The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-02-03
A MODERN SAMSON.
A Man Who Easily Lifted Nineteen Hun
dred Pounds

dred Pounds.
In the Troy Times recently appeared
an article giving short history of the
life and dOings of Abner McIfrath, of
Euclid, Ohio, and in that article he was
represented as the strongest man in
America while liVing,with the exception
or that famous strong man of Northern
New York, Joseph Call. The nreatest
feat of strength claimed for McIIrath
was the lifting of an iron shaft which
weighed LOO pounds, and it is also
stated that he lifted ii by Rrasping II
with ihts hands, which, it is claimed,
would be equal to lifting twicu that
weight in harness. 1t would be useless
TO deny the fact that Abner McIlrath'
was mighty man, but propose to give
a snort sketch of the life of a man who
was but little known outside of the vii
lage OF Granville Corners in Washing gton
| county, where he was born and spent
| the most OF long life. 1t was known
or him, and can be proved, that he has
performed feats of strength unsurpassed
Dy any man that has lived in ancient or
modern times, excepting, of course, the
| Biblical Samson. His name is or was
Stearn Carpenter, his occupation that of
| farmer. Being naturally of a yery
qulet, peaceable disposition and a men,
Der or a society of Friends, he never did
| anything for display to attract attention.
| DuI the teatS of strength he performed
were done more to satisfy himself and to
see how much he could lift than for any
thing else. All his lifting was done by
nlal1 strength, without any harness of
any kind. One of his greatest feats was
lifting box filled with iron which
weighed l,9OO pounds, which is equal to
lltlng S,SUO pounds in a harness. He
lltted IL with ease with his hands by
grasplng a rope or chain which was
bound around the box to secure it. He
did not know the weight of the box of
iron at the time, and was afterWard
heard tC say that had he known it
weighed so near a ton he would have
put on the other hundred pounds and
lifted the whole. At another time ne
lifted cannon which weighed /, 400
pounds and shOuldeTed 1t. At Conn
StOcRS Landing, on the ChamDga ain
Canal, near Whitehall, one day while
waiting for load of merchandise, he
lifted barrel of white lead with ease.
The writer of this article was an eve
witness to this feat, besides a number of |
others. His neighbors when killing hogs
II Stearns happened to be around, |
would ask him to guess the weight of |
hog just killed. If it happened to be a |
big one weighing 400 or 500 pounds he |
would stoOp down and twist his fingers
into the bristles, and in that way would
lift the carcass clear from the ground |
and guess its weight. He performed |
one or the greatest feats of strength on |
record after he had reached the age of
% years. He lifted two twenty-fOur |
foot iron rails by grasping one in each |
hand and walked off with them, The
rails were resting on wooden horses, so |
ne did not stOOp down to lift them. One |
day in hayingtime he was going from
the field with his men to the house for |
dinner. They were walking along the |
road together, when one of his men, for |
mischlef, came up behind him and by a |
skllful trip threw Carpenter down, He |
gathered himself up and said nothing |
ABOUT 1t: He walked to the house, and |
after diRner, when returning to the
held with his men, they came along to
the place where the man gave him the |
tall. He suddenly turned upon the man
and grasping him by the shoulder and |
the seat of his trousers, lifted him and |
hurled him high in the air above him |
and over seYen-rail fence, by the side |
OF which they happened to he walking.
The man came down III the meadow
rod or more from the fence, considerably |
shaken up but not badly hurt. Mr.. Car
penter was not gigantic man in size
de was about six feet tall, and appeared
much less than that owing to his mas
slVe build. There was no superfluous
nesn upon hlm, but.the muscles of his
arms, shoulders and neck seemed to be
piled upon him, so great was their size.
This gave him STOPPING appearance.
In crowd casual observer would not |
be likely to pick him out for one of the
strongest men that ever lived His
strength would equal if not surpass that
or the greau Roman gladiator Milo. Mr..
Carpenter is living at the present time
at Granville Corners, Washington cOun-
ty, N. Y, his Old home, or was living the
last heard of him. He must be over
eighty years of age.-TrOy Times.