Читать книгу The Story of General Pershing - Everett T. Tomlinson - Страница 8

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From this, the time of our greatest war, we must drop back approximately half a century to the time of our second greatest war. It is noteworthy that General Pershing, our leader in the war for the world's freedom, was born in the early days in the war for the negroes' freedom.

The future general first saw the light September 13, 1860, in or near the little village of Laclede, Missouri. The lad was "from Missouri" and the current semi-slang expression has certainly been true in his case. One had to "show him," for he made up his mind, mapped out his own plans and conducted his own studies and investigations. This characteristic has remained with him to this day. The accepted date of his birth and the house in which he was born are still matters of mild dispute among the good people of the little village of Laclede. A friend of his boyhood days says, "He was born in a section house about 3,000 yards from the site of the old depot. The foundation is still there." But the people of Laclede and Meadville, a nearby hamlet, are not a unit in this detail, though all are heartily agreed and proud in their recollection of the lad who since has made the little hamlet famous.

"Grandma" Warren (Mrs. Louisa D.) through her daughter sends the following contribution to this mooted question:

"My mother states that in the spring of 1859, the General's father and mother, then recently married, came to board with her father, Meredith Brown, who resided about two and one-half miles east of Meadville, Mo. My mother, then a widow, was living at the home of her father and was associated with the Pershings that summer.

"In the fall of the year the Pershings moved to a house of their own about a half mile west of the Brown home and this is the place where the General was born. The tract of land on which the house stood is now owned by John Templeman and is the north ½ of Sec. 5, T'wp 57, range 21, Linn Co., Mo. The house in which the General was born was destroyed by fire during the Civil War. Mother was present at the General's birth and dressed him in his first suit.

"From the house where the General was born they moved to what was known as the 'Section House,'—a house built for the section foreman of the railroad. This house was located about two miles west of Meadville on the Hannibal and St. Joseph R. R., now the Burlington.

"During the time from 1859 and a few years later, the senior Pershing was section foreman on this road. At the last mentioned place of residence the second child was born.

"After a few years' residence at the section house, the family moved to Laclede, Mo., seven miles east of Meadville. At this place the father engaged in mercantile business, continuing in the business for a number of years. My mother visited at the Pershing home at this place frequently. After leaving Laclede, mother lost communication with them.

"The citizens of Meadville and vicinity have in the course of construction at the present time a large sign to be erected at the birthplace of the General. My mother is now in her 85th year.

"The place of the General's birth is near a small stream known as Hickory Branch and the community along this stream is known as the Hickory Branch Community. In closing, I wish to pay my respects to the General: John J. Pershing, the baby, belongs to Hickory Branch. John J. Pershing, the man, belongs to the world.

"Yours truly,

"E. S. Warren."

The Home of the Pershings, Laclede, Missouri.

It is not strange if seven cities contended with one another for the honor of being the birthplace of Homer that two small villages in Missouri are divided in their claims for a similar honor in the case of the present foremost American soldier. As to the merits of the contest it is impossible to pronounce judgment at this time. The General himself has only hearsay evidence of the exact locality of his birth, though there is no question as to its having taken place in Linn County, Missouri, and that his boyhood was passed in the village of Laclede.

The General's father, John P. Pershing, a short time before the birth of his oldest child (the general), came from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and went to work as a section foreman on the Hannibal and St. Joe Railroad. He was a forceful man, of energy and ambition, and it was not long before he was running a general store and at the same time was postmaster of the village. A man now living, who worked for the General's father in both the general store and post office, has this tribute to pay to his one time employer: "He was a very active business man with wonderful energy, strictly honest, never stooped to a dishonest trick; a pronounced man in the community; the leading business man. He liked to make money. He lost two fortunes on the Board of Trade, Chicago. He traveled several years out of St. Joseph, probably one of the best paid men. He later left St. Joe for Chicago, where he was traveling salesman for another firm. He made many business ventures—was something of what to-day is called a promoter.

"He was a man of commanding presence. He was a great family man, loved his family devotedly. He was not lax and ruled his household well."

The older Pershing was insistent that his children should be able to meet the difficulties in life that must be overcome before success can be won. The value of regular habits of appreciation of the things worth while, was his hobby and he taught by example as well as by precept. Hard work was essential. Therefore hard work must be undertaken and done, and he began early to train his three boys and three girls, who of the nine that were born to him grew to maturity. His creed included the precept that it is well to learn to bear the yoke in one's youth. Every Sunday the Pershing family were seen on their way to the little Methodist church of which the father and mother were members, Mr. Pershing at one time being superintendent of the Sunday School. He is reported also to have been a local preacher. He was one of the founders of his church.

A neighbor writes, "When the Civil War broke out, the elder Pershing left the railroad and became the regimental sutler of the old 18th Mo. Reg. Infantry. Later he engaged in merchandising and farming with success, but was caught in the panic of 1873. About 1876, he went to work for I. Weil & Company of St. Joseph, Mo., as a traveling salesman, selling clothing, and later for a big Chicago house. The family lived at Laclede until about 1886, at which time they moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where two of the daughters now reside. General Pershing's father and mother are both dead.

"The Pershing family were zealous church people. John F. Pershing was the Sunday School superintendent of the Methodist Church all the years he lived here, I think, or until he commenced to work for I. Weil & Co. Every Sunday you could see him making his way to church with John (the general) on one side and Jim on the other, Mrs. Pershing and the little girls following along. The family was a serious loss to the Methodist church when they moved away from here."

Throughout his life there was an air of seriousness under which the future general was brought up. Doubtless from his earliest days the impression that if he was to do anything worth while he must first be something worth while, consciously or unconsciously influenced the life of the son of the father, who was eager to have his children secure the best education within their power to obtain and his ability to give. At all events, the General's life-plan seems to have been to get ready, whether or not the test comes. If it does come, one is prepared; if it does not come one is prepared just the same. Here again it was the man behind the general, shaped, guided, trained and inspired by the strong, earnest personality of his father.

