Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-21
. RECORD HARD TO BEAT
Hale and Hearty Man of Or Cats
10000 Poles and Wins Sew
cra1 Fortunes.

Isaac Meservey of Northport, Me-. II one
or the most hearty nonagenarians in New
England.
He was born in Albion. April 81, 1916. and
is the last survivor OF the thirteen children
OF his father. John Meservey. the shoe
make of the town. He is one OF the Cali
fornia '49ers, has crossed the isthmus eight
times. He has experienced every species
of travellers ~hardships, was wrecked on
the Mexican coast and lost In the Sierra
Nevadas. endured the deprivations Of forest
and mining camp, made and lost five COM
Portable fortunes and is now alone In the
world. passing the days reslgnedly In keep
ing house with a