town in which they lived lacked a sewage system or paved roads. When he was still a toddler, his father abandoned the family.
When he was seven, the one-room house he lived in with his mother and siblings burned to the ground. He and his brother were sent away to live with his maternal grandparents. In some ways, this was better -- he now ate regularly and lived in a house with indoor plumbing. But his childhood was unhappy. His grandfather, a demanding and strict religious man, sometimes made him feel ashamed of the poor community of his origins, and also of his difficulty speaking standard English.
The child was a good student, however, and in his spare time, he liked to go to the local library. Occasionally after school, he also accompanied his grandfather to work. When he was halfway through high school, he was sent to a seminary to become a priest. He did fairly well there, and then transferred to another seminary in Missouri. He was not happy at this school at all, and soon quit. After taking some time off, and extricating himself from his controlling grandfather, he re-enrolled in a different college, where he decided to major in English, and did very well, graduating ninth in his class.
After graduating, he married his college sweetheart, and was accepted on scholarship into one of the country's top law schools. When he successfully finished law school, he went to work in the Missouri Attorney General's office, and then for a large pharmaceutical company as a corporate lawyer. Through these experiences and the contacts he made, he secured a job with an administrative agency of the federal government. He worked at this job for some years, during which he went through a divorce and then, two years later, happily remarried.
In 1990, he was appointed to the position of judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Subsequently, in a controversial nomination process, he was appointed to another judicial position. Some have claimed that emotional issues from his difficult childhood carried into his adult life. But no one could say that he did not achieve for himself extraordinary personal success. He is U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas, a boy from a "fatherless home."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)