The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-13
THE LAST MAN or the oLD eUARD
The Career Of Remarkable Man who
Thinha be will OnIlixe tho KcpmhIic.


Commodore Samuel Knower whose
| baked beans are known from one end Of Man.
haitian Island to the other, is an aged. hut hale
and hearty relic Of past generation His
| long life has been crowded TO an unusual extent
with interesting incidents. lie l. not merely a
baker of Boston beans, Tut a philosopher in the
best sense of the word, and ht axioms, VI re
duced to practice by the workers Of tho world,
would do more to extirpate pauperism and
crime than oil the theses ever written, aud all
the resolutions ever passed
The COmmo1oro conducts his business In the
basement OF 100 Nassau street. Tue front room
hc uses as n restaurant, and the two Others as
kitchens, In which are prepared the dishes to
be served to his customers, and the free
lunches" which he sells to saloon keepers all
over the city lie Is "A large. ell-butlt old man,
with finely shaped head, partly covered with
long, silky white hair, and broad, open face
which does not need the aid of a genial smile to
show that the owner Is n man Of happy dspo
sition and benevolent heart. He Is old-fash-
toned in his dress. and wears a rundown shirt
collar OF goat breadth. and around his neck a
long cold chain. such as the y tlIants wore in
the olden time before the DAYS Of oroide ieweIrv
aud pistol pockets.
The Commodore ia eighty six Years old. AL
though Few would take him TO he over seventy
ne Is man OF great intelligence and indomI.
table pluck, but IL extremely modest withal, and
10 or from his place OF business. His features
closely resemble the best portraits Of benjamin
fra i,l lie was born at RoxbuTy Mass, and
~ We age OF twenty three served ms soldier
IN the war Of lsl2. After the war he com
nianued the crack militia company Of the 81 te,
having succeeded Gen. Alexander Hamilton
Gibbs, a Communion of Gen. Worth. lie has
heen Tor MANY We r. the last survivor II the Old
Duard OF boston. and on his last visit to that
CITY, twenty years ago. he was received with
distinguished honors 10y hundreds OF people.
descendants OF men and women to whom IN
he dark DAYS just preceding the crisis Of Is:y,
he had extended liberal aid from his prncely
store of wealth.
The old gentleman has never been an Office
seeker Thirty. five years ago. or more, he was
Chief Engineer Of the ltoxbury Fire Department,
ana while delegate 10 "A political convention he
received, To his great surprise, the unanimous
vote OF the DELEGATION ~ their choice for Con-
gress. The hatterng offer the Commodore was
forced to decline, tecHuse of the pressing ma
ture OF his vast and rapidly increasing business.
HIS title Of Commodore he derives from the fact
that ne was ior long time the chief officer If
the Boston Yacht Club. lie was at this pcriod
looked upon as the strongest man IN the State
ne was very fond OF athletic sports, and could
handle the gloves and the sword with reInarka-
Die skill. He was one of the first persons exam
med by the phrenologist Fowler. who pre-
dicted that he would live TO be 100 years old.
And am sure" said the Commodore. .yester-
better. shall outive the Republic"
For many wears the Commodore was In the
shoe and leather business la Boston, where. half
century ago, no took the lead IN the patent
leather trade. and amused n fortune. In
the crash Of 1851 he went, under, and came
soon on the nigh road to wealth again. but ia
1913 he became a member OF the Socialist COM
munity which settled in Bradford county Penn
sylvania. aud was shortly afterward elected
PRESIDENT. Horace Greeley being at the time one
OF the comnunity's most earnest friends. The
enterprise failed, and IN is45 the Commodore
returned TO New York with but 1850 to begin
life with. In less than ten years he had i've
stores in operation In New York and BROOKLYN
lie then lived near Plymouth Church. To whose
Treasury lac was "A liberal contributor AT one
OF the annual sale Of pcws he paid the highest
premium ever offered for a sitting IN Beecner's
church.
In $50 he failed again, but in no wise dscour.
aged ne once more entered into the battls OF life
and opened an establishment in New street the
pubiic stores then being opposite hi place of
business. Here for long time he had lhe Gus
tom OF 400 OF the employees Of the Govern
mcnt' but when the stores were removed hts
trade went down 70 nothing and he moved 70
his present location 1t was while he was in
New street that he conceived the notion Of pre-
pairing Tree lunches and thus paved the wav
Tor the Introduction OF anew American fnstitu-
uon, anu Tor thr appearance upon the stage II
NE OF CbardctCr-the - lunch nend then
utterly unknown, but now to be met with at
every turn. -
he Commodore abiured rum and tobacco
When he was Il years old. but does not wish to
temperance and activity has left him az 81 az
strong as man Of half That age and a, he
marches down the street with his long white
locks eScaiing from under his broad hrimncd
nat ana waving In the breeze, he attracts the
attention Of every passer. STRANGERS are apt 10
mistake him Tor Sme gallant old warrior. and
but lew who meet him would ever dream that
the occupant OF the little n ssqu street hase-
ment had been three times In his life a million
ARE.