Biography of Dwight David Eisenhower
On October 14, 1890, Mrs. Ida Elizabeth Eisenhower gave birth to her third son, Dwight David. He was a younger brother to Arthur B. and Edgar A. Eisenhower. Dwight was born in Denison, Texas, where his family was living at the time.
After his father’s general store went out of business in Abilene, Kansas, they were forced to move to Texas, where Mr. David Eisenhower landed a forty-dollar a month job at a small railroad there. Back in Abilene, a new creamery plant was built and an old friend of Mr. Eisenhower asked him to move back and work for him. It did not pay much more than his job in Texas, but the chance of advancement was better. In the spring of 1891, the Eisenhower family boarded a train and left for Kansas.
They lived in a small house in Kansas on South East Second Street where Mrs. Eisenhower gave birth to three more sons. The first one born there was Roy J. who was strong and healthy like his older brothers. He was born on August 9, 1892. The next son, born on May 12, 1894, died after a few months. The last son was born on February 1, 1898 and was named Earl D. Needing a bigger house because of all the children, the Eisenhowers moved. Mr. Eisenhower’s brother, Abraham, sold them a house on 201 South East Fourth Street.
Growing up, Dwight’s older brothers gave him the nickname, Ike. Ike and his brothers did a lot of work around the house. They would alternate between waking up at four o’clock A.M. to shovel coal into the furnace, milking the cow, washing dishes, other housework, feeding the horse, tending the garden, and gathering eggs. They also had to cook meals. The only extra money the boys had was supplied by themselves. Their father gave them each a small portion of the garden to raise crops, and sell to the people of Abilene. Although it was not much money, the boys were happy with what they had.
Ike’s mother supplied the energy needed to run the house. While the children were at school and her husband at work, she managed the garden and livestock, thus feeding the family. She did most of the disciplining, except for the most severe misconduct, which was handled by her husband. Most importantly, she held the house together. She was a deeply religious woman. She believed firmly in her Christian beliefs and opposed all violence and war. Ike’s father was a quiet man who was well respected. He had a great reputation around town. Although he did not often show his love for his children, the boys knew how their father truly felt about them.
Ike was always full of courage. Most people believed that he got it from his mother. In eighth grade, Ike demonstrated this courage in a great way. On his way home from school, Ike fell and scratched his knee. It was a tiny cut and he thought nothing of it. However, over the next two days, blood poisoning set in and from the knee down swelled up, and turned black. The doctors then drew a black line right above his kneecap and insisted that they...
