Page:Matthew Fontaine Maury 1806-1873.pdf/10

 of Topping Castle, Caroline County, Virginia. They established a home near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and there, in 1793, their eldest son, John Minor Maury, was born and there, also, was born, on January 14th, 1806, their fourth son, Matthew Fontaine Maury, each to add honor and distinction to the annals of the American Navy.

It was from this Spotsylvania home, in 1810, that Richard Maury, heeding the call of the West, set out with his family, by the wagon trail, for the Blue Grass Region of Tennessee, and settled on the Big Harpeth River near Franklin. That tedious journey of more than 500 miles may be more easily imagined than described, but at last it ended on the borderland of the Golden West. They were again domiciled—father, mother, and eight children, all except John Minor, a lad of seventeen, already four years a midshipman in the United States Navy.

Work in plenty awaited them, and to the question, Wherewithal shall we be fed and clothed, came the answer in the abundant harvests garnered by father and sons and in the spinning, weaving and knitting of the mother and daughters. No material needs were unsupplied, but schools were few and, in the remote country districts, mainly of the "Old Field" variety and in session only when inclement weather suspended agricultural operations.

However, the light on the home altar was never extinguished. "The Psalter for the Day" was read morning and evening, "verse and verse about," and so it was that young Matthew, day by day, reverently acquired a profound knowledge of the truths, style and literature of the Bible, which, in later years, lent grace and charm to his life and writings. Nor was this all. Family records were carefully preserved, and family traditions loyally cherished; moreover, the mails sometimes brought letters from the East, and from the sailor lad, now advanced from warrant midshipman to a commissioned officer in the Navy. These letters kindled a wanderlust in the heart and brain of his younger brother which no discouragement could damp; on the contrary, insignificant trifles and even dire accidents became stepping-stones to more schooling and the coveted midshipman's warrant; the mysterious "x+y's" of the ambitious country cobbler determined Matthew to emulate