Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-22
soiDiEsS LONGEVITY.
srieusc.icnisnsss ~ Heard to the Llssiss
or fIHsaaa Lfe.


fScu York Suu-i
6 II is = herd thing To tell when the last
solder Of the civil war will de-" the old
nrtnsry aid. 1--WE do not know the num-
Der ~ men WHO enlisted, or what norton
OF them died, aud without this il would be
impossible o. form an exact estimate. The
last signcr Of the Declaration OF tndcpen.
dence. Charles Carroll, Of Carroilton.
survived tlst event sixty years; the last
briesd,er-genpraI 81 the Revolutionary
war died In 1924. and the last
msior general. the Marquis Lafayette, In
1853. Following this analogy, We may say
that Il Is probable thai none II the general
officers will be living At later date than
1913, and none OF the members OF Congress
~ the beginning OF the war, or who were
IN previous Congresses IN 1918. These
men, however, did not reach the extreme
limits Of human life. and Lafayette was the
only one who wss very young when he
entered the army. 10 il commonly es-
uina.ed by the insurance companies
that life ends at hundred wears OF
age. and several OF the tables con-
tnln 10 estimate over ninc,y-hve. Or.
Thoinss. The editor of Notes and Queries,
snd other scientific men, assert that cases
OF persons reaching 100 years are very rare,
end that nearly all OF those who claim to
bsfe attained that longevity arc either Dr..
'ciNcd or are deceiving others. Such was
the clsc Of Captain Lshrbish. an old gem
uenian who posed in New York society for
Number OF years ~ having been an old
nan NJ the battle ol Waterloo, bat who was
m reality not far IRON ninety when hr died.
We ha@", however, 4 number OF wcl-au-
thcniica;ed cases Of persons reaching a
round ccntury. SampsOn :. Blowers, n
graduate VI Harvard College in the last CEN
itry. snd who siterWard became Chief
Justice Of Nova Scotia. was beyond this
lWt: Or. HOlyoke. who also graduated
from that cnliegc. ard two others were each
i00yoaT> Old. These. believe, were all who
have lived 10 he 30 old ont Of the total mum
Der Of graduates stree the beginning OF
thai institution. perhaps 5000. The Rev.
Daniel Waldo, Who preached in thi, State
during the tate war. went TO Vale College
beioi" the Revolution. and the last two
penSipncra NJ theslrug-le iof independence
died in lShG. each aggd iO2. will assume,
therefore. ttlt the age Of 100 /, well suS-
tlinri. In the latest United STATES CEN
suS 332 persons sre, enumerated a, 100
years 81 az on more. and 1Oi as beng
moir Than ~. The questions then be-
come that ri how old the Youngest men
were % the close oi the war. 9nd how long
! they VIII live aurgWard. nccrIltlns be-
gan in 1861. aud was continued In 1862,
I 1868. and 1854. What was done In this
! lilc in 1850 WIS comparatively in.icnlh-
I cant. and wa, stopped in April. A yery
, '.r-c increase WIS. however. made IN 1864.
I and among the recruits were q large mum
| Ter Of tho>5 Nlo were really boys. and had
only reached ni'ecn and sixteen. Among
ihcIu will proa1hly be- found The survivors.
! 1hey were born in lr4G and ii they com.
! p,cic 'ucir century viii die in 1919, or
I ,iNly-iiNe year, from now. II may posi-
! hly bc that orC or two shah survive tll
| 1850 on 1851. the latter date being eighty.
! SIX ysaT- ut + the cessation OF hostiltic..
1 There Vill Of course. be- several hundred,
! living between 1910 and i9ls.
Ill | n>-tinc, foo Calculation, sake. that
I there were living in ordinary hcal.h ut The
close Of the var, Federal and Confederate
/ included, 2,oi2.001 soldiers, they will not
/ have diminished o. ore half until 1904, tn
! one quarter tll 1913, ~ % one lcnth til
/ 1870. Estimating The average age ~ The
survivor, IN lN.j at iWCuty eight. they viii
/ be SiXty--elcu IN 1914. ,eyeuty->iV IN 1918.
! and cisbiy.thrct iu 1920. Ii we a,,truo
! that the average agcoi the veterans 10 1866
was tWcuty-ci-M. the following W0uid
represent the number living ut cich period
~ Gyc years. ., we'll q, ~ frW oilcs
! points
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