“That summary of the period 1854 through 1860 is from Grant himself in his biography. But hey, what did he know right?”
You DO know that White Haven and his “little farm” were one and the same and that St Louie was just down the road? All he did in his sob story was leave out the part about running the slaves...about 30 of them...not counting the one he bought for himself ...
From PBS (notorious haters of Grant)
1855
Summer: After living for nearly a year at White Haven with Julia’s parents, the Grant family moves to Wish-ton-wish, another farm on the Dent estate. Here their third child, Ellen Grant, whom they call Nellie, is born on July 4.
1856
Summer: The Grant family moves into its own home, built largely by Grant alone. Almost every farm in the neighborhood has a name, often a pretentious one; Grant calls his Hardscrabble.
November: Grant casts his only presidential ballot prior to the time he is himself elected. The nation is deeply divided over the issue of slavery. “It was evident to my mind that the election of a Republican President in 1856 meant the secession of all the Slave States, and rebellion. Under these circumstances I preferred the success of a candidate whose election would prevent or postpone secession, to seeing the country plunged into a war the end of which no man could foretell. With a Democrat elected by the unanimous vote of the Slave States, there could be no pretext for secession for four years. I very much hoped that the passions of the people would subside in that time, and the catastrophe be averted altogether; if it was not, I believed the country would be better prepared to receive the shock and to resist it. I therefore voted for James Buchanan for President.”
1857
December 23: Grant pawns his watch, presumably to buy Christmas gifts for his family. The Panic of 1857 has withered crop prices. Only a few weeks later, February 6, 1858, the fourth Grant child, Jesse Root Grant Jr., is born.
1858
Spring: Grant rents out his Hardscrabble farm and himself rents White Haven from his father-in-law. Following another poor season, plagued by poor health, he enters the real estate business in St. Louis.
1859
January: Grant moves into a back room in St. Louis rented from his business partner, while his family temporarily remains at White Haven. In March, his family joins him in a rented cottage in St. Louis.
So, I ask you again, are you lying or just ignorant?
Then why did Grant say that he needed to build a house in order to have a place for his family to live? Or didn't White Haven have a residence all the time the Dents lived there?
So, I ask you again, are you lying or just ignorant?
I'd ask you the same but I've long since concluded it's the later.
"Settling at White Haven, the Dents' estate in Missouri, Grant began to farm 80 acres (30 hectares) given to Julia by her father. This farming venture was a failure, as was a real estate partnership in St. Louis in 1859. The next year Grant joined the leather goods business owned by his father and operated by his brothers in Galena, Illinois."
From the Grant bio on civilwarhome.com
"His return to civilian life proved unsuccessful. Farming on his father-inlaw's land was a failure, as was the real estate business and attempts to gain engineering and clerk posts in St. Louis. He finally became a clerk in a family leather goods store in Galena..."
From the Ulysses S. Grant homepage:
- 1854-1858, He works a 60-acre farm near St. Louis. He builds a home, sells cordwood and faces a bleak financial future.
- 1858-1859, Enters the Real Estate business with Julia's cousin. He proves incapable of collecting rents and is frequently late to work. Grant was never cut out to be a business man.
- May, 1860, He moves to Galena, Illinois and accepts a clerkship at his father's leather store at $800 a year. He lives in a comfortable, snug house on a hill, fronting a cemetery.
In is biography "Captain Sam Grant", Lloyd Lewis details the six years between Grant's leaving the military and his move to Springfield without once having stumbled upon his managing White Haven for Dent, much less working 30 slaves.
But this all can't be true since, as you told us, 'published history everywhere' supports your claim and not Grant's autobiography.