The Irish standard., 1892-04-30
A WHITE NEGRO.
One Of the Most Remarkable Cases
Of the Age.
An Aged African Who Gradually Changed
from Deep Black to a Deadly
White-A Puzzle to the
Doctors.

For many years one of the most fa-
miliar and well-known figures on the
streets of Westminster. Md, has been
Abraham Ireland, Familiarity known to
, both old and young as Uncle Abram,"
a Woodworking, industrious colored
| man, kind and genial in disposition and
unobtrusive in manner, says special
from Westminster to the Baltimore Sun.
Until recently he enjoyed excellent
| health After short illness of pneu-
| monia, following an attack of the grip,
he died the other morning at o'clock,
in the eighty third year of his age. To
the younger generation of Westminster
he was probably not SO great curiosity
| as to the older ones, who remember him
in his younger days as having shiny,
let black skin, with every indication OF
his pure African lineage, and his grad
ual change to a pure white has been
constant source of speculation and Curl
osity. The ahange was not sudden
one, but very gradual, and no change in
his feelings or health was the least no.
ticeable. He was born at ''Soldiers'
w.
Palm Sunday, 1909, of slave parents,
and was the property of Nicholas Lowe,
who sold him to Amos Love- with whom
he moved to Finksburg, Carroll county.
When fifteen years old his master sold
him to Mr.. Andrew Powder, of West
minister, with whom he learned the tan
J ners trade and lived until he was forty
five years old He worked at his trade
until 1870, but did not think the tan had
any effect on his color, as other colored
| men worked in the same yard without
any change of complexion.
Both his parents were full-blooded
Africans, very black, as are all of his
children, his son David one of the most
prominent colored men in the town,
having rich mahogany complexion
The first change noticeable in Abraham
was white spot which appeared on his
cheek about thirty years ago, then on
his forehead and one wrist, the white
spots appearing on different parts of his
body and gaining for him the title OF
leopard" The spots then increased
rapidly, finally coming together, until
his entire body was of a sickly white,
APPLY described by Hucl Finn in Mark
Twain's famous hook, as "fsh-belly
white The change was complete and
permanent, no fading from black to
white nor shading Of color, bat pure,
unmistalxable white. His head is per-
fectly bald and of the same deadly
white as the rest of his body. A. few
spots of colo3 have appeared in recent
years upon his face and these he at
tributes to sunburn, Els his life has been
spent principally out of DOORS His body
was whittier than his face or bands.
There has never appeared to be any
skin disease or unpleasant itching sen
sarion, and the old man at last sue
cu1nbed to the hand Of death, as SO
many others have done in the last year,
from cold and the prevailing grip, his
bodily health in every way being still
unimpaired. While puzzling the med
ical fraternity Abraham attracted the
attention of the public and received sew
eral offers to place himself Oh exhibition
in dime museums, and also received a
very hattering offer from the veteran
Snowman, 2. T. Barnum, but these he
declined, preferring g quiet life with his
son, never caring for notoriety. A few
years ago Mrs Jacob Eldridge, of
Howell, Mich, similar freak, died in
that state and attracted considerable
attention. She wbs also Of full African
blood, her grandfather having come
from Guinea, and her experience Of the
change from colored to white per-
son was similar to that of ''Uncle
Abram,'' suffering no inconvenience nor
showing any signs of a skin disease.
She was the only other case known to
the public up TO the present time.