I was born at Canton, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. on the 13th day of February 1841. My Father Ora P. Randall was a native of the State of Vermont. My mother, Jane Ann Putnam, born and raised at Plattsburg, Clinton County, N.Y. daughter of - Putnam who was a nephew of General Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fame. It has always been a source of pride that I could trace my ancestry back to the family of that distinguished patriot.

I have never enjoyed the privilege of a personal acquaintance with my mothers relatives, and with but a few of those belonging to the family of my father, but so far as I have been able to learn they were people of standing and respectability. Among the relatives in Vermont, where the Randall name is quite common, are some who have attained distinction either as ministers, lawyers, educators or soldiers. Of these I will mention Gerdon Randall who raised a family of four sons and one daughter, all of whom gained quite a degree of prominence. It was my fortune to know two of this family of Cousins. One G.P. noted and successful architect of Chicago, the other F.V. Randall a prominent lawyer of Vermont who entered the Union Army as Captain in 1861 and before the end of the Civil War, had won, by heroic bravery, the star of a Brigadier General. His sister married the Hon. Charles H. Joyce who in like manner gained notoriety as a soldier, and after the close of the war was repeatedly elected as Representative to Congress from Vermont. Of the two remaining sons of Uncle Gerdon, one was an architect, the other an Episcopal Minister.

Whilst many of the Randalls seemed content to spend their days among the rocks and mountains of their native state, a few of them like my father made their was westward. Of these I will mention one brother and two sisters of my father namely Eleth--- , wife of Moses Woodruff and Louisa, wife of Isaac Stark. The former became the mother one son and one daughter. The later the mother of one son and three daughters. Both of these aunts died at an advanced age at Evanswood, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Uncle James M. Randall, for whom I was named, left Vermont when young and upon marrying settled upon a timbered farm near Canton, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. and remained here continuously until his death a few years ago. His family consists of three sons and three daughters, most of whom I think, remain near the place of their early home.

Of my father, of course it would be most gratifying to me could I say that he was the grandest Roman of the all. A pleasure indeed would it be to note that his success in life had been such as to approximate the measure of his abilities. He worked hard was temperate in his personal habits, I would not say he was dishonest in deal. But his life was controlled largely byvisionswhich I doubt not appeared brilliant to him, and gave promise of much, but at close range they were generally found to be wholly unpractical, though other illusions always appeared to take their place. In that admirable quality of tenaciousness father was sadly deficient. He was never satisfied to let well enough alone, but was ever reaching and grasping for something beyond his reach which to him appeared brighter and better. He lived in the sunshine of his imagination and died without having a taste of the good things he saw in his dreams.

Father left the "Green Mountain State" at an early age and spent a portion of his boyhood days in North-Eastern New York. Here in the year 1838 he married and settled at Canton, St. Lawrence County, and here my oldest brother and myself was born. Later two brothers and one sister was born, making four sons and one daughter in fathers family that lived to the age of manhood. The names and date of birth of each of these was as follows:- Ora Plumly, Jr. born August 1st 1839. James Monroe born February 13th 1841. John Franklin - always called "Frank" - born May 10th 1843. William George born in 1847 and Mary Jane born in 1850. I am unable to recall the day or month on which the last two named was born. Ora P. Jr. the eldest never married. He lived to the age of 57 years and died in Missouri in 1896. John F. married a Miss Jones in Waupaca County in 1864. He died in 1873 at the age of 30 years, leaving two sons. The three other members of the family are alive at this time (1901) and each has a family of children. I, James M., was married on Christmas day 1863 to Miss Martha Pollard of East Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin. Of this union two sons and two daughters have been born, the youngest of whom is now past nineteen years of age. I shall speak of them in the following pages. William G. married a sister of my wife, Miss Elinore Pollard of East Troy, Wis., in 1867. They have a family of six children and now reside upon a farm in Lunid, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Mary J. married James Hilton of Winnisoti in 1870. Six years after , by the death of her husband, she was left in a destitute circumstances, with four small children to care for and educate. I am proud to say that she most nobly performed the task. She now resides at Ogdensburgh, Wisconsin.

Before I was three years of age the family moved from Canton to Oneida County N.Y. and shortly afterwards father became engaged in boating on the Erie Canal. I think he followed this occupation at least two seasons. I am unable to say what measure of success he attained in the enterprise, but as he owned his boat I doubt not he could have done reasonably well had he persevered. But the time had arrived when father felt it incumbent upon himself to change his occupation.

Upon leaving the canal the family moved into the town of Watson, Lewis County, and at about my earliest recollection they were located upon a very good farm. At the end of one year this place was left, and for the next few years one move followed another with about the frequency and regularity of the changing seasons. None of them, as I can remember served to increase the comforts, or to improve the financial condition of the family. Lewis County, N.Y. was within the boundaries of what was known as the "Black River Country" a land of long winters and deep snows. Certainly it was a hard place in which to make a living, even with industry and the practice of the closest economy. Land could be bought at a low figure, but to subdue the dense forest required lots of bone and muscle as well as industry and patience.

