Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-14
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Recollections of Mrs. Phoebe Towle
Now Over 1O2 Years old.

Recollections of Mrs. Phoebe Towle'
Now Over 1O2 Years old.
Mrs. Phoebe Towle, an inmate of Miss
Hattie L. Melvin's Little Faith Home for
the Homeless, Friendless and Incurable,
on Arlington street, Newark, says the
New York World Of the 18th inst, Will
be 103 years old if she lives until the 4th
Of July next. A record in her old family
Bible shows that she was born at O'Clock
on the afternoon of July 4, 1871, in Ho-
boken, and that her parents name was
Seeley. She was sitting up in bed when
a reporter saw her yesterday afternoon,
and the nurse said the old lady had been
so weak during the past five months that
she had to be lifted from the bed. Mrs.
/ Towle has blue-gray eyes, thin Wnltee
hair, plump cheeks, but her arms ana
body are thin and worn. She said that
only one of her five children, daughter
SO years Old,si alive.
My father was carpenter" MRS.
| Towle said to the reporter, ''and he built
| the first house on the HobOken hills: L
remember when there was not more than
a score Of houses in HObOken and Jersey
| City, and over in New York it was all
swamp back Of where the City Hall now
| is. Near the Tombs planks were laid for
We're made through the lots up to Canal
street, where there was big pond. We
used to pluck daisies and buttercups up
there, and the people used to meet on the
Battery on warm nights. Father often
rowed me across the river from Hoboken
! to New York. Sometimes we went In
boats worked by horses. We used to
climb down the muddy bank of the river
to 90 into the boats and on the New York
sid Ia al, bo,- of
a long time before people would venture
on steamboat. / have seen them kneel
and pray that the Lord might let them re-
turn safe from a New York trip.
eyes, 1 saw Gen. Washington Once,'
the old lady said in reply to question,
''but it was so long ago-so long agol
Father took me to the Battery, in New
York, where a great crowd was gath
cred, and he carried me in his arms, for l
was a tiny bit of a girl then. When the
people all began to cheer and swing their
hats and wave their OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
father raised me above his head so could
see Washington and his officers. l saw in
a big yellow and black coach tall man
with head as white as a sheet. He was
bowling and smiling to the people, and
remember that he had black coat, black
| breeches and black silk stockings. Father
carried me close to the tavern where Gen.
| Washington was to stop, and when the
! General stepped from the carriage father
held me up for Washington to
kiss. Another nice man, who, if
remember right, was Gen. La
fayette, patted me on the head. Gen.
Washington came out on the piazza of
the tavern, so that all the people could
get good look at him. My father, who had
seen him in the war, was so wild with de-
light that he cheered until he was hOarse.
That night the people lighted bOnfires over
on the Jersey City and HObOken hills and
at Paulus Hook. 1t was so long ago that
l can't remember everything, but l know
that the sky was red from the bonfres on
Brooklyn hill and Staten Island and away
back on the Orange Mountain.
81 had good health until three years ago.
At one time / was in comfortable circum-
stances, but l lost everything and kind
ladies got me in here"