The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-07-27
he REMEMBERS THE WAR OF 1912

Eighty Pour OF His Children, GRANDCHILDREN
and Great Grandchildren stnl Live.
10 is questionable whether there isany
man living in the District of Columbia
who is the ancestor of az large an OIL
spring ~ il Hiram Lorcnzadow Amiss
the venerable father Of Lieut.. Amiss, OF
the First police precinct. The stalwart
old man. who il now in his ninety y-fourth
year. is proud of having lived To be- the
progrnitor Of l2G persons, aud from pres
ent Indications he is likely To see his al
ready ripe old age considerably increased.
a. he is in perfect health and in far bet
ter physical condition than many men
half his age.
Hiram Lorenzadow Amiss was the
father Of twenty children shad iiity-iive
grandchildren, and iiity-one greatgrand-
children. making the total OF 2G Eight
Of his own children are living, thirty-five
Of his grandchildren. and forty-one oi his
great-grandchidren. In other words, he
has eighty-four children, grandchildren,
and atgrandchildren alive and well.
The old man occasionally calls at the
First precinct station to see his son.
Lieut. Amiss. For the past twenty-five
years he has allowed no one but Lieut..
Amiss To cut his hair, and about twice n
month he comes to the station and seats
himself in a chair, while the lieutenant
becomes for a time a barber, and armed
with comb and scissors trims the half
silvercd locks of his father.
The old gentleman was born in Amiss-
vile. Rappahannock county, Va, Deem
her I, 1907, and member of the well
known Virginia family from which Amiss-
VILE has its name. He was II farmer,
like his father and all the Amiss family,
and when twenty-one years of age mar
ried farmers daughter in the neighbor-
hood. Miss Emily Eliza Young, who
was then only seventeen.
OF the twenty children born to them
twelve lived TO be men and women.
Il remember seeing the soldiers com
ing back from the war Of 1912, said the
old man at the First precinct station a
few days ago Il was then only a very
little fellow, but have a distinct recol-
lection of the rejoicings at the defeat OF
the British. and little later the great
popular rejoicing over the victory OF
Jackson at New Orleans OF course, |
have no recollection of names or particu-
lar facts relating to those days, but in a
general way remember the happenings
which might be called important.
The venerable Mr. Amss is a peaceably
disposed man, and has not been mixed
up in any warlike transactions during his
long career. He was n farmer, and re-
mained so until he came. to Washington
to visit Lieut.. Amiss and other members
of the family several years ago.
81 am going to have the greatest treat
of my life beginning on August 18th,
said Mr.. Amiss. my son Joe il the pre-
siding elder of the Methodist church in
the Amissvlle district, and he is going
to conduct a series of camp-meetings in
the old-fashioned Methodist style
throughout that section, beginning Au-
gust Il. He has asked me to go with
him. and | am going. We will make
things lively in the way OF singing Mt
those camp-meetings. / used to have
pretty good camp-meeting voice in my
day, and | am going to sing with the
best of them.
at will be n great thing for an old fel-
low like me to go through the scenes OF
boyhood and childhood again, and visit
places that saw over sixty or seventy
years ago. Do | know every inch OF it?
Well. would like to find the fellow who
could lose me down there, even at this
time of my life. "
Mr.. Amiss is of solid build and about .
feet 8 inches in height. Any person might
guess his age at So years, though he is
nearly 30 years older. The officers of the
First precinct have the greatest affection
for the old man, and all display the most
kindly interest in his welfare. When he
comes around the station-house to see his
son there is nothing too ogood for the "old
man." according 10 the parlanee of the
officers. OF course, he still looks upon
Lieut.. Amiss as his boy" and refers to
him as if he was juvenile.
As "a narrator of what took place " be-
fore the war in Virginia" the venerable
Lorenzadow Amiss has few equals, and
the policemen take great pleasure in hear
inghis stories of bygone days.-Washing-
ton Post.
This venerable man is the father OF Rev.
j. II. Amiss, presiding elder of the Rap
pahannock district Of the Methodist
church. Another son, Lieut.. Amiss, mar