The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-31

cial from Anderson, Ind, says: Hid
den among the tangle and briars of the
knobs of Jackson county is a wee
| settlement which is known to the pass
er-by as Sparksville. Here, since 1916
| has lived a maiden lady known for
| miles around as Aunt Bettie.'' Aunt
Bette is the towns reputation Her
name is Elizabeth Bowling, and she
| has the distinction of living 101 years
without knowing the soothing inf1u-
| ence of a lovers kiss, without dream
| ing loves dream, without, in short
| having married. For years she has
laid claim, or rather her friends have
been claiming, that she is the Oldest
old maid in America. Every day she
| can be seen hobbling around the little
| old log cabin that stands upon the
! hill, doing little chores and feeding
few pet Shanghai roosters. Those
roosters are her greatest care; the
brambles that bound the horizon very
near to the little home are the Imita-
| tions of her world. A mile distant
the cars whistle and fly by. She has
seen them once or twice, but she has
| she vows that all the people of Sparks
| vile could not get her into the con-
| traptions. Down the hill lies what
| there is of Sparksville, but she has not
passed beyond that gate for twenty
years. She sees the sun come up and
she sees the sun go down out Of her
own good eye as she sits pulling away
at her old pipe.
But Aunt Bette Dowling's greatest
reputation lies in the fact that she is
an old maid. Her conversation is
somewhat incoherent, but she can re-
| member, with the aid of an eighty
year-old sister, that she had two beaus.
| That was many years ago. They took
Ia her to one or two husking bees and
log rollings, but that was the extent
of her attentions. She objects to being
interviewed on the matrimonial ques-
ton, and is decidedly touchy on all
such questions. She, however, goes
far enough occasionally to raise her
bony finger and, while shaking 1T,
warn girls not to get married. But
for all that the subject is one she does
not delight to linger on very long.
of hearing their parents and grand
parents talk about her state that at
one time she was quite good looking
and could have had many of the fell
lows as her suitors if she had encour-
aged them.
aunt Bette" was born in Kentucky,
Aug. II, 1896. She was twenty years
of age when Indiana territory was
opened in earnest and she came North
with four families and settled within
three miles of where she lives now ana
where she will die. She has never been
outside of Jackson county since then.
She was one of eleven children. All
lived to ripe old ages, but she survives
them all but one. Her parents lived to
be past eighty years of age ana her
grandparents on both sides also lived
to ripe old age Education was an
unknown science to them and she can
not read or write. When her memory
brightens up she talks very entertain
inely On pioneer life, telling or her
father and brothers killing bears, pan
theirs and other wild animals which
have not been known in Indiana for
over half a century. She never had her
picture taken until three months ago.
There is only one copy of it, and the
accompanying cut is a reproduction of
that one Miss Bowling is good for
few years more. She will probably be
able to pull through into another CEN
tury. She knows nothing about time,
distance or the world.
PIONEER OF INDIANA.
In Tyrone county, Ireland, in 1885,
Elizabeth Ferguson first opened her
eyes. They are growing dim now and
her mental faculties are failing. She
is lying in a bed at the home Of
son-in-law at Frankton, Madison coun-
ty, Ind. loaded down with a burden OF
years Death is expected to come and
relieve her any moment. She has
mcst interesting history, which covers
mere than century. Her father and
two brothers came to this country in
1900 and working through the East,
accumulated enough money to bring
the mother and Elizabeth over. They
then managed to get five more of the
family of twenty children over and
started West. She was in the East and
we'll remembered the war of 1872. She
saw the living presidents of that date
and she later saw Lafayette when he
the party started West. They crossed
the Alleghanies on foot and coming
down to about where the great city Of
Pittsburg now is located built canoes
and launched them in the Ohio, floating
night and day with the current. One
morning they stopped on sandbar
and seeing a nice looking hill on the
opposite side Of the river decided to
make 1t their home. 1t was located
about twenty miles up the river from
where Cincinnati now stands. A few
wears later-about 1S25-they started
for Indiana, coming through by aid of
a compass. They all located in Madi-
son county and were among the first
and best known of Eastern Indiana
settlers. Elizabeth was married once
and had family of thirteen children,
most of whom are now dead.
Aunt Bette Ferguson" comes from
a remarkable family. Her mother
lived to be eighty-six and her father
ninety-six. She has brother now
living who is 107, and one died last