The Dillon tribune., 1883-09-22
A LONGEVITY LIST.

1he Names and Records Of Persons who
Rave Lived Beyond 100 Years.
II have records Of more than
10000 persons who have lived
100 years aud upward" said
Joseph E. Perkins to . reporter Of the
Syracuse Standard. II have snent
thirty years in collecting these
materials, which I am prep airing for
publication. I have ransacked aimost
every branch Of literature, magazine.
newspapers, medical works, encyclo.
pedias, ETC., and I have personally
written to large number Of centenar.
ians to procure authentic statistics"
"Who is the Oldest person Won havs
discovered?" asked the reporter.
According to the historian to the
King Of Portugal man named Numas
de Cugna died in India in 1866, aged
$40 years, I have sixty-three names of
people who died more than $50 years
old. I might mention Of those Of that
number who died in America q slave
named Sims, who died in 1898, aged
$50. In 1850 Louisa Truxo died in
South America aged lie. OF course /
cannot take into account the aged
people mentioned in the Old Testament.
because in those. days different method
Of computing time was in vogue"
"What country produces the greatest
number of centenarians
"The cold countries. Perhaps Russia
comes first. Switzerland, Sweden,
Wales, Scotland and Ireland produce q
great many. Our country is among
the first, although many Of our centen-
arians are of foreign birth. The
American Indians have remarkable
longevity. We do not look for extreme.
" long life in the tropics, but O cele-
DRAFTED physician in Algiers, Africa,
collected in thirteen years 162 cases Of
Africans more than 100 years old.
wrote to him for the names, but he had
not preserved them. The Chinese are
not very long lived. In 1885 the En-
peror called convocation of all the
old residents of his empire, and of the
number who responded only four were
more than 100 years old. India has on
record q large number Of cases."
DO you find that civilization has any
thing to do with longevity"
Indirectly, perhaps. Almost all
cases OF extreme old age belong to the
lower classes. They have more TO
bust constitutions 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 q
cosmopolitan. OF all the European
countries France has the fewest CEN
tenarians. In fact, they are exceeding.
~ rare there. Their nervous tempera-
ment has much to do with it. A curious
fact, however, is that Frenchrnen in
very large numbers live to be between
60 and ~ years old, but drop off with
out going beyond the latter figure"
(Which sox 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"
in this city,"
Il have collected more than fiftv
cases of people who died in this county,
aged 100 and over. There are liv;ng
here at present three persons older than
lOO. These are Mrs. Driscoll, aged
!O5: co.ored woman named Williams
IN the poor-house aged 1O3, and I'm ted
States ponsioner 1O2 years old, living
on Water Street, named Van Val,
when will your work be ready for
publications."
Within o year or two. It will he
called The Encyclopedia Of Human
Longevity; or, Records of People who
have lived 100 Years and Upwards Il
will contain between 200 and 800
Illustrations, and, rs said before.
more than 10000 instances.