Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-01-07
THIS WOMAN IS 1874
YEARS OF AGE
Mary Mcdonald of Philadelphia
Has Of Course Led a
Quiet Life.
MAY BE OLDEST IN woRLu
Remembers tho Revolutionary War
and Has a Good, Accurate Rec
objection of the Struggle
Is Very Delicate.

Philadelphia, Pa, special: Mary Nc
Donald, the oldest woman IN the world.
has just celebrated her hath birthday.
The written records snow beyond all
question that the woman was more
than an infant at the time of the revo-
l%utionary war, and all Of her important
statement as to historic happenings
within her personal memory have been
fully verified by Daughters of the
American Revelation.
Whether she is 1877 years old or only
1874 Is q point hat hinges entirely on
her age at the time she was placed In
the family Of Reese Howell, near Valley
Forge. From Mr.. Howell she learned
that she was I years old when he got
her. But other members of the Howell
family told her that she was but 4
years old when she was placed with
them, 1Sl year ago. There Ia abso-
lutely no doubt as to the time when h
went 10 live at Howell's. near Valley
Forge. The date was November Ia.
1772.
There she saw the army of Washing
ton in the trying days of 1777 and
177S. when the revolutionary forces
were camped near Valley Forge, the
topography of Which section She knows
perfectly today, although h has not
visited the scene in cad
Early Valley Forge.
She recalls Isaac Walker n a
dozen other early settlers in Valley
Forge. Her recollections as to Isaac
Walker are clear. Local history shows
that he was a descendant of Lewis
Walker, who settled In the township In
1105, and Governor Pennypacker, in his
annals of Phoenixville," mentions
Walker as the owner Of the ground
upon which the old blacksmith shop
the original Valley Forge--was built, a
fact previously stated by Mary McDon-
aid from her personal recollectiOns Of
the place and its surroundings. De-
s~cendants Of Lewis Walker still own
the place. which has been much talked
of as a site for a national park.
Mary Mcdonald more than four
score years ago described how the
Wnlkers-Isaac. Joseph and jacob
who We're members standing high in
the councils OF the Society Of Friends,
Ind who were much opposed to fighting
for any cause, fed the hungry Con-
t~inentals, clothed them and devoted
much time n money to caring for the
sick and injured among them.
Within a few years Mrs. Sarah Will
Jams, a granddaughter Of Isaac Walker
and a Friend. was asked to verify the
statement OF Mary Mcdonald al to
Isaac Walker collecting supplies for
the revolutionary soldiers at Valley
Forge, and as to the accuracy of her
description Of the removal of Washing
toms rmy stores from the camp at
White Marsh to Valley Forge. This
Mrs. Walker was able to do by family
records in her possession, most of them
being letters that passed between the
brothers who became separated at the
time of the war.
Stories Are Accurate.
While Mary Mcdonald was living
with the Howells, at their place near
the king of Prussia, which is on the
direct line from the Gulph to Valley
Forge, the army crossed from White
Marsh, at Conshohocken, then en-
camped at the Gulph. from December
II to December 10, 1877, before pro-
ceeding to Valley Forge. The army
Prussia, where Mary Mcdonald saw
them.
Her recount of the times corre-
spends with the well-authenticated
stories published in current text
books. In recalling her personal i'm
pressions she says: THE guns were
always going off and skeered us at
night" This corresponds with the
fact that there was constant skir-
mishing in h neighborhood Of Phila-
delphia In the autumn and winter Of
l777-7S.
The soldiers were always going
up and own the road by our place. all
dressed up in buttons" This last sug-
gestion identified the Continental uni
form. These soldiers came around
twice a week to collect the stun our
folks had made ready for them. All
the women round the place worked for
them and fixed up stun for them
to eat. Them was awful days" These
statements correspond with the ira
ditions Of the White Marsh valley.
Mary Mcdonald. today, weighs only
eighty pounds. and is SO frail, that the
nurses who look after her are afraid
that she will break. She is blind and
her only joy in life is her pipe, which
h smokes necessarily. Her birthday
parties are h only events in her
life.