The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-19
A NATURES NoBLEWOMAN.
Hearty at 102 Years of Age-Sketch Of a
Wonderful Lifetime.


Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
BRAZIL, Ind, March 17-There resides with
her daughter. Mrs. Mary Arkins, at Greencas-
tie, natures nobiewoman-Mrs Catherine
Mcmahon, who was born in County Glare, Parish
Of Kilforney, Ireland, November ii, 1885. Tho
writer spent an hour in her company day
this week. listening to her own account of her
long and worthy life, which is substantially as
follows:
She was one OF several children born to
Daniel Cooney and Mariah Flanagan, who died,
the former at 62. and the latter at SO years Of
age Two brothers, Martin and James Cooney,
died in Dubuque, Ia, in 1873, tho former lack
Ing but FIVE days Of rounding up his first GEN.
tury. The latter was in his ninety eighth year.
Another brother, Thomas Cooney, elder to
James, wandered off 20 Australia in early life,
and his last end is unknown. Ia 1889, by the
death Of her husband, Michael Mcmahon, to
whom she was married In 1916, she was left as
tenant of 100acre farm in County Clare, the
property OF Thomas aud John CahilL Her
rental was forty pounds sterling annually. Be-
sides were king, queen, county. roadsand various
other taxes then more burdensome than
Eight children were dependent on her, though
two sons helped greatly in the farm work. She
was hard worker herself and withal q skillful
manager. She attended fairs and markets to
dispose of her farm products and battled brave
~ Tor ner sake Tor fourteen years. three
of which were years of terribls famine, ending at
last with the harvests of 1849. In 1853 how
ever, she turned her face toward America, the
land Of plenty and potatoes, settling first in
New Albany, Ind, thence in 1861 removing
Dubuque, Ia. thence 1881 to Bedford. and
two years later to Greencastle. In com pany
with granddaughter, Miss Maggie Arkins, she
travelled day and night the cars in her
ninety-eighrh year ia returning from Dubuque.
She Is averso TO the ears, and aftsTysard walk6d
two miles to the Greencastle junction, without
a rat ba
train. She has seen six generations of her kin.
though unable to state the number Of grand and
RrsAt-Rrsndchildren She has three great-great-
grandchildren, the children of Michael Higgins,
now of jackson, Miss. Mics Maggie Higgins
of that place, ereat-grandchild. is twenty. six
years old. OF her children there are living
James. aged sixty-four, and john aged sixty
one, both of Bedford, Ind; also q second daugh-
ter, Mrs. Catherine McCanns OF Dubuque, La.
In her prime she was FIVE feet seven inches high
and weighed from $50 TO 160 pounds. She is
now quite stopped, though remarkably free from
the in6rmities of age, Her weight is, perhaps,
between 80 and 100 pounds. She is quite epry
and gets about the house and ward with
the aid OF q slender walking stick.
Her hair is black and abundant in youth.
Her features round and compact She has
RETAINED all er teeth but two. losing the first in
her one-hundredth year, the other recently.
She enjoys perfect second sight and sews and
knits without glasses She even makes her bed
and performs other tasks, more or less light
when permitted. A few days ago, when taken
with pain near the heart from which she has
since Deen conuneQ TO PED, sno Wa5 inspecting
walk constructing in front of the premises.
She eats with impunity any manner of food.
Her daughter keeps boarders, of whom she is
one. She reports at each meal and eats heartily.
She also enjoys a smoke. She retires early and
is sound sleeper. She loves to talk and speaks
readily in English and Irish. She also sings
easicnally snatches of Irish melodies learned in
her girlhood. She has an abundant fund of
auecdoto concerning troublous times and promi-
nent men. betraying intelligent observation and
wonderful memory. She says but little about
Emmett, but is enthusiastic over OConnell who
was elected to Parliament when her youngest
son was four years old With the light hearted
ness of youth to wonderful degree, she has
little of the querulousness of age, though pos
sessed of marked preferences among her
younger descendants, for one OF whom she is
knitting pair OF hose. No special alarm is felt
over her condition. She has been exceptionally
free from disease all her life, and it is thought
she will die, when the time comes, more from
natural wearing out than from disease.