Joel Benton - The Life of Phineas T. Barnum

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November-2011

ISBN : 978-1-4121-6991-2

A UNIQUE STORY OF A MARVELLOUS CAREER. LIFE OF Hon.PHINEAS T. BARNUM. - - COMPRISING HIS BOYHOOD, YOUTH, ...

By JOEL BENTON.

F AMILY AND BIRTH- SCHOOL LIFE - HIS FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY - A LANDEDPROPRIETOR - THE ETHICS OF TRADE - FARM WORK AND KEEPING STORE -MEETING-HOUSE AND SUNDAY SCHOOL - "THE ONE THING NEEDFUL."

Among the names of great Americans of the nineteenthcentury there is scarcely one more familiar to the world than thatof the subject of this biography. There are those that stand forhigher achievement in literature, science and art, in public lifeand in the business world. There is none that stands for morenotable success in his chosen line, none that recalls more memoriesof wholesome entertainment, none that is more invested with thefragrance of kindliness and true humanity. His career was, in alarge sense, typical of genuine Americanism, of its enterprise andpluck, of its indomitable will and unfailing courage, of itsshrewdness, audacity and unerring instinct for success.

Like so many of his famous compatriots, PhineasTaylor Barnum came of good old New England stock. His ancestorswere among the builders of the colonies of Massachusetts andConnecticut. His father's father, Ephraim Barnum, was a captain inthe War of the Revolution, and was distinguished for his valor andfor his fervent patriotism. His mother's father, Phineas Taylor,was locally noted as a wag and practical joker. His father, PhiloBarnum, was in turn a tailor, a farmer, a storekeeper, and acountry tavernkeeper, and was not particularly prosperous in any ofthese callings.

Philo Barnum and his wife, Irena Taylor, lived atBethel, Connecticut, and there, on July 5, 1810, their first childwas born. He was named Phineas Taylor Barnum, after his maternalgrandfather; and the latter, in return for the compliment, bestowedupon his first grandchild at his christening the title-deeds of a"landed estate," five acres in extent, known as Ivy Island, andsituated in that part of, Bethel known as the "Plum Trees." Ofthis, more anon.

In his early years the boy led the life of theaverage New England farmer's son of that period. He drove the cowsto and from the pasture, shelled corn, weeded the garden, and "didup chores." As he grew older he rode the horse in plowing corn,raked hay, wielded the shovel and the hoe, and chopped wood. At sixyears old he began to go to school - the typical district school."The first date," he once said, "I remember inscribing upon mywriting-book was 1818." The ferule, or the birch-rod, was in thosedays the assistant schoolmaster, and young Barnum made itsacquaintance. He was, however, an apt and ready scholar,particularly excelling in mathematics. One night, when he was tenyears old, he was called out of bed by his teacher, who had made awager with a neighbor that Barnum could calculate the number offeet in a load of wood in five minutes. Barnum did it in less thantwo minutes, to the delight of his teacher and the astonishment ofthe neighbor.

At an early age he manifested a strong developmentof the good old Yankee organ of acquisitiveness. Before he was fiveyears old he had begun to hoard pennies and "fourpences," and atsix years old he was able to exchange his copper bits for a wholesilver dollar, the possession of which made him feel richer than heever felt afterward in all his life. Nor did he lay the dollar awayin a napkin, but used it in business to gain more. He would get tencents a day for riding a horse before the plow, and he would add itto his capital. On holidays other boys spent all their savings, butnot so he. Such days were to him opportunities for gain, not forsquandering. At the fair or training of troops, or other festivity,he would peddle candy and cakes, home-made, or sometimes cherryrum, and by the end of the day would be a dollar or two richer thanat its beginning. "By the time I was twelve years old," he tellsus, "I was the owner of a sheep and a calf, and should soon, nodoubt, have become a small Croesus had not my father kindlypermitted me to purchase my own clothing, which somewhat reduced mylittle store."

At ten years of age, realizing himself to be a"landed proprietor" through the christening gift of his waggishgrandsire, young Barnum set out to survey his estate, which he hadnot yet seen. He had heard much of "Ivy Island." His grandfatherhad often, in the presence of the neighbors, spoken of him as therichest child in the town, since he owned the whole of Ivy Island,the richest farm in the State. His parents hoped he would use hiswealth wisely, and "do something for the family" when he enteredupon the possession of it; and the neighbors were fearful lest heshould grow too proud to associate with their children.

The boy took all this in good faith, and his eagercuriosity to behold his estate was greatly increased, and he askedhis father to let him go thither. "At last," says Barnum, "hepromised I should do so in a few days, as we should be getting somehay near 'Ivy Island.' The wished-for day arrived, and my fathertold me that as we were to mow an adjoining meadow. I might visitmy property in company with the hired man during the 'nooning.' Mygrandfather reminded me that it was to his bounty I was indebtedfor this wealth, and that had not my name been Phineas I mightnever have been proprietor of 'Ivy Island.' To this my motheradded:

" 'Now, Taylor, don't become so excited when you seeyour property as to let your joy make you sick, for remember, richas you are, that it will be eleven years before you can come intopossession of your fortune.'

"She added much more good advice, to all of which Ipromised to be calm and reasonable, and not to allow my pride toprevent me from speaking to my brothers and sisters when I returnedhome.

"When we arrived at the meadow, which was in thatpart of the 'Plum Trees' known as 'East Swamp,' I asked my fatherwhere 'Ivy Island' was.

" 'Yonder, at the north end of this meadow, whereyou see those beautiful trees rising in the distance.'

"All the forenoon I turned grass as fast as two mencould cut it, and after a hasty repast at noon, one of our hiredmen, a good-natured Irishman, named Edmund, took an axe on hisshoulder and announced that he was ready to accompany me to 'IvyIsland.' We started, and as we approached the north end of themeadow we found the ground swampy and wet and were soon obliged toleap from bog to bog on our route. A mis-step brought me up to mymiddle in water, and to add to the dilemma a swarm of hornetsattacked me. Attaining the altitude of another bog I was cheered bythe assurance that there was only a quarter of a mile of this kindof travel to the edge of my property. I waded on. In about fifteenminutes more, after floundering through the morass, I found myselfhalf-drowned, hornet-stung, mud covered, and out of breath, oncomparatively dry land.

" 'Never mind, my boy,' said Edmund, 'we have onlyto cross this little creek, and ye'll be upon your own valuableproperty.'

"We were on the margin of a stream, the banks ofwhich were thickly covered with alders. I now discovered the use ofEdmund's axe, for he felled a small oak to form a temporary bridgeto my 'Island' property. Crossing over, I proceeded to the centreof my domain. I saw nothing but a few stunted ivies and stragglingtrees. The truth flashed upon me. I had been the laughing-stock ofthe family and neighborhood for years. My valuable 'Ivy Island' wasan almost inaccessible, worthless bit of barren land, and while Istood deploring my sudden downfall, a huge black snake (one of mytenants) approached me with upraised head. I gave one shriek andrushed for the bridge.