Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-10-07
THE Old EST yet.


APhiladelphia paper recently printed the
| following which Is of local Interest "rhe
| most remarkable case Of longevity that has
occurred in modern times was thar of Jacob
| Coleman, who died recently at the reItuted
| age of 1874 yenrs. The age of Coleman
seems TO be wOll authenticated by t,adition
given By old men livingin his neighborhood.
He lived on the comb Of tue shed OF land
dividing the waters of the Delaware and
Su9quehHnnn on or near the dividing line
OF Chester ana Lancaster counties, Peuu-
sylvanla. His memory was strong and
tenacious, and his .reeitals OF what he saw
and remembered In his early lie were vivid
indeed. While he lived In Pennsylvania,
which seems to have been before the Amer
can revolution, until his death, he retuem-
bered much that occurred during the Revo-
iution and was an Cyl. witness to the battles
of Brandywtne an@ Germantown He
never was what might be called an IN.
dustrious man, nor was he an
tdler. He, IL seems, was fond OF
sports, hunting aud fishing, and could
be seen often on the banks OF the Brandy
wine with his lilo and rod, or trapping
game almost at any point between Whining
Ton and Its source. II was while on ons Of
these excursions that he was able to witness
the contest between the British and Amerl-
can forces. He said that his strong syrnpa~
thy led him to follow the army and be with
1t at the battle of Germantown. His de-
scnption of the battles and Incidents OF
them Were exceedingly accurate and anus
Ing. He had no education and could neither
read nor write. He said he was born In the
West Indies, and carne to the Continent, ar
riving near Savannah, Ga, about 1880 lived
there aud in South Carolina, a short time,
and then migrated to Virginia, where he
lived long time. He was In Virginia on
Washington's return from bis Pittsburg
campaign under Braddock, and could give
reliable and correct description OF him as
he saw him on his return from that disas-
trous and Inflated expedition. From Vir-
ginia he drlfted to Pennsylvania, where he
lived the remainder of his life He was
known over nearly all EASTERN Pennsylvania
and the oldest citizen had some incident to
tell OF his life and Of his remarkable age.
"One Boyce, u neighbor of Coleman died
In 1855, aged 80 years and had known
Coleman nearly all the days of his life, and
was sure that he must have been mt that
tlme at least 16l yeare of age. He remGm
bered him during the seventeen hundred
and eighties, and he appeared about IA old
then ms he did during the eighteen hundred
and llfties. Boyce died and left SOD now
living In Chester, reputable aud respect
abe farmer, who, with others, speak OF this
aged man as a harmless but determined and
peaceful citizen, neither given to gossip nor
frivolity. All, or noarly all, Of the citizens
OF that section had learned from two or
three generations before them of this man,
and there seems to DO no doubt but that no
has lived In Pennsylvania since 1770.
"Ooleman claimed to have been married
In the West Indies and had buried his wife
there. He WIS married the second time In
Virginia, and by this wife has now son,
Nicholas Coleman, living and u farmer IN
Lancaster county, considerably over 100
yenrS OF age. The wife he married IN Vir-
sinia died about 1900 and no was again
nairisd, about 1912, to Peggy Jones, who
liod in 1919.
.'There ehn hn no doubt hut that Jacob
Coleman lived to he the Oldest man Of
modern times and oitly excrOled by those
described by the oil Book Of Holy Writ"