About this time Mr. Richard Bacon of Simsbury, Connecticut, was travelling in England in the interest of copper-mining, which was then carried on at the old prison in East Granby, Connecticut, known as Newgate. He met with the firm of Bickford, Smith & Davey, and they determined to make an effort through him to introduce their business into America. The first attempt was accordingly made at the old prison, with some success. It had been transferred to Simsbury, and was in successful operation there, when, in the summer of 1839, my father, who was well and favorably known to the firm, and had been greatly encouraged and befriended by Mr. Smith and Mr. Davey, and in their employ, received from them an offer of a position as bookkeeper in the American establishment, which was known as Bacon, Bickford & Co., with what was for those days a good salary. The accounts of the new branch were confused and unsatisfactory, and the company desired to have accurate statements rendered. It was a fine opening for the future for my father, as was proved a few years later when he became a member of the firm of which he was afterwards the head. This startling proposition brought a season of anxious thought and prayerful consideration into the little home. My mother was well established in her business; her mother and two sisters were with her; her love for her English home and friends was deep and true; and she shrank with all the force of her loving nature from the separation. The journey was long and trying. No ocean steamers made the voyage a pleasant pastime of a few days. Long weeks of tossing on the stormy ocean were to be followed by the search for a new home in a land of strangers. But with my mother the voice of duty was always the voice of God. The prospects of a wider field for her husband, and enlarged opportunities for her children, were not to be neglected. Her decision was made, and saying, as did Ruth, "Where thou goest, I will go," she bravely put away the arms of love which would have held her back, and set herself to the task of closing her business and arranging for her journey. At length the preparations were over. The last farewells were said to the dear little home, to the church they loved and had served so faithfully, and to the dear ones from whom it was so hard to part. The van laden with luggage for the voyage, with space reserved for the family, was ready to start; and amid the tears and prayers of those who loved them, the dear old home faded forever from the eyes of my father and mother.