My Eighty Years Of Memories

The American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician Chauncey Mitchell Depew pens his autobiographical novel "My Memories of Eighty Years". Depew is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator for New York, and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as an attorney and as president of the New York Central Railroad System. The novel chronicles his life's journey from his birth and upbringing in the village of Peekskill, his early education, his admission to Yale University and his admission to the Bar. He then went on to a successful career in the Railroad System, helping Vanderbilt to expand his railway empire as a senior executive in his company, before making his entry into politics.

On another occasion I was entering his private office as another senator was coming out of the Cabinet room, which was filled. He called out: "Senator Depew, do you know that man going out?" I answered: "Yes, he is a colleague of mine in the Senate." "Well," he shouted, "he is a crook." His judgment subsequently proved correct.-from "Theodore Roosevelt"CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW (1834-1928) was, over the course of his long life, in the business of law, of the railroads, of politics... and of speechmaking. Whether he was heading up the New York Central Railroad as its president or serving the state of New York in the U.S. Senate (which he did from 1899 to 1911), Depew's deepest love was telling captivating stories to as many listeners as possible. He found his greatest audience with this wonderful 1921 book, a series of tales and reminiscences of his encounters with generals (Grant, Garfield), presidents (Lincoln, Roosevelt, and others), and giants of journalism, business, and entertainment. Graced with an abundance of wit and more than a dash of charm, Depew was a master storyteller, and his memories of eight tumultuous decades in the life of America are as uniquely insightful as they are grandly entertaining.

In Eighty Years of Memories, Bob Rooks shares some of his most interesting memories from the time he was three years old until his eighty-fourth year. He was the youngest of six children born to a godly but extremely poor farm couple living in the hill country of northwestern Georgia. His mother died when he was five, but her influence in those early years of his life had a lasting effect in his spiritual development. He learned from his daddy after he became a pastor that when he was born his mother had prayed that he would become a preacher. He preached his first sermon at the age of twenty-two, and sixty-two years later he still preaches occasionally and teaches a large Bible class. Though many of the stories in this book are related to Bob's preaching ministry, a number of events described go beyond what could be called typical "preacher experiences," and should be interesting to those readers not particularly interested in "preacher stories." As a self-trained pianist, he was also involved quite extensively in ministries that were open to him because of this gift from God. He shares some of these experiences. His first pastorate was in Mississippi, but following graduation from seminary he answered a call to come to California and has remained here for fifty-four years.

My Memories of Eighty Years by Chauncey M. Depew is a rare manuscript, the original residing in some of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, typed out and formatted to perfection, allowing new generations to enjoy the work. Publishers of the Valley's mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life.

Reproduction of the original.