ancestors, who had settled in Connecticut before the Revolution.
his mother was the daughter of a prosperous Vermont farmer. Before
he was three months old his father, whose only fortune was his
practice, suddenly died. A bachelor brother of the widow took
the family to his home near Brandon, where they lived for fifteen
years. When not needed at more important work Stephen attended
the common school. but the serious business of life was tilling
his uncle's fields.

At fifteen he sought help to prepare for college. His uncle declined
to assume the burden of his education and advised him to shun the
perils of professional life and adopt the safe and honorable career
of a farmer. The advice was rejected and he obtained permission
to earn his way and shape his future. He walked to Middlebury, a
distance of fourteen miles, and apprenticed himself to a cabinet
maker. He worked with energy and enthusiasm, became a good mechanic
and bade fair to win success at his trade, but owning to delicate
health he abandoned the shop after less than two years' service,
and entered the academy at Brandon, where he pursued his studies
for about a year, when his mother married again and moved to
Canandiagua, New York. He there entered an academy and continued
an industrious student for nearly three years, devoting part of his
time to law study. This ended his preliminary training. He quit
the schools and applied himself to the work of practical life.

In June, 1833, he left home to push his fortune in the West. His
health was delicate, his stock of money scant. He went to Cleveland,
Ohio, where he became acquainted with a lawyer named Andrews, who,
pleased with the appearance of the youth, invited him to share his
office and use his library, with the promise of a partnership when