Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1883-07-12
A LONGEVITY LIST.
The Names and Records OF Persons
who Have Lived Beyond one Hum
dred Years.

The Names and Records OF Persons
who Have Lived Beyond one Hum
dred Years.
81 have records of more than ten
thousand persons who have lived one
hundred years and upward" said Jo-
seph L. Perkins to a reporter of the
Syracuse On. y Standard. 81 have
spent thirty years in collecting these
materials, which | am preparing for
publication. | have ransacked almost
every branch of literature, magazines,
newspapers, medical works, encyclope-
dias, etc, and | have personally writ
ten to large number of centenarians
to procure authentic statistics"
"Who is the Oldest person you have
discoyered?' asked the reporter.
according to the historian to the
king of Portugal, man named Numas
de Cugna died in India in 1856, aged
$40 years. l have siXty-three names
of persons who died more than $50
years old. might mention of those
of that number who died in America,
slave named Simms who died in 1898
aged lS0 In 1880 Louisa Truxo died
in South America aged 176. OF
course cannot take into account the
aged people mentioned in the Old Tes-
lament because in those days a differ
ent method of computing time was in
vogue"
What country produces the great
est number of centenarians
The cold countries. Perhaps Rus
sia comes first. Switzerland, Sweden,
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland produce a
great many. Our country is among
the first, althoug many of our centuri-
ans are of foreign birth. The Ameri-
can Indians have remarkable longevi-
ty. We do not look for extremely long
life in the tropics, but IA celebrated
physician in Algiers, Africa, collected
in thirteen years l62 cases Of Africans
more than 100 years old. | wrote to
him for the names, but he had not pre-
served them The Chinese are not
very long lived. In 1855 the emperor
called a conyocation of all the old resi-
dents of his empire, and of the number
who responded only four were more
than 100 years old india has on rec
ord large number of cases."
ado you find that civilization has
anything to do with longevity?"
"lndirectly, perhaps. Almost al
cases of extreme old age belong to the
lower classes. They have more robust
costitutions to begin with, and they
are not subjected to the wear and tear,
the late hours, and the tendencies of
dissipation that fall to the lot of COS
mopolitan. OF the European countries
France has the fewest centenarians.
In fact, they are extremely rare there.
Their nervous temperament has much
to do with it. A curious fact, how
ever, is that Frenchmen in very large
numbers live to be between 60 and so
years old, but drop off without going
beyond the latter figure"
(Which sex lives the longer?"
There are more women who attain
the age of 100 than men. but more
men live to be exceedingly old than
women"
Are there many cases of longevity
in this city,"
II have collected more than fifty
cases of persons who died in this coun-
ty aged 100 and over. There are hv-
ing here at present three persons older
than 100. These are Mrs. Driscoll
aged 105, colored woman named Will
liams in the poor-horse, aged 103, and
a United States pensioner 102 years
old, living on Water street, named Van
Vail"
"When will your work be ready for
publication ?"
within a year or two. 1t will be
called 'The Encyclopedia of Human
Longevity; or, Records of People Who
Have Lived 100 Years and Upwards.
1t will contain between two and three
hundred illustrations, and, as | said
more than ten thousand instances"