The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-03-12
The oldest Man in the WOrld.
From the Madison journal.

From the MANSON JoQrnai.
We will not assert that the oides
of living men is resident of WiscOn
sin, bat we challenge any other STATE
or country to produce a man or woman
who has attained the age reached by
Joseph Crele, now residing in the town
of Caledonia, Columbia county, in this
State.
During the French Revolution one
Jean Claude Jacob, q member of the
National Assembly, was called the
"Dean of the human species" the
"Eldest ofmen." On his smeared worn
face were ploughed the furroWings of
one hundred and twenty years. But
our Dean of the human species" il
nearly twenty years older than Claude
Jacob, who did not complete his one
hundred and tWenty-frst year.
Joseph Crele was born in Detroit, of
French parents. The record of his bap-
tism in the Catholic Church of that city
shows that he is now lS9 years of age.
He has been resident of Wisconsin
for about century. Whenever men
ton is made Of the oldest inhabitant,
there need be no question as to the per-
son Joseph Crele is undoubtedly the
man He was first married in New Or
leans, 100 years ago. Some years after
he settled at Prairie du Chen, while
Wisconsin was yet a province of France.
Before the revolutionary war, he was
employed TO carry letters between Prai-
RE du Chen and Green Bsy2 1t is but
a few years ago that he was called as a
witness in the Circuit Court, in a case
involving the title to certain real estate
at Prairie du CHEN, to give testimony
in relation TO events that transpired
eighty years before He now resides
With daughter, by his third wife, who
is over seventy years Of age.
The residence of the family Is only
four or five miles out of Portage City.
From citizens of that place We learn
that the old man is still active, is able
to chop wood, and to walk several miles.
He speaks English quite imperfectly,
but conyerses fuently in the French
language He goes TO elections, and,
like sensible old gentleman, votes the
Union ticket. Stops a little under the
burden of years, but not more than
many men of seventy. In person, he
is rather above the medium height,
spare in flesh, but showing evidences of
having been in his prime man of
sinewy strength. Concerning his habits,
a subject of much interest in connee-
ton with an instance of such eztraorS
binary longevity, We have been able to
learn but little, except that he is an
smoker.
A very good daguerreotype picture of
him, taken in 1856, may be seen at the
rooms of the State Historical Society.
Some Photographic artist would do
well to secure a negative of the 'Oldest
man in the world" before he passes
TO that st Il region wbiiher all are bound"
Three score years and ten ordinarily
constitute the full span of vigorous
human life. This mans existence has
been prolonged for almost twice that
period. Those who began the journey
of life with him are dead and their
very bones are dust Babes that he
might have handled on his knee at an
age when most men are bowed with
deereptitude, have grown into man
hood, passed through the ordinary vi
cissitudes of life, become gray and fee
BILE and sunk into old mems graves,
and this man still lives He walks
about generation whose grandsires
were unborn after he had passed the
usual period of manly prime. All his
are gone No wonder,
if at times, as we understand is the
case, a haunting sense of loneliness
him. Though, he has led
a rude, border life, and probably has
little Of sentiment in his composition,
yet, in some dim way at least ne expe-
fiences the feeling, 50 touchingly e1-
pressed by Wordsworth, writing under
the shadowof more than seventy years
Of