The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1885-10-01
MIR. SHADRACK NUGENT
"REMINISCENCES OF A MAN WHO IS
OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.
Lived Century and Quarter and Never
Met George Wa,hington-He Has Yet
Z to Sec Mr. Cleveland aud
Weather r-washlngtou- notes

old My papers and documents show IT,"
laid Shnlrlck Nugont, tho centenarlan, 10
q correspondent Shadraok Nugent Is q
light-sknnel mulatto who has lived Ia this
city since the war Of !Sl9 Ha was born,
he says, Ia liGO, in Frederick county Nd,
near tho present town OF Frederick, lla
owns a couple of houses and is rather well
provided for lie ls universally respected
by loh white and colored, and III u steady
clurchgoer, llo uses cane only whom ho
goes out NJ night, and while rathcr shaky no
walks well enough fora man half BIS age,
whatever II n, llo can not read or write,
though he sticks yey carefully TO dates and
seldom gets mixed up In his rcminIacen'
cea llo Is known ~ tho "Moon Man
for the reason that ho has
devoted many years 10 ohser.
yatlOns Of tho moon and tho relation Of tho
moon TO the changes Of the weather For
pumbor OF years he sold on the streets coll
lection of rhymes on tho weater, by which,
bo said, II careful attention was paid 10
them, any one could, In -four casos out Of
lye, foreell the changes In the weather OF
late years Shadrack has seldom gone very
FAR from his home, which Is on NJ street, boz
tween Twenty second aud Twenty'third
streets Tho sight OF ono syo has gone on
tiroly, though the other IL nearly as good as
ever II was, llo has never worn aLy beard
on his face shaving almost every day His
hair IL somewhat longer than most colored
people have, II Ia pure whito aud but little
linked, llo talks remarkably we'll, though
he has lost most OF his front teoth and do.
lights In talking Of King Georges days and
what ho heard about them In his boyhOod
days
~ have seen all tho presidents since James
Madison and have talked with them all OK
popt President Cleveland am going down
10 seo him soon, | saw Mr. Madison when
ho had 10 drive away from tho White
HouSe-whon the British burned Il, In 1914
10 keep from boiug captured also saw
him when lao returned 10 u after 10 was llxod
up and painted white, II isa white house
now, but 10 was not ono thon, II was moro
yellow sandstone color than anything else.
All OF tho front was blackld up by tho
smoke when II was burnOd That's the rea-
son thoy painted H. Before that II was tho
Same color OF tho treasury p0rtlco aud was
built out Of tho gnmo quarry Of sandstone,
have about proved my case, and VIII soon
got my pension ~ a soldier IN the Reyolu-
tionary war, though wasn't u soldier, only
q body servant One OF tho newspapers
said somo years ago that was tho body
servant Of General Washington President
Lincoln called 20 800 mo once anl told mo
about II being In tho papers, but | was not,
! was the body servant Of Lieutenant
George Graft | never saw General Wash
ington that know Of,
"Iiout Graf cam0 20 Rockville, Mont
gomery county, Md, and bought farm in
the year l7sl Tho court house records will
chow that was FREQ tho year after, hav.
Ing boen bound 20 him, | was freed whom
was twonty,onc years old, My mother first
gave me, when ! was alx or seven years old,
to Mra, Caterer 20 raise Mrs Caterer was
poor woman, but she promised she would
TaisO mo 40 ~ 10 play with her children, -Four
or llyo years nflorward u was ilX0l up that
was 10 DO sold to Georgia planter llo was
going 10 kidnap mo, The plan was that
should be sent out 10 shut tho gate NJ night
and this Georgia man was 10 catch mo, |
told about II, aud Mr., George Graf laid an
injunction on hOr 20 koOp hur from selling
mN Tho Judge then bound mo 10 Mr.,
George GrUir til | was Of ago, Mr. Graf
wa. q rich man. My FREQ papers aro 70.
corded at the Montgomery county court
house, but have lost thom,
"Thoro was no voting In Montgomery
County whom wo moved IN FROM Frederick,
Tho ilrst voting was whom Cen Washington
was elected president In 1854 We cNmpod
on Federal hill, Baltimore We expected
Lord Cornwals, We wore thoro four
months There worO no houses there thon.
