Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1880-05-11
A OENTENARIAN MYSTERY

believed 10 10 teu so"io 0'
mama was Annie +. Potter, aud she vas
a mystery to herself, and every
body else who knew her. She was
deyout member of a church, and attended
regularly as long as she was bodily abe
The mystery began when grand;nothers'
wbo knew Annie Potter as the
old woman of their church, when
they were little children, looked around
and found the old woman still in the
plt ce. Thou they began to pvt inc
yeats together, ana, summing up inc
possibilities, thought the old womans
age was worth inquiring into. At the
time of her death she had been in the
homo eleven years; before going to the
institution she had been q seamstress
forty years; for thirty years before that
she had been housemaid, and for ten
wears before that she had been in the
family of Hugh Maxwell as o nurse
Girl. The records Of church make
notice of her as one of the congregation
as follows: "Ye girl servante to W
family Of Hugh Maxwell aged thirteen
wears or thereabouts." This record, and
what is known OF 'her afterwards, fixes
upon her lO4 years. She was certainly
not less than twelve yers old when she
became part of Maxwell's household,
and in ono year thereafter joined the
church a. aforesaid. When people began
to make inquiries about her age her
recollection of her childhood was very
:. ipdistinct. She did not know when or
2 where she was borbAand it seemed as II
she had been forgotten by Death, as she
had been by Time. A long time ago
when she was ut lsast fifty years OF aye
she gave her pastor at that time the
following account of herself, which was
all she knew or could remember
don't know where was born. ! nave ., a
,,a.t ,nd;stinct rccolltchon|Of being told At the
school attended that1 had come from England
in n abin hut I kn0wI am French, because
the lonruaye il native to mo- My father waa
n ;owsIsr in Calcutta do not remember ever
I;y;na With him, l do remember his store. MY
reco,ection of 1t il very elegant place, IN when
there was no end Of Jewels and gold ana SILVER y.
ornaments. When I came to visit my iathoi
he would take things from his iron chests an,
decorate me with them. l hau ~ niuoI
;oweIrv was the subisCt OF envy lnt the sChoo
ottanded nt ChandernagOre a French p0ssess
ion I'm the Ganges, seventeen miles north o.
Calcutta. I remember my father ~ tall nan"
sn,na man with n flowing beard ana eiegah'
manner He PLAYED OF, the pianofOrte and othe'
musical instruments. 1t was the custom OF my
father TO occasionally send for ne to come u
him at Calcutta. Usually no sent servant
So1ntimes friend Of his, who wore ePa''e'tt
AMY suppose must haze been an o'ilooa AZ cos e
and brought me to Calcutta. She took mo 70 I
strange house, and the next dav went VIII
her and her husband on board OF snip. w, wv
sailed a long way mi then we came 10 NOV
York don't know whore they lived ate
thev came here, but il seems to me it was III
nice street. / was abused and Deatsh' an
then Miss Stevenson Interested herse!i Ill NJ.
behalf ! lived with her until her death man.
years ago. Then, as you Know was q s'""'
stress.
Tho Miss Stevenson referred to was
wealthy young lady, at that time be
trothed to Hugh Maxwell, a rising youn|
LAWYER. Miss Stevenson found the youn!
4
girl suffering from abuse and induced
Maxwell to inquire into the case. VIM
his Investigations we're pending tn
family with whom Annie lived fled iron
the city--no one knew whittier, aud II
one was lott to tell anything of tn
girls previous history. When Maxwell
was married, Annie Potter was take
into his family and grew to womanhoo
and old age. She had some tine under
clothing, bearing her name stitched ii
which she preserved all her life Sb
rs,hever married. She believed herself
be- entitled to large fortune if it cou
be found, and efforts were made to trac
her family in Calcutta. As she said sf
wore a great deal of jewelry when
school girl, some thought she wa
kidnapped from Chandernagore for I'll
pur, ose of robbery. Others though
that she may have been an obstacle
the way of some ono, and that hi
abduction and shipping off to stranl
land was to get her out of tho way.
missionary in Calcutta was con
municated With. He could find OF
nothing. A sea captain undertook
investigate the family history, and
found that Frtnch and English scho
had existed in Chandernagore up to ii
time tho French lost possession in 176
No records of the school could be foun
He discovered in some old commerce
correspondence in Calcutta that in l7o
and for years before, jewclry had cor
consigned to Henri Potter, but no 9th
trace of tho name or the position OF II
man bearing it could he found. SO u
link of connection could never be four
between the old woman and her CHI
,.r nl Oh, I;oI myatcrV