The quotation below is from the autobiography prepared by youngest child George on the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary 1957:
As I [George] went along my path to manhood learned and cherished the value of a penny as well as the dollar, for the thought of poverty in my home during the administration of the Democratic President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, during the years 1894/1895, left an impression on my youthful mind that was never forgotten. It was the first economic depression in the United States that I experienced and our family was in dire need. Only one member of oor family, brother Thomas, one of the twins, was employed during that time and earned the munificent sum of eight dollars per week which was used to feed and maintain a roof over our heads. Thomas would occasionally share his piece of bread with me when I had none, and all my life I remembered that in fond memory of him as I grew older. He was a very steady
worker, good to his mother, and kind to all, and experienced in the piano making business. His twin brother James, still alive at this writing, was very unfortunate in obtaining employment. When my mother tried to prevail upon Thomas to obtain employment for James in the piano business Thomas would strenously decline as they both resembled each other and were often mistaken by others. However, James later on did succeed in connecting with a different piano manufacturing firm and that was finally
the beginning of steady employment for him. Later in life when the piano making was slowing down and gradually becoming a thing of the past, due to the popularity of the victrola taking the place of pianos in the homes, both twin brothers found employment in the railroad business from which James retired with pension at the age of sixty-five years. Thomas died before he became eligible for pension.
