Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-09-21
The Oldest Man.

In 1914, WleQ f1ttSDurgn was DuL q WI
lage, an old man named Jacob Fournak
then aged about seventy years, came then
from Canada, and after a brief sOjounl
proceeded to New Orleans In keel-boa
That old man died a few weeks agn
Kansas City, at the age of one HUNDRED
and thirty-four years. Journals Wa
probably the Oldest man living. He va
a Canadian Frenchnlan by birth, but to-
more than half q century was hunts
and trapper in the employ of the
company, one of the French pOydgeurs,
they are called.
He was never sick, and only
minutes before he died was walking aba
the room. He said to the family in
morning that he would "never see the q
60 down again" and just before sunset
machine stopped-and the old man
dead.
His age was entered on the census NJ
last year as one hundred and thirty s
years, which is as near as from the h
evidence it could be affixed.
His recollection of important events N
very good, and, as he was an illiterate ~
his memory held to isolated occarrena
not of history, as obtained from resd4
books. This, while it made his intom
ton frsgmentary and unsatisfactory al
the history of that early period of bis lt
yet afforded the best evidence as to y
great age.
He said he was working in the wcd
on q piece Of land he had bought for ht
self, near Quebec, when Wolfe was hlk
on the Heights of Abraham. This n
September'14, 1859, and from what he ta
of his life previous to that, must then ns
been over twenty one years of age. ThI
ing he might have COMPOUNDED Wolfe WIZ
Observation-Disclosures was questions
fully, but his recollection Of names 81
incidents was too distinct to leayeN
doubt, and the same account had Do
given to others long before.
Another event which he remen els
well, and which he seemed always to lcs
upon as good joke, was that during
occupation of New Orleans by Genn
Jackson-1814-15-he had been re.sa
enlistment because he was too OLD. -
old man often told this with great g
He must then have been about elsD'
years old. :,
He accompanied the expedition OF w. q.
and Clark in their explorations OF tneL
souri, and the discovery OF the Coi ll.
River in 1907. His experience au a..
the trip making him valuable man ~
fur company, he was afterwards emp%s
rs we have stated. until thirty years y
For the past seven or eight years ~.
mans recOllections of faces were ol,s :.
fault, but his memory of events sna y
dents seemed as strong as ever--naso or
lures in his mind-and this retfnuSaD 40
occurrences was the great help LII w.
mining his age. rs rn
The last thirty years of his lie -
passed in quiet and comfort. he p IT, "a
living by himself, and always haa .nhs,y
house, where he kept his pipe ana ., G
pouch, and such things as were a" W.
comfort to him, mostly such o. 49, ~
from his residence with the ino'A Aa,cs
forgetting his rosary and q few , ls
pictures which hung above bis vea
was very neat in his person, clolnssJ
housekeeping, and up to the %; ,otss
death attended, in summer, 70 nl sh;sns
plants and his cabbages. One o. r ra
desires was to see railroad, anu ~: ntO
first locomotive came screaming lI ~s
bottom near Kansas City, which a,,ouS
full view of his house, be was I n' thes
child until he visit d it. nc 10 M
pressed himself satisfied, saying ND NJ
tell God he had seen railroad, ,Ss Z
after expressed any curiosity on
ject. ,,.,.et ~
Truly, Kansas City could n0ss'
ing the champion old man.