The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-04-21

A Man Who Claims to Be One Hundred
and Twenty-Five Years Old-Born In
l77*-smoIecs Eteu..a.i! ", but Has Been
Drunk Only Thee Times.
There is queer little old man in the
poorhouse suTLcrted BY Piscataway
township near New Brunswick, N. J.,
who claims to be the Oldest man in the
United States, ii not i'll the world, hav-
ing just com pleted his one hundred and
twenty fifth year He has been main
tanning for rs years that he passed the
century mark Gu April /, 1879, and
people who have listened to his life
story are struck by the truth of what
the old man says. 81 was 1873 years old
on April !, - says Noah Rally as soon as
he is engaged i'll conversation.
His story, in his own words, is this:
81 first saw the light in the little
village of Eatontown, Gates county, N.
O., April l, 1872. My fathers name
was Andrew Bass, and my mothers
Sara Raby. l never went to school. l
learned TO read from the Ola Testament
and hymn books, but could never write
even my own name. When | was 6
years old, l began to smoke. NV moth
er used to let me light her pipe for her,
and grew to like the smoke and would
sometimes smoke it myself. 1t never
made me sick, and l have smoked 1870
years. / have drunk whisky as often as
have smoked, and it overcame me on
ly three times
"When we lived i'll Carolina, my
mother had house made of pitch pine
poles, notched i'll the end and plastered
with mud. When l was years old,
my mother married, and I was bound
out to farmer, who lived in Virginia
just over the line. He had lots Of slaves
One, known as Big Tom, was the stron-
gest man | ever saw. The old man was
offered lots Of money for him, but he
didn't believe i'll selling slaves.
when l was 21, Widow Penelope
Parker took me to work with her.
staid with her for five years, and she
paid me $500 year. Then l went to
work for her daughter-in-law, Sarah
Parker. She owned a big plantation
with a whole lot of slaves. 1 thought
possibly l could marry her, and it
would all be mine. This plan was all
right, but we were never married. l
was afraid to ask her
Gone day my half brother came to
see me. told him that 1 was in love,
and he advised trip to sea- I went
without settling up my accounts Later
l got leave of absence and came back.
The young woman paid me in full and
asked why left so suddenly. l up and
told her, and then she said:
Faint heart never won fair lady,
why didn't ] marry her then? Good
reason-the man who took my place as
overseer of the plantation had married
her two weeks before. never fell in
love again and have always thought
myself lucky that l didn't. l wouldn' It
have lived so long perhaps.
''When l was i'll Norfolk, I heard
General Washington speak. l don't re-
member just what he was talking
about, but | know he was angry. One
thing he said has stuck in my head ever
since. 1t was:
Go on, fellow citizens, as you
have been going on, and l assure you
we shall have the devil to pay i'll this
republic, and no pitch hot. That's
what he said, and no mistake.
Il didn't want to go to war, so left
the navy. I've lost my discharge papers,
and I'm sorry, fer could have got a
pension by them, and then they'd have
proved my age. I've nothing to COM
plain Of now. I've had. enough to eat
all my life and had coed time too. "
On April Noah had many callers
to congratulate him on reaching SO great
an age. He looks forward to his birth
days with pleasure. New York Jour
-.
fI,n