Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-04-29
4 HUNDRED AND TWENTY.
Joe StOkdard, of Durrah. : c., anC
Some Facts of His History.

Joe Stokdard, of Durrah. : c., and
Some Facts of His History.
There is very little room to doubt that
Joe Stoddard, living near Durrah. in
Lawrence County, $. c., is the Oldest
living man, and beyond all question he
is the oldest man in the United STATES.
His age is so great that he has no living
contemporaries. and to the oldest inhab-
liant besides himself of Lawrence equity
he has always been ''old Joe Stoddard "
To the few veterans of the Mexiian
War who still! live Joe Stoddard is an
antiquity. Certain it is that his birth
antedates the Revolutionary War some
years but lust how many neither he nor
any of his friends know, but roughly es-
timated, and a liberal allowance made
for the natural eXaggeration of slch
matters, he must be at least one hundred
and twenty-eight or one hundred and
thirty years of age. He his remarkable
for his lucidity of mind, and though he
can neither see, hear nor talk much,
what little he does say is clear and tothe
point. The following is the briefac-
count he gave of himself to a recent
visitor
Il know nothing of my father or
mother save as has been told me. From
what they told me | believe my mother
came from Virginia She was a negress
and slave. Ny father was full
blooded Indian and you see | look very
much more like his race than | do like
my mothers Just before | was born a
negro trader named Caleb Hughes,
bought my mother and started South
with her While going through South
Carolina he stopped awhile in Lawrence
| County, and there | was born and have
lived ever since. was sold at once to
man named Stoddard and lived with him
until | was freed Hughes took my
mother on and have never seen or heard
of her since. | have never known if
had any brothers or sisters.
Il can remember clearly one small in
cident of the Revolutionary War 1t is
this:
A man by the name of Archibald
Owings who had been engaged in war
and was on the colonial side. came home
on furlough, as he had terrible cough
Three English soldiers, while passing
his house, saw him and tried to capture
him. They chased him down creek
and would have caught him but for
short curve which hid Owings from their
sight a minute. He hid under a big
rock which jutted out over the creek
The soldiers were amazed at his disap-
pearance, and being hot and tired with
running, sat down on that same rock to
rest and talk about him Owings didn't
cough a single time while he was under
the rock, and so was undiscovered and
made his escape.
"a have been farmer all my life, but
am too feeble to work at all now
have been married twice, and my wife
takes care of and supports me. | am six
feet tall and weigh about 12j pounds.
Ny hair is eight inches long, and is as
white as cotton. | can't see, nor hear
nor talk to much account
With this he closed his lips firmly and
pretended to hear no other question that
was asked him. He refused positively
to have his photograph taken. and would
be deeply angered did he know that
sketch had been made of him. 1t had
to be made surreptitiously and hurriedly.
but no black and white sketch could
depict perfectly the picturesque appear
ance of this venerable old Afro Indian
as he sat in his big armchair Just within
his cabin door, the warm sunshine pour
ing in on him and making a halo around
his snowy locks.
His wife is a negress Of some fifty
years OF age. She supports her husband
by taking in washing, and with her own
hands cutiyates small garden and
small patch of tobacco. The tobacco is
for her own and her husbands use, and
she cures it herself the rafters of their
cabin. having punches of the drying plant
pendant from them. Through the re-
straining influence of her husband, of
whom she is palpably very proud, but
regards with sort of supcrstitious awe,
she is almost as reticent as Joe is him,
self.
Their cabin is neat and comfortable
and Joe has many comforts supplied him
by the white families in the ncighbor-
hood, among whom are many descend.
ants of Mr.. Archibald Owngs, the hero
Of Joe's Revolutionary War reminis-
cence. -. New York Advertiser