George Joseph Vining:
An Account of His Life

Chapter Five

Now we became homeless wanderers, for Pa even lost the place we called home thought it was so wretched. Son, thank God! That your childhood and youth were sheltered in loving care and with food and clothing and a mother's and father's love -- a home you always had a welcome to and not thrust out upon a pitiless world that barely tolerated a homeless, loveless, heartsick child, around to do chores for the morsel of food and enough poor clothing to cover his nakedness.

Pa bought this place which in time became very valuable. He bought it from old man Barque -- and the title was worthless. He --Pa-- paid for it in English gold. I do not know if he paid for it or did he get money from Ma. From now on for some years came our wanderings like unto the children of Israel. I was probably about 9 years of age -- as there was 2 years between us our ages would have made the brother who remained in England about 11 years, Tom about 13 years, and Fanny about 15 or 16. Bessie who was the youngest, 2 years younger than I would be 7.

I had even at that tender age already been working out, but never recollect getting anything but my board, no, nor for years after and then but very little. Fanny went to live with the Mrs. Taylor above town. I think she was a sister of Walter Bradford. She must have stayed there for several years, and grew into a handsome (girl) woman, with some accomplishments. While there she had an offer of marriage from Thos S. James. He was then Clerk of Court. She refused him from a girl's caprice only. I often thought what a difference that would have made in all our lives, but I have no real answer for the everlasting "why."

Pa was a quite learned man and I thought he had more than a wagon load of books -- people of that day and class did not steal books. He had then Latin, Greek, Hebrew and French, Bibles, dictionaries, Commentaries, Encyclopedias, 3 languages of Bibles, Greene's and other Ancient Histories, hymn books --Hymen's Works--, Gibbons History of Rome. All the poets--Dickens, Couper, Milton, old-style novels -- new style novels, cook books, etc. etc. I recollect one large cookbook full of engravings --- "plates" full of plates as you may say; showing how to arrange a table with viands thereon, looking very tempting. So when we were very hungry and nothing in the house -- I mean nothing -- not even a speck of corn meal, we would get out that old cookbook, and tell each other how we would arrange our table, and "what we would have if we were rich."

Most of my memories are very plain, I could not remember our moves nor am I certain of our first one, but when ever we moved, which was often, we generally left a lot of books behind, got to poor to carry them. Sometimes for the sake of getting a better place we would move 2 or 3 times around one neighborhood then again move entirely away in the country, there we could then always find deserted cabins. Sometimes we would find good deserted double log houses and out houses --buildings. We never paid rent as nearly everything was gov't-owned. --We never paid rent and almost everything was God-sent.-- People squatted, built, cleaned up a piece of land, and left it soon to find something better, or go back to their wife's people. People had but little furniture only the better classes. Generally made benches or stools for chairs. The bed-stead had one leg, the rest attached to the wall -- which was left there when the family moved -- for the next comer.

Pa taught school when he could, but though competent and qualified as to general knowledge, he was unsuccessful -- because he was never practical -- he was visionary. Mentally impaired by liquor and losses. He was neglectful of his person, absent minded and extremely optimistic redeemed by a vein of philosophy. Always craving liquor, and easy prey to get under its influence. Some people --toppers-- would get so you could not get through under its influence no matter how much they drank -- not so with him. Was easily thrown under the table -- that was my trouble later.

I judge our first move was in the Noble lake neighborhood. We stayed moving around perhaps two years. It is strange I cannot account for all the family at the same time and place, but they come and go, sometimes 2 -- 3, seldom 4 at home at the same time. I suppose they were perhaps in the neighborhood working to get a better --little-- something to bring home Saturday night. Sometimes Pa and I would board while he taught, or rather --I should have said-- Pa would board, and I'd work. Yes, I worked hard like a turk. I did not know what the word shirk meant and sure worked hard for little fellow. I didn't grow much till I was about 20 years of age.

I want to say here that Pa was most shamefully abused in that his salary or pay for teaching was often withheld -- and again it was such a pittance that it seems he could not support himself much less a family -- often give him a school with promise to pay and at end of term not a farthing. Every man's hand against him it seemed, because he was down. God help us to give a helping hand instead of a curse or a kick when we meet a poor fellow going down hill.

I remember one winter over the river --Again in my mind I go back to a winter I spent over the river-- at Syttles --Lyttles--, our Lyttles father, he taught me had to cut wood. Another winter I was up the river in the Dardenelles neighborhood. I don't know what I learned there, but I do remember that often I had nothing to keep me warm -- often bare-footed in the winter with cotton shirt and pants, no underwear, no jacket often. God pity the orphan and homeless.

From there we drifted infield is a good word here. Down into the Drew County. Bessie and I kept house. Father had a school -- I do not know where the other two children were. Well, that sure was a hard place. The first families were the Cogbills a lot of them. The Heflins -- a lot of them 8 or 10 families --more than 8 or 10 in family -- the Whiteheads, Beaks, Phillips. Smith and Bachs Bushes were better set. Those people-- they were certainly something lower than the heathen in some things. The women were good companions for the men. Sunday was the day for all kinds of doing but worshipping God. Shooting matches, horse racing, smoking, gambling, dancing and fighting, anything else thrown into fill out the day. Once in a general melee, trying to help father, I cranked --cracked-- one man's skull with a gun barrel. I was small for my age and they did not notice me, I was coming down in the second time when they --someone-- snatched it --the gun-- out of my hand; they said had I dealt that second blow I would certainly have killed him. This was the general life of this time.

There were of course exceptions, better people in better neighborhoods -- but sins of the vilest, grossness and lowest order predominated. I mention this briefly to show you in what an atmosphere I was raised. Very seldom but occasionally in our travels, we struck some that I thought went to the opposite extreme so far that I was afraid of religion and thought it was a hard to travel, but then later I was trying to live right, I did not lie, swear or steal. I wanted home, love and friends, my soul was starved for love and kindness. Often after days spent with bad men or boys -- I was guilty Sabbath breaking -- I would lay awake nights feeling wicked and wretched and condemned. God cared for me even then and kept me from worse.