The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-04-23
OLDEST NATIVE INDIANIAN.
The Distinction Is Now Claimed for John F.
Cotton and for Mrs. Eleanor Embree.

10 the Editor Of the indianapolis Journal:
My grandfather. John +. Cotton, was
born on Indian creek, Switzerland county,
Indiana. In November. 1903, and is now liv-
ing on his farm, near Moorefield, in the
same county, within three miles of
where he was born. and. like Mr.. Rober t.
son. has voted in the same township ever
since he was voter. and has voted the Re-
publican ticket ever since there was one.
He Is hale and hearty. and bravely with
ter. He fatboated to New Orleans in ante
bellum days. when he gained reasonable
competence. and his tales of adventure
with the Indians when he was boy, and
afterwards. as a. fatboatman on the Mis-
sissippi. are very entertaining.
MADISON. Ind. April q. j. w. TEvIs.
To the Editor Of the Indianapolis Journal:
Your CORRESPONDENTS have not yet dis
covered the oldest living native-born In
dianian. Unless better record can pc pro-
duced, she resides at Princeton, Gibson
county, in the person of Mrs. Eleanor En-
bree. widow of the late Judge Elisha Embree.
who as a Wing. represented the First In
diana district in the Congress of which
Abraham Lincoln and Z. b. Washburne
were members from Illinois. Mrs. Embree
was born on the 3tst day of December, 1903.
near the present site of Hazelton, in the
nor thern part of Gibson county. and she
has never resided outside of the limits of
that county. Her fat her was Hon. David
Robb, who commanded q company at the
battle of Tippecanoe. and who held the
land office al LaPorte during the reign of
jackson. and was member of the con-
stitutional convention of 1916. Mrs. En-
bree is in excellent health, and possesses
the mental vlgor of q person forty years
her Junior. Her recollections of early
prominent men are numerous and vivid.
sons. Governors Posey. Hurst and
Sullivan. and Gen. w. Johnston are
among those who were familiar to her
childhood, and some of her stories concern.
the early times. Her account of the labors
of Hurst and Sullivan. one OF whom was
exceedingly corpulent, climbing the ladder
to the loft of her fathers cabin to retire
for the night. and the anxiety of the chill
dren lest they should be fallen upon. is
graphic and interesting. Symmes Harrison
called dice while the female portion of the
family was shut up in the barn picking the
geese. Her fathers cabin was eighteen
feet square. with one window and two
doors. The chimney was of sticks and
mud. Once. when she was very little
girl. her father and mother went upon q
visit to some friends on Black river, some
thirty miles away. and left the house and
children In care of lady named Betsey
Bruner. Betsey and the children were at
dinner. when, looking out, they saw Gen.
Harrison coming on horseback. Betsey
sprang from the table. exclaiming. Lord
God! there comes old Harrisonr' and imme-
diately hurried the children from the table
and removed every -vestiRe of the meal.
By the time the General got into the
house all were sitting quietly about the
fireplace, Betsey believing she had
put the fact of dinner beyond discovery;
but the future President was hungry, and
he had scarcely sat down by the fire before
he discovered a forgotten hoe-cake quietly
baking on an oven-lid. This gave him an
opening: he demanded his dinner and got
it. He was q more experienced general
than Mrs. Bruner. Mrs. Embree says she
thinks she remembers the incident more
particularly because of the peculiar Ian
guage in which the approach OF General
Harrison S'as announced. Ir was rather
stronger than she had been used to hear
ing. Y.
PRINCETON, Ind, April 81.