I. The Boyhood of John Henry Comstock, 1849–1865

This chapter discusses the childhood of John Henry Comstock. Henry lived with his Uncle Daniel when his mother became ill and was unable to do anything to support him. It was there that he had his first schooling. However, Henry had the misfortune to stammer in his speech and Uncle John undertook to break him of the habit by corporal punishment, a measure scarcely suited to the temperament of a highly nervous and sensitive child. In the summer of 1860, when he was eleven years old, Henry took a hand in his own destiny and decided to go see his mother, who was then living in Schenectady. Along the way, he met Captain Lewis Turner and his wife Rebecca, who took him in and offered him board and clothes and three months of winter schooling. Thus passed his boyhood, now that he had found a home which welcomed him and welcomed his mother when she could spare the time for a visit. In 1861, the Civil War came on and Henry was greatly affected by it. Two years later, he tried to enlist but was ruled out because of his youth and small stature.