St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-17

Frequently during the past winter
there has been man seen coming down
Eighth street in Fargo OH a spirited
horse, sitting straight as an arrow, and
with all the grace and dignity of a cav
airy officer. His long white hair and
full white beard denoted a man of years,
but his appearance otherwise was that
of middle-aged man in the full vigOr
Of manhood. This was Father Francis,
born May 5, 1900, and will be eighty
eight years old in May next. His birth
place was Lithfield, Conn, where his
boyhood days were spent. At the age
of nine years he was thrown upon his
own resources, and from that age to the
present has depended entirely upon
himself. Following the example of
many of his Connecticut acquaintance,
at the age of seventeen he embarked in
the peddling business, with CARLOAD
of tinware, making his headquarters at
Utica, n. Y. This occupation he fol-
lowed without interruption until
1880, at which time he settled upon
a farm in Lewis county, New York,
and became farmer for twenty-six
years. He then moved to Minnesota,
then in the "wild West" and terri
tory. He first settled in the southern
part of the state i'll what is now Rice
county, afterward moving to Waseca
county, where he followed farming
until the spring of 1878, when he came
overland to Dakota with a stock OF
horses which he disposed of and in the
fall of the same year removed per-
manently to this territory. In May,
1879 he moved on to a government
homestead in the northern part of Cass
county, near the village of Hunter,
where he lived over five years. proving
up on the same and receiving title from
the government. He then moved to
Fargo and occupied his pleasant home
in South Park addition. Mr.. Francis
has been three times married, first in
1928. second in 1916, and third in 1851,
the latter, his present wife, is still liv-
ing, and is twenty years his junior.
ALL HIS WIVES
were residents of Lewis county, New
York, and lived within radius of six
miles. During all his long and active
life he had not been sick enough to
require a physician to exceed three
times, but has always enjoyed robust
health. This may be accounted for by,
first, an excellent constitution; second,
constant outdoor exercise, and third,
temperate habits. His great love for
horses, constant driving or riding, and
never oyer-eXerting himself in manual
labor, with keen sense Of the fact, that
it is every mans duty to take care of
himself, both physically and mentally,
and that no one can do it for him. He
frequently makes the remark that, II
have owned more horses than could
stand side by side in a road ten miles
long, " and no person who knows him
6Ouhtc hic trOr1 This iS a hriaf SItunmary
of the past life of one of the wodders
of Dakota, not so much on account Of
the years he has passed, but that one Of
such an advanced age should present
all the robustness of man of forty.
Healty, strong, active and sound in
mind and body, seldom wearing glasses,
and only trihe defective in hearing.
Through this long life lie has allowed
nothing to escape his mental vision and
is, consequently, an encyclopedia OF
knowledge, which he delights in unfold
ing to those who will listen, and there
are many such. He is storehouse of
"reminiscences of the past, occurrences
before we were born," which would
make book of thousands of pages.
One thing he mentioned the other day
which is of interest to many, VIZ: that
he sat upon the Jury before whom A.
n. Barnes. late Judge of the Fargo dis
trict court, tried his first case in the
state of New York, and. in fact, his first
case to a jury.
Mr. Francis has. two sons living In
Dakota, Hon. o. W. Francis, attorney,
and senior member of the well-known
firm of Francis Il Southland, and Hon.
l.. Il. Francis, probate judge and mem
Der of the firm of Francis & Carmody,
Hillsboro.