The sun., 1899-04-30
NEAR OR PAST A CENTURY.
SOME TERr OLD PEOPLE VINO ARE
dCIIVE AVID HEdLTHF.


Victor Hugos dictum that 40 ia the old age
OF youth - has lost its ront and his comrauion
assertion that so is the youth NJ old age" has
berome an anachronisn. The fart is that the
, VeraRr length of human life has been ex-
IA ided during the past century. Centcuarians
ara multiplying at remarkable rate. Many
men are so active and robust at 80 or 20 that
peopA do not think OF associatnR the idea Of
old an with them. Wider knowledge of the
laws Of health better methods Of living. have
added m any years to the period Of normal
activity. n, ID pushed forward 10y as many years
the time Of necessary retirement. Mr. Justice
Field. lately dead at the age c,f S3. brSks the
record and st rpassed John Marshall Tor con-
tinuous service on the Supreme Bench. Sena-
tor Harris Of N'nnessee was still in harness
when he died last July. age ~. SO WIS Justin
Smith Morrill, Of Vermont. tie father OF the
Senate, when he re Gently passed away in his
eighty eighth year.
Richard W. Thompson OF Indiana is still
living at 30. He Il said to be the one, man in
the United States who has So an all tie Presi-
dents except Washington and persona lyknown
most of them. lie was met nber of Congress
ms far back as Tyer's Presidt ncy. TIE mother
OF the late Secretary o. Stat Walter .. Gres-
ham celebrated tho ninetT-5 acond anniversary
OF her birth last fall at her h ONE in Lanesvie.
Harrison county. Ind Sh0 was in good health
and as spry as most women at so. She was
one OF the first white chldl1 n born In that part
of the Hoosier State FultN g first steamboat
voyage was made the year fter her birth. and
Thomas jefferson in is second term
President. Thus she has vii messed almost tho
entire growth and developIt ent Of the Ameri-
can nation. She may yet II We to bo 100 and
witness the advent of the tw 'ntieth century.
Hardly day passes that The papers do not
give accounts Of the life or death Of this or
that pioneer who has passed the century
mark. And ii may be pointed out that Indiana
gives a very good account OF or achievements
in this respect. There seems to be some pc
culiar quality In the Hoosier II r which is con-
ducive to longevity Alexander Ferguson.
aged 1O7 years. and his wife. aa:ed 93. are liv-
ing near Muucic. One day in March the old
couple went to Muncie and together climbed
three flights Of stairs in the Court House unas-
sisted. to defend themselves against charges Of
insanity which had been made by 75-year-.
old daughter.
GRANDMOTHER Medars OF the town OF
Brooklyn. near Martinsville. Ind. celebrated
the Tooth anniversary OF her birth last June.
At last reports in March she still in good
health. having recovered from the grip. AMI
there was good reason to believe that shp
would succeed In her determination to liv. q
few years longer. so that she would be able to
say she had lived in three centuries She is
firm believer in signs and omens. She sat u p
late several nights at the beginning OF hosti-
ties with Span. exercising her astrological
talents, and finally declared that the stars force
told success to the American arms She is tn
oldest living member OF a family reprcsente
by six living generations. she has two daughr
tiers living. aged II and 20; thirty living grand
children. eighty-two greatgrandchildren. ffL
teen Observation-Disclosures and one great-
ereat-great-grandson. lately born. Includin,t
her newborn descendant and herself she ha
seen nire generations OF her own family.
Should his life extend through the yeaI !:
1900 Walter Kerr. who has resided on farm ,
in Dearborn county. near Aurora, Ind. since :
1916. will be entitled to the distinction OF hav-
ing lived in three centuries. He was born in
North Carolina. Arril D. 1900. His life has
been active as tiatboatman and farmer. He
married In early manhood and is the father OF
I, Nn children, all living except one son. who was
XII. led during the siege of Vicksburg in 1853.
His youngest son is 54 and his eldest daughter
To- His wife died a few years ago at the age OF
e2. q be ages OF his family. living and dead.
aggreg Nte the sum Of 1913 years. The Kerrs
are all Nethodists Great preparations were
made for He celebration Of the old mans cen-
tennial thi Nmonth.
James Ma, IAN. aged 104 years. died at Wash
ipgton, Ind, last December. William Sloan
Green. one OF Iay county's celebrities. died at
Jonesboro. In,S. last winter. aged Ill. Mr..
Green had been married three times. and he
left -four generations. He was able to walk
to the polls and vNte last November, and for
the most part hat, always been rugged and
strong enough to ca rn his own living by physi-
cal labor He had his third set Of natures
teeth his eyesiRht WAS good until the last. and
he had always been 4 user OF whiskey and to-
bacco In moderation. He fought under Gen.
Harrison in the war OF 1872.
In October and NSvcn Der. 1903. this para
graph appeared in many papers: Five per
sons In Madison co ounty. Ind. furnish a gran
aggregate OF SGT years. They are: Mrs. Eliz; r
beth Carrolton. 1l1 years old (: Alexander Fe E,
guson, 107: Monroe Hedges. 105; Thorn Al
Wells. 104: Mrs. Julia Hamilton. 100" NJ rs
Carrolton and Alexander Ferguson Are
brother and sister. They were born in Cou htJ
Tyrone. Ireland. Hedges who was born. II
Kentucky. says he has 1000 living elat ives
The father OF Wells was a Revoutio nary sol
dier under Washington. Indiana soc as to bt
all right in the longevity line. d. ring the
present month John II. Reed of Wal tish cele
brated the Tooth anniversary Of his drth. HI
was born In PlattsburR. Va. In 1893.
Illinois. too. has a soil and climate mat pro
duce centenarians. Mrs. Mary totler o
Chillicothe. Peoria county. by her OWL methoc
of computation. is 115 years old. 'he doel
not remember the year In which she as born
but arrives at the sum OF her years In lLs way
She was 10 wears old when her parents moved
by wagon from Pennsylvania to Ohic ): at 2.
she was married. and twenty-five yea rs late
her husband died. her youngest chi III theI
being only three weeks old; this "b hby" II
now older than Mr.. Hampton. at whosb hous,
. the old lady lives. and Mr.. Hampton co nfesse
to having seen the SHOWS OF sixty-ave Tinters
Mrs Stotler bakes bread. smokes pip'
~ and than md DianA
quilts without the use Of spectacle u. II
the city OF Rockford. Mrs. Catherine Rice
better known as Aunt Kitty" cached
her one hundred and first birthday las sum
mer. It was then predicted that she woulc
survive to see the light of three centurie ). Sh
was mentally and physically strong. ace prdinI
TO the friends who called to pay their re Ipects
Four aged sisters in johnson county Ave al
aggregate age OF 343 years. or an aveI age o
more than eighty-fve years each. and tn py BIZ
fair TO remain on this earth for some bne Il
. coma THAR kinsfolk who number hRlf O