No railroad had at the time of which I write, entered the county, and the vast forests of pine and hemlock timber was of little value. In fact large quantities of it was rolled into log-heaps and burned to clear the land. The country was being settled by hardy, industrious men and women who were perfectly familiar with poverty but seemed to know but little about the soft side of life. No settler was prepared to deal with those forests unless he possessed as oxteam and they were about the sole means of transportation. It was by this conveyance that our family moved from place to place. Among the principle products of the country, I will mention pumpkins and potatoes which grew to perfection. Of course all root crops did well. Rye did well on the new land and corn was raised to a limited extent. A mixture of rye flour and corn meal formed a popular basis for bread. Of course either of these ingredients could be used separately. I always preferred to take my corn bread straight. I never learned to like rye bread. As a rule the people lived upon what they produced from the soil. Even those who were considered as well to do, enjoyed but few luxuries, while those lower down in the financial scale had none. Our family belonged to the latter class, consequently we learned to feel very well satisfied if we obtained a sufficiency of the necessities of life. Yet in looking back to those days I can remember of no sickness in the family. My brothers and I grew robust and strong, and I have no doubt but that our capacity to endure hardships in after years was largely the result of what we then regarded as hard fare. During the four years that the family remained in Lewis County five changes were made. I do not think that these moves resulted in much financial loss, because there was but little finance to loose. Fathers nature seemed to demand a change in the surrounding scenery, and mother, as well as the rest of us learned to accept the inevitable with a good grace as possible. Notwithstanding all of this changing about, father worked hard, at the hardest of work, such as logging or clearing land. If his efforts had been applied steadily in one place, he could have hewed himself out a good home before I was ten years of age. The introduction of railroads into Lewis Co. previous to 1860 served to change the conditions there very materially. A market was at once established for timber and surplus produce and land became valuable. I have been told that after the trees and stumps was disposed of, it presented an attractive appearance.

When I was nine years of age the family moved into Jefferson County and settled upon the right bank of Black River one and a half miles before Carthage. Father was engaged to run a saw mill, and I found employment at packing shingle during the summer and fall of 1850. This was my first experience as a wage-earner, and I felt myself of some importance. I do not remember how much I earned, but whatever the amount it went into the common fund and was used to help defray the family expenses. The following winter I attended school about four months at Carthage. This was my first entrance into school, though I had learned to read and write, in a manner, previous to that time.

Carthage at that time contained a population of probably fifteen hundred. There was no railroad connection with the outside world until several years afterward. Owing to its splendid water-power - which was once valued more highly than now - quite a number of manufacturing plants had been established there, though I remember that some of these were standing idle most of the time. There was an iron foundry, rolling mill, machinery for cutting nails, making axes, sash and doors, besides quite extensive saw mills and planering mill. This portion of Jefferson County was no better than that of Lewis except that it was rather more extensively improved. The natural timber growth was the same, namely: pine, hemlock, tamarack and spruce which indicated rather poor soil.

In the spring of 1851 when ten years of age I walked with my father to Felts Mills, eight miles down the river, where I was hired to work in a cotton factory at four dollars per month. It was here that I suffered my first and only attack of homesickness. My case was not dangerous or very severe, yet I had enough of it to make me ever after feel a degree of sympathy for any one suffering from it, even a dog. For some reason the factory was closed and I remained here but two months. Upon returning home I found the family had moved a short distance and were keeping a boarding-house for hands engaged in making brick. I secured work upon the brickyard for the remainder of the season. I have forgotten what wages was paid me for my work, but I well remember that the labor was hard, and that most of the time my fingers were worn and bleeding by the handling of brick.

The next winter I was most fortunate in securing a home in the family of Dr. French, a prominent physician of Carthage. I did chores for my board and was permitted to attend the village school. I shall ever remember Dr. French for the kindly interest he manifested in me. He assisted me very much in my studies, gave me good fatherly advise and tried hard to interest me in the study of medicine. He had no children of his own, and he urged me persistently to stay with him until I was of age. He promised much and I have no doubt he would have done well by me had I consented to remain with him. I have sometimes thought that perhaps I made a mistake here. Perhaps this was to me the golden opportunity which is said to come to every one at some period of their lives. If so I failed to grasp it. Possibly I might have obtained an education, and that would have been a great source of comfort through life. Then again perhaps I made no mistake. It is impossible to tell what might have been. Certain it is I have never allowed myself to repine over it. I did not think I would like the study of medicine and at the end of the school term I returned to work another season upon the brick-yard.

