II.

"CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK."

TWENTY years ago, more or less, Richard A. Wheeler, of Stonington, Conn., denied the usual claim set up, that Ulysses S. Grant was of Scotch descent.

“Not a word of truth in it. He descended from the most Puritan of Puritan stock," said Wheeler.

"His biographers ought to have found it out," suggested the friend addressed. "I supposed that there was no question about his ancestry."

"There has not been, because no one has taken the pains to investigate until I attempted it recently," answered Wheeler. "I was not a little surprised myself by the clearness of the Puritan, instead of the Scotch, claim."

"How about the ancient Scottish Clan, whose chosen motto was, 'Stand fast, stand firm, stand sure'?" inquired his friend. "That fits pretty well, any way."

"Very true; and that is all there is to it. Because the motto would be appropriate on Grant's shield, biographers catch at the story of the 'Scottish Clan, and proclaim that his veins run with the best Scotch blood. I have nothing to say against Scotch blood, -the blood is good enough,-capital blood for a man to hold; but I tell you that it is not the blood to which our great American General is indebted."

"Possibly not," responded his friend; "but I should

like to hear what proof there is of your position. It is admitted, as I supposed, that little is known of General Grant's foreign ancestry, and that what little is known, points to Scotch origin."

"Well," continued Mr. Wheeler, "give me your ear for a short time, and I will tell you what I know about it. The year 1630 was distinguished for the large number of emigrants to this country. The fame of the 'New England Colony' awakened a wide-spread interest among the English people, and, during the year mentioned, seventeen ship-loads of families, with their horses, cattle, and furniture, were brought hither. One of these ships, the Mary and John,-which sailed from Plymouth, England, on the twentieth day of March, brought one hundred and forty passengers, and a more interesting company never trod a ship's deck; for nearly all of them were young, married couples and young bachelors. Among the number was Matthew Grant, married of course; for the Grants always marry early and well. They landed at Nantasket, though Captain Squibs agreed to take them to Boston. The result was that the passengers, under the leadership of Matthew Grant, brought a suit against the captain, and recovered damages for the violation of his agreement. Thus did the original Grant set his face like a flint against injustice and duplicity.

"This ship-load of colonists were thoroughly religious, according to the record, and found solid comfort, during their long voyage, in their Christian worship. One Roger Clap kept a diary on the way, in which he said: 'So we came, by the good hand of God, through the deep, comfortably, having preaching and expounding the Word of God every day for ten weeks together by our ministers.'

"Matthew Grant and his fellow-passengers settled at Matapan, about four miles from the present city hall, Boston. Subsequently they changed the name to Dorchester, in memory of a town by that name in their own native County of Dorsetshire. Here they suffered for want of food. Roger Clap said, in his diary, The place is a wilderness. Fish was a good help to me and to others. Bread was so scarce that I thought the very crusts from my father's table would have been sweet; and when I could have meal, and salt, and water boiled together, I asked, "Who could ask for better?"

"Matthew Grant's wife, Priscilla, died when they had been four years in this country, leaving four children. The year after her death (1635), Matthew, and about half of the colony, removed to the Connecticut Valley, between Hartford and Springfield, settling where the town of Windsor now is. Here they were more exposed to depredations by Indians, but the land was more fertile.

"Honest Matthew Grant,' as he was called, became the chief spirit in the rich Valley of the Connecticut. He was surveyor, town clerk, and recorder; and he filled various other positions of honour and trust, from time to time. A schism arose in the church, after a few years, about an old minister who came with the colonists from Dorchester. The younger members of the community thought he was too old and rigid to be their spiritual adviser, so they withdrew, organized a new parish, and called a younger minister. Matthew Grant opposed the malcontents from the start, and he refused, as clerk of the church, to enter their doings upon the records. The malcontents insisted that the record should be made; but Matthew stood by his guns,

in Grant style; refused to budge an inch, and denounced their enterprise as the outcome of the growing impiety of the times. Finally, however, the record was made, but not by the unconquerable Matthew Grant.

"Ten years after the death of Mrs. Priscilla Grant, her husband married Mrs. Susannah Rockwell, a widow with eight children. He was forty-four, and she was forty-three. Mr. Grant loved children, and some thought that the children attracted him fully as much as the charms of their widowed mother. At any rate, he seemed to be perfectly happy when, in his new-made home, with his excellent wife, he found that the two broods together numbered twelve. He outlived his second wife fifteen years, and died at eighty years of age, in the family of his youngest son, John.

"Matthew's son Samuel left eight children when he died, the eldest of whom was named Samuel, after him. The last Samuel left nine children, at death, the eldest of whom was Noah, who, in turn, had a son born July 12th, 1718, whom he named Noah; and this last Noah, with his brother, Solomon, proved themselves heroic soldiers in the French and Indian War of 1755, and both were officers; and both were killed in battle in 1756.

"The military Noah, just mentioned, had a son, Noah, who was born June 23rd, 1748, and became an officer in the American Army, in the war for Independence, and fought in the battle of Lexington. His wife died while he was in the army; and, at the close of the Revolution, he returned to his home in Connecticut, where he sincerely and deeply mourned the loss of his wife. Under the depression caused by his great affliction, he resolved to remove to Pennsylvania, where he settled in 1790, in Westmoreland County, near Greensburg.

"Two years after, he married Widow Rachel Kelley, by whom he had seven children, the fourth of whom was Jesse Root Grant, the future father of Ulysses S. Grant. When Jesse was five years of age, his father removed to Ohio, where Jesse was married, in course of time, as we have seen, and Ulysses was born.

"There you have briefly," added Mr. Wheeler, "the genealogy of the Grant family, traced back two hundred and fifty years; intelligence, honesty, industry, morality, and religion, prominent in all the generations; and not a few illustrious names on its roll of honour. Gov. Samuel Huntington of Ohio belonged to this family; also, Congressman Delano, Representative from Ohio; and Gen. Don Carlos Buell. What say you to it?"

"

"Well, I don't see but you have made out your case," replied his friend; "and there is not much Scotch about it, either. Our General does not need any Scotch blood; that is plain enough."

Noah Grant, the grandfather of Ulysses, inherited the intelligence, tact, and virtues of his ancestors, and not a little of their bravery. When he first made himself a home in Ohio, the Indians were troublesome. One of his neighbour's sons had an altercation with White Eyes, and shot him; and this aggravated their troubles. Noah Grant saw at once that, henceforth, peace was impossible unless the Indians were driven. from that section, and he proposed a campaign against them. The proposition was popular with the inhabitants; and uniting their forces, the Indians were driven out. From that time, their most serious troubles were removed.

Jesse, the father of Ulysses, was not excelled by his ancestors in mental ability and tact for business. He was singularly practical in his views and methods, up