From a member of the Pershing family the following statement has been received: "His (the general's) father was born near Pittsburgh, Pa., his ancestors having come from Alsace-Lorraine. He was prominent in church work and all philanthropic work. He established the Methodist Church at Laclede, Mo., and after moving to Chicago was instrumental in forming the Hyde Park Methodist Church. He was also active in the Y. M. C. A., Chicago, and organized the Hyde Park branch. He was in the Union Army and was the first man to observe Memorial Day in Laclede, taking his own children and the children of his neighborhood, with flowers from his own garden, to decorate the graves of the soldiers. Mr. Pershing (John Fletcher Pershing) was president of the school board at Laclede and it was through his work that the graded schools were organized and new buildings erected. He was also postmaster in Laclede."

Of his mother—the best report from Laclede is that she was a "splendid home maker." Why is it that most great men have had great mothers? Frequently we are disappointed in the sons of great men. Either the boys do not measure up to their sires, or we are prone to expect too much of them, or, as is quite likely, we contrast the young man at the beginning of his career with the reputation of his father when it is at its zenith.

But history is filled with examples of men who have attributed all they have done or won to the inspiring love and devotion of the mothers that bore them. And General Pershing is no exception to this rule. One time, when, after years of absence he came back to Laclede as a brigadier general in the army of the United States, he went to call upon Aunt Susan Hewett, an aged widow and old resident of the town. In his boyhood, Aunt Susan and her husband, "Captain" Hewett, had "run the hotel." Aunt Susan in her prime was famous for her pies and her love of boys, and Johnnie Pershing was a favorite. As a result of her affection for the lad he was a frequent and successful sampler of her wares. The picture of Aunt Susan and her pies and the sampling done by the future general of the United States Army is one that is easily imagined and strongly appeals to those who know the worth of well made pies—for in spite of local pride, good pies are not all limited to New England.

To a reporter two or three years ago Aunt Susan said,[A] "Law, yes, I remember John when he wasn't more'n two or three years old. When John was big enough to put on trousers he used to eat more pies in our kitchen than any other boy in town.

"He was back here about ten years ago. It was on the 24th day of October that Uncle Henry Lomax came to my house and said, 'Aunt Susan, there's a gentleman outside that wants to see you.' When I stepped outside and saw a tall young man, Uncle Henry asked me if I knew who it was.

"'Yes,' I said, 'it's John Pershing. I can see his mother's features in his face.' He came to me with his arms open and he embraced me and kissed me and we both cried. 'Aunt Susan,' he says, and I'll never forget his words as long as I live, 'it does my heart good to see my mother's dear old friends. The place seems like home to me and it always will. I've been away a long time and there have been many changes, but this is home.' The chrysanthemums were in bloom and after we had talked a while in the parlor I went out and picked a bouquet for him to take away.

"'They are going to have some kind of a reception for me to-night and I want you to come, Aunt Susan,' he says. I told him I'd try to be there but that I was tired and worn out because I had been working hard in the garden. 'You won't have to walk, Aunt Susan, because I'll come after you myself.' About five in the afternoon he came in a buggy. We went to his reception together and my! what a crowd. The whole house was packed and people were standing in the yard. Johnny shook hands with everybody and talked to them and he finally made a speech, which I didn't hear because there were so many people around. John Pershing always did have talent."

This incident of his later years is eloquent of the earlier years—and of Pershing's mother. Behind the figure of the living is another who being dead, yet speaketh. "A splendid home maker."

The relatives of General Pershing disclaim all knowledge of this incident and are inclined to pronounce it "mostly fiction." The incident is taken from the Missouri Historical Review. In other forms also the story has become current. A former friend of the family, now a resident of Laclede, also questions the reliability of the tale, basing his conclusion upon the fact that the local village taverns were not places which such a man as General Pershing's father would knowingly permit his boys to frequent.

Nor is Aunt Susan's fact (or fiction) the only tribute. Before me is a letter from a long time friend and neighbor of the family which states: "Mrs. Pershing stood high among her neighbors. She was a woman of unusual intelligence and much better educated than the average woman of those days. She was an unusually cultivated woman. Mr. Pershing probably had the best library in the town. His father and mother were both religious and John went to Sunday School and church every Sunday." The deep affection is apparent as one reads between the lines of many letters received from those who years ago knew her both personally and well. It is not difficult to trace the source of the inspiration of Pershing's life.

An intimate friend of the General in response to a personal request has courteously given the following modest statement: "General Pershing's mother was Ann Elizabeth Thompson. She was born near Nashville, Tenn. Although she came of a southern family she joined her husband in her sympathy for the cause of the North, and made the first flag that was raised in Linn County, thereby risking the lives of her family. One of her brothers was in the Southern army, and one served on the Northern side. When her brother, Colonel L. A. Thompson, was wounded, her husband secured permission to cross the line and brought him home. Mrs. Pershing was always an inspiration for her children and her ambition for them, especially in an educational way, was without bounds."

And there came a time when General Pershing doubtless realized as never before all that his mother had been to him. His troops were mounted and he was about to give the command for the departure of his men on an expedition against the Moros. At that moment an orderly advanced and gave him a message which informed him of the death of his mother, in her far away home. It was a blow as hard as it was sudden. The face of the leader was almost ghastly in its whiteness. He swallowed hard two or three times and then quietly gave the command for his troops to advance. He was a soldier of his country and the message which had brought him the deepest sorrow of his life up to that time must not be permitted to allow his personal grief to interfere with his duty. The lesson his mother had taught him was put to the test and was not forgotten.