Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

THE LIFE OF OUR SISTER 275
completed Iiis trade and was returning home when he was taken
by the press gang, forced into the Enghsh army, and sent to
America. He was one of seven children, but he never saw
any of his friends or relatives again. He was taken prisoner
at the battle of Brandywine by the American troops and, find-
ing out the merits of the cause for which they were struggling,
enlisted in the colonial army and fought for them to the end
of the war. Having adopted the new land as his own, he
settled first in Pennsylvania, where he married. He moved
to Ohio in 181 2, settling in the same locality as my grandfather
McLain.
"Both my father and mother were born in the year 1799,
and they were married in 1820. They went to live on a piece
of government land in Ripley County, Indiana, at that time
in the very heart of the wilderness. My mother often related
how badly frightened they were by being chased by a panther
when moving to their new home. They lived on this farm for
many years, but finally lost it through the dishonesty of one
they had trusted as a friend; they then moved back to Hamil-
ton County, Ohio. There my father became a farm tenant,
and managed to live through the help of his children, who went
out to work for others as soon as they were old enough to earn
anything; and thus the large family was supported.
"As I have said, I was the youngest of twelve children.
I was born March 15, 1842. My earliest recollections are of
never-ending labor, self-denial, and hardship, associated with
the conditions of poverty we necessarily endured. The routine
was to arise at five o'clock in the morning the year round, and
do the chores, such as feeding the stock, milking, and providing
wood for the day, all before breakfast, which was at six.
After breakfast we went to work again for ourselves or one of
the neighbors. The hours were long ones; when occasion required
we worked from twelve to fourteen hours a day, and
felt it no hardship. We sometimes had a holiday, but not
often. It must not be supposed that we children were less
happy than others more favorably situated, or than children
are now who live in luxury — we were healthy and strong and
like lively young animals. Every spare moment was given