and perhaps increase my printing business, so with this in view, I purchased for $80.00 from Capt. Egbert Brush, a small building plot, situated on Main St., and on this plot a building was erected, suitable for a printing office and a stationery store. Wm. E. Walker a son of Capt. Harvey Walker helped me put up the building, but before it was finished I met with another severe accident. While at work one morning, I slipped and fell across a saw bench, and was most painfully hurt. I was taken home with. horse and wagon, and was unable to work for a time, but was soon back on the job which was finished later, without further accidents.

On the same ground I also put up a photograph gallery. This I rented to Mr. E. F. Mills my old school friend, who had been living in Brooklyn. He did splendid work and met with some success. Photos that he took at that time are bright and fresh today, proving the work was done to last. The picture of myself at the beginning of this book is from a photo, taken by Mr. Mills, in my little gallery, more than 30 years ago. Mr. Mills is, at this time a physician with an office in New York City.

I had saved, by being careful, about $2500.00. This of course was very little, but wages were very low, and if I saved $200 or $250.00 per year I was doing well. The reader will see by this, that greenbacks did not grow on trees in those days, but you had to work hard, even to get small wages. A girl could be hired to do housework for $5.00 per month, and a strong man to work on a farm, for $10.00 or

$12.00 per month.

I fitted up my printing office, putting in two second-hand presses, also new type and other material, also a stock of stationery, notions, etc. I then hired Mr. Joseph Churchill, a brother of Rev. J. A. Churchill, to help me. I paid him $8.00 per month, out of which he had to board himself. This was very little, but he got along with it, and it was more than I could afford to pay. We had two cots in a room over the printing office, in which we slept. I usually went home Saturday nights, spending the Sabbath home, and returning Monday mornings. We had some business of course, but on the whole, things were not very encouraging. For the building and stock I had paid perhaps $1200.00. Well this was the first printing office at Smithtown Branch, and I turned out some pretty decent jobs. The trouble was there were not enough of them. Uncle Benja had assisted me too, in putting up my office. The carpenter business I dropped almost completely, excepting that the various houses and other buildings I have had erected during the last thirty years, have been built under my instructions, and of course, on such buildings I have worked as hard as any of my employees.

The summer and fall season soon passed. Uncle Benja always poorly, had been in failing health, and the time soon came when he was called to his long home. This was on December 23rd., and on Christmas day, If I remember right, he was laid away in the Landing church yard. My dear friend and

brother, Rev. W. A. Layton, preached the funeral. Uncle Benja, who I had known so long and who was as a father to me, was now gone. Of course Aunt Susie missed him, yes, we all missed him. Now the family consisted of Aunt Susie, Walter, and myself.

I do not recall just what took place during the early winter, but I know we only had a small stove in our store and were not always as warm as we would liked to have been, still we did not freeze. Those who were old enough to remember the great blizzard of more than thirty years ago, of course have never forgotten it. Well we were caught badly in that terrible March storm. I left Joseph Churchill Saturday afternoon, to go home. It was storming, I think then, but was not so bad. I walked home. Sunday morning it was still storming and Monday morning there were great snow drifts, in many places, ten or fifteen feet deep. Trees were bent to the ground by the weight of snow. The roads were unopened and trains were delayed for days. No mails received. There were many severe accidents. After some days, and our main street through the Landing was opened, I was taken to the Branch in a sleigh I found Mr. Churchill all right. Mrs Call, our good neighbor, living right opposite my store, had supplied him with food. The snow had blown back and left a road between us, so it was easy to pass from one building to the other. It was fourteen days before the Branch main street was opened. Fences were taken down and fields were passed over, to avoid the great snow drifts.ffil call attention