Capt slnpr, Lieut. George Graf and LIout,
Jamos McPhorson worO tho first officers Of
tho first artillery company that had cnnnons
In Frederick There were no bands Of mu-
eio then, only drums aud tloa This artil'
lory company was ordered 10 Baltimore 10
guard the place, Some OF the other artillery
wont 10 Yorktown. Tho officers did not
charge for thor services They volunteered
free, though the prlvNjos got " per month.
II | was n young man would not bo body
servant ain FOR y body servant IL IN
much danger aa n soldier or an oIllctr, Lieut.
Graf gave mo orders that wncn lao bcclonod
70 mo 70 briug him his cnntoon aud whisRoy
and 10 give him drink aud to keep my
eyes on hn when his mon were loading aud
firing HN said II | did not como ho would
shoot mo vn tho spot aud if hn got shot
was 10 tOho him 10 his tont aud iako all his
things nud silver 10 my mistress, who was
bis wife Admiral Porter showed mo ono
day ton years ago map Of Federal hill, aud
pointed out whore wo were cnmpod, Io
said his grandfather was oampod tbero tho
namo tins wo wore, but did not know him.
"In The war OF 1912 was living NJ Brooke
willie, twenty milea from Washington, with
tho QunkcrS Tho first war romOmber was
Braddo0k'a war with tho lndnns tho SOC
Qpd war was n foreign war with King
NtOTHn Nnl Ilh fTNnVUt NNt lnlINt htnt
Wnnhington'e war tho fourth war the war
OF 1919, the ilfth was the Florida war, tho
sixth was the Mexican war, aud tho sovonth
wna Con GRANTS war,
"liiout Graf aud myself were not In Cen.
Wnahnton's war, but Tho second year aftor
the surrender OF Lord CORVALLIS wo woro
ordered 10 Baltimore 10 do picket duty, /
fomcmber In the town Of Frederick, whom
tho authorities woro onliating mon for tho
al Hau.us.NlaUaVU xyap--llnA WuulinnlAnia
war, That was over ono hundred years
ago"
Getting or The subject OF war Tho old man
said ~ smoked whom was n boy and for
como time after grow up, but was never
much OF n smoker, l never ohowed tobacco
because never was allowed TO- Mr. Graz
said II did not look good for boy 10 chew,
ruiilee u his shirt were dirty nll tho timo
with tobacco juice believe that was tho
reason he opposed my chewing. Yes, havo
drank some liquor IN my life, but very lit
Ito | haven't touched o drop Of any kind
OF liquor slnut Gen. Lafayette cnme 10 this
country wns awful drunk the night no
arrived, but after that no more. My expe.
rIonce has boep with white aud c0lornd poo.
plo that llquor causes moro troubls than
everything else put together, Light sup.
perp, even II late, don't do any one harm,
but have never believed IN eating greasy
stuir at night Ice cream should never 10
eaten M late ns sundown, II IL dangerous
Tor night eating, aud Is not healthy at
any time. Regularity IN everything Ia bon.
eoelal, aud especially so about paying all
bills that are due, II you amt got anything
don't promise, only pay when you have
money. In my early days there was but lit
tle liquor made IN this country IL was all
imported High toned gentlemen drank
rather heavy and played cards .stron \.
They would play The saddles OH their
horesn
On the subject Of moons Shadraok talked
cyery freely, referring 10 the following bis-
N tory OF tho moons which he had printed In
n lB1S.-tho result OF seventy. flvo years study,
ho says,
'vrbe three frat moonsn every now yoor's
almanac is the throe tirst spring moons tho