St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-16
EAST SEVENTH STREET, Between Robert and Jackson

over several elephants, canlelS, etc., he
slipped. Then he thought it was time
to quit. At the age of nineuy-three he
is in almost perfect health, AMI he and
his wife-once an eQueStrienne of note
are among the pleasaEtest people in
their neighborhood.
John DateSman, of West Milton, Union
county, Pa, is by far the oldest mer-
chant in the SusQuehanna region and
the oldest postmaster IN the United
States, if not in the world. He was born
Aug. 80 1910. was married in 1881, and
appointed postmaster (the first there at
West Milton in 1885. He has held the
place ever since, and was notified by the
Washington authorities short time ago
that he was the oldest in the service.
He owned the fan IN on which the village
of West Milton was built, and estab-
liShed there the first store, which is now
run by his son. He and his wife cele-
brated their siXtieth wedding annlver.
sary in 1891, OIL which occasion their
four sons and three daughters were
present. They have lost none by death.
There is a dispute as to who is the
Oldest lawyer i'll active practice in the
United States, but his friends claim
that honor for Robert III. Folger, of
MasSilOn, o. He was born in Chester
county, Pennsylvania, in 1872 was adj
mitted to the bar in 1912 and located at
.. Massillon, where he has since re-
manned. He is a son of the
once noted navigator, Capt. Mayhem
Foiger, the man who discovered the
surviving mutineers of the British ship
Bounty i'll their island retreat. and has
in his possession the log book of his
fathers ship, the Topaz, with the entry
of that discovery made by his father.
He is still in practice. Col. Richard w.
Thompson. of Terre Haute, Iud., was
admitted to the bar In 1884. but has not
been i'll active practice for some yearS.>
The Oldest man III New England is
John Francis lie Maistre. and, as he did
good deal of farm work till six years
ago. he must be set down as the oldest
farmer. He was born on the island of
Jersey. April 4, 1854, and is, therefore,
in his one hundred and ninth year. AT
the age of fifteen he emigrated to st.
Nerness, Quebec. i'll 1880 he married,
1881, he went to Vermont to
live with his daughter. His ago -.6f,
itself makes him curiosity, but still
more the remarkable preservation Of
his faculties. At one hundred he could
do a good half-day'S work in the field,
but has failed fast since then. His
hearing comes and goes. as he saws, and
until this year he could read without
glasses. He is still straight and toler-
ably vigorous. His grandfather died at
one hundred and ten, but his father was
lost at sea i'll early manhood.
Among our public men we can boast
some veterans, indeed. Simon Cameron
died June 20, 1889, aged ninety years,
two months and eighteen days. Hanni-
bal Hamlin died at eighty-two. The
author of the Morrill, tariff Is still vigor-
Gus at eighty-two. John Sherman has
been extremely active in politics
and law for forty-eight years. He
has served four years in the cab
met. six in the house and twenty
eight in the senate, and if you want
any testimonials that he is still vigorous
you can get plenty of them from the
Democrats of Ohio and the adverse fac
ton of Republicans. There is no evil
dence that he thinks of retiring. Jeffer-
son Davis was never a Stalwart man.
and was anything but a good insurable
risk" in 1851. yet he lived ten years
beyond the psalmist's allotment. Really,
there is no sort of doubt that we mod
erns are much longer lived than were
the ancients.