The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-22
DROWNED AT 1913 YEARS.
John Gomez Did Not Have Chance
to Die of Old Age.


to Die of Old Age.
From the Fort Myers (Fia) Press.
Word reaches US from our Evergiade
correspondent that old John Gomez, the
centenarian, had been drowned while fish
ing, on Thursday, July z, and his body
had been recovered the following Satur-
day much decomposed, and buried on his
! island, Panther Key, where he had lived
| for many years. 1t is a strange fate
! that a man should have lived TO age
! that is granted 90 but few, to have es-
capped disc ase and accidents for a period
! of 123 years, and at last TO meet his death
ia an unnatural way, by drowning. The
fact that he was out on the waters of the
Gulf fishI al the time he m his death,
is evidence hat the old man was still Wig
orous enough 10 get about, and it is pos
sible that he may have lived another ten
years had he not met with the sad acc.
dent which resulted in his death
That he was one of the Oldest. if not the
oldest citizen of the United States, at the
time of his death, there can scarcely be
any doubt. His story has been known for
t years to cur citizens, and fer over Ten
years he and his wife have been wards
of the county, the County Commissioners
on many occasions making personal inves-
legations about the old man. and for over
ten years have paid him the sum Of IS per
month fran the county funds.
John Gomez, in telling the story of his
life TO a Press representative in May
1885, stated that he was a native of Por-
tugal, and went from the island of Ma
deira to France. while very young. After
ward he went a cabin boy on vessel
sailing to ths country, but the captain
of the bark was so cruel to him that he
ran away when the bark arrived AT Char
| lesion, S. c. From there he came 10 st.
Augustine, Fla, long before the Spanish
flag ceased to wave over the fort. He
said while in France he saw Napoleon
Bonaparte on dress parade many times.
He said he had been married but once
and, looking at his aged wife, ironically
said, that was once too often" He had
never had any children. He was "A mem
Der of the Roman Catholic Church, and
exhibited his crucitix with pride. The is
land upon which he lived was distant
about fifteen miles from the Marco post
office. which was his address. AT the time
of this interview with him he was over
lis years of age which would have made
him over 122 years old at the time of his
death He said he had never taken a
dosAof medicine in his life, and always
had GOOD health until within the last few
years, when he had been troubled with
rheumatism.
John Gomez in physical makeup, was
a short heavy set man, with head of
heavy curly hair, which had once been
black but was then silvered all over. He
had large, dark eyes, fairly well preserv-
ed, and bore marks of having been rath-
er a handsome man. He served in the
Seminole War from 1885 to 1887, under
Gen. Taylor, and was in the famous
Okeechobee battle which was fought
Dec %, 1887. at the edge of Lake Okee-
chobee. His wife halls from Glynn county,
Georgia, and is over seventy years old.
The remarkable age attained by John
Gomez, who spent so many years of his
life on his island home on the Gulf
coast, Is proof that this coast is extreme
~ healthful and the climate conducive to
| lnngeNifN.