Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-11-10


winter will be opened on the evening
of the 10Th of November, by
lecture from J. d. Butler D. D. The
Reverend DR.. has travelled very
extensively and is chock-full OF
information, wit and learning. We
subjoin q portion Of an article on
"Long Life" from his pen, contrib
uted to the State [o,lrndl:
How many OF US can hope to be
come CentenariaDs One in fifty
thousand. In 1870 twenty-five Wis
consinians,-that is in exact igures
one in 47,940 of the population,
we're set down in the census roll, as
aged one hundred years or upwards.
Although no one of those twenty
two may now survive, as large a
number have since attained aa equal
age.
Regarding one Of those long-livers,
certain particulars have come to my
knowledge. On recent visit to
Lancaster, read on my hotel Reg
lister the entry, Robert Lun2'kin, born
MorchE2d, l776. Unable to meet him
personally, ! mailed him series OF
thirty-one questions, and soon re-
ceiyed as many answers written by
his son, but signed by the father IN
hand like that of John Hancock III
the Declaration of Independence.
Robert Lumpkin was born in
Essex County, Virginia,-on the
Rappahannock, on tina second OF
March, 1776. His father reached
the age of seventy.fve years, and
his mother one year more. They
had six sons and three daugters,
and were of English descent. BY
occupation he has always been q
farmer. Early removed to Giles
County, famous for it's White Sui
phur Springs, in Southwestern Vir-
GINA, aud thence he emigrated to
| Wisconsin in 1919, that is one year
after it became State. lie was a
soldier for nine months in the war OF
1912, and is now a pensioner. The
reason that he assigns for steering
to Wisconsin when he came West is
that she was no politician"
His stature is five feet eight inches,
usual weight is one hundred and
sixty pounds. He began wearing
glasses at about the age Of seventy
six, lost his last tooth last Spring;
has still some hair has never had
bone broken; has suffered most
from rheumatism, but sometimes has
been otherwise sick, yet was never
laid up single day while in the
army He has been married only
once, aud has had fourteen children.
He has been tor sixty-six years Il
member of the Baptist Church
Has always been an early riser, usu
ally up at four O'clock. Till re-
Gently, has made nothing Of walking
half a dozen miles to the post-oihce.
Piety, early hours and Professionalism
are common among longevitarlans,
but doubt whether their chronicles
often record habits like the three
following, to which Nj, Lumpkin
confesses, and which | must not
suppress, He has never taken any
pains to keep ont of draft of air
he has used tobacco for eighty-tive
years, and he has drank ardent
spirits ali his life, but not to excess.
His diet, especially for supper,
has been mush and milk, or bread
and milk. His maxim is, "dine late,
die early
| 1t will be easy to compare Mr..
Lumpkiu's habits of life with all
others rs OLD as he in the State, il
few others will make such inquiries
as | have here published, aud viii
print what they learn,
More women than men attain to
great age. This is apparent by
the census returns although it is
notorious that women are prone to
understate their years. OF all white
ccutenarians in the Union at the
last census, five hundred aud seventy
900 we're females and only three
hundred and niuety-four (394) were
ma.es-aad this while the males
in the country outuumbered the
females 10y more than four hundred
thousand Us 95W TWAS admitted
centuries ago that females are more
luug-ived than males That SUI
/ ......, .,,.,t,. =. ,.,.,,-,.,..l G.. ,,.l 80.