During the time of my stay with Dr. French the family move three miles down the river where father had undertook to convert fifty acre of heavy timber land into a farm. This he never fully accomplished, though he bestowed lots of hard labor upon the job. In the fall of 1852 I made a trip to St. Lawrence County to visit my Uncle James M. Randall for whom I was named. I made the distance of sixty miles in company with an old man by the name of Fowler who drove through in a wagon. He also visited friends. I had never seen my uncle or family before, but I enjoyed the visit very much. There were boy and girl cousins ranging about my own age and we had a good time. Forty years afterward I visited a portion of this family again. They had changed much, perhaps I had also. I returned from my visit to spend the winter at home, being unable to attend school on account of distance. The nearest school was at Carthage four and a half miles away, and roads much of the time impassible.

In the spring of 1853 the family moved back into Lewis County and located by a forest on Beaver River five miles above where that stream united with the water of Black River. Father had taken a large contract to cut and deliver pine logs at Carthage. These logs were to be rafted and floated down the river twenty-five miles. He had also engaged to peel a quantity of hemlock tan bark. This had to be floated down to Carthage on flat-boats. More than this he had agreed to clear off fifty acres of timbered land and put it in condition suitable for farming purposes. It can be seen that father was always fortunate in finding a job, but he generally came out of them with little or no money. So in this case. Two hard years work was put in here at the end of which time he was no better off financially than when he commenced. The first year on this place I worked at home and worked hard. Helped peel and haul out tan-bark and to make a couple of trips down to Carthage with flat-boat. When the time arrived for getting out logs I was given a team and, though I was but thirteen years of age, I hauled as many logs as those of a more mature age.

The following spring I left home, going to Rhores Mill a small place two miles up the river. Here I hired out to a Lafever, a tanner, to haul tan-bark from the timber. I continued at this during the summer, receiving seven dollars per month. In the fall I fortunately obtained a situation with Messrs. Prince and Tenney who owned a saw mill here with shingle and lathe mill attached. They also run a general store in connection with their other business. I worked mornings, evenings and Saturdays for my board and was permitted to attend the district school. The work was not hard and my employers were kind. I spent a considerable time in the store, and was thus able to acquire some knowledge of that business. Ten or twelve hands were employed by the firm. These, including myself, boarded at the company boarding-house. Here also the proprietors boarded, except on Saturdays and Sundays which time they spent with their families at Lowville, ten miles distant. During their absence I was left in charge of the store, which was quite a responsibility to place upon a boy of fourteen, and one without experience. But I tried to merit the confidence placed in me, and I think I met with reasonable success. No doubt my employers were shrewd business men and watchful. Upon one occasion after they had left for Lowville I found two silver ten cent pieces lying upon the desk. I gave them to Mr. Tenney upon his return explaining that the money had been accidently mislaid, but since this I concluded it was placed there to test me. It was all right, I stood the test. The people round about were mostly Germans, many of whom understood very little of the English language and I could talk less of it. In trading with them at the store it was at first quite difficult to comprehend their wishes. However they were all good at making motions and signs, and before long I had learned to talk some German and to understand it quite well.

At the close of the school term I went to work by the month. My work was about the mill or store as I might be needed. I was paid seven dollars per month. The wages were small, as indeed wages were at that time, but I was not overworked. In fact I was well pleased with the place and it was with reluctance that I left there at last. I remained with this firm nearly two years, of which time I attended school eight months, and worked for wages the balance of the time.

It was while here, at the age of fourteen, that I commenced the use of tobacco. The habit easily acquired, clung to me for many years. In the fall of 1882 I abandoned its use, and I am fully convinced that it would have been better for me physically, as well as financially, had I never touched it. I was born with a robust constitution and by nature was capable of great endurance, but I have suffered at time from stomach trouble and from rheumatism and I am satisfied it was caused largely by the use of tobacco. It is a filthy habit and no person can use it without more or less injury to health. If my advise was asked in regard to the habit, To the young I would say "Never touch it". To the old, quit it.

In the fall of 1855 father enlisted upon a contract with Messrs. Prince and Tenney to get out a large amount of timber. Those pine logs were to be cut thirty miles above the mill on Beaver river and run down at flood-time the following spring. Father entered upon the winters work with strong hopes of success. The winter was favorable for logging - snow enough but not too much. A strong force of men and teams were employed and, if I remember correctly, over two million feet of logs was placed upon the ice and bank of the river, ready for the spring ******. If it was sufficiently high to float the logs down to the mill, the enterprise was a success. If not it meant failure. The river was at places narrow and rough. No logs had previously been sent down these waters. It required a high stage of water, and in this the failure came. Owing to low water not over half of the logs reached the mill. Hence fathers winter work went for naught. After paying for help and supplies nothing was left for him.

Chapter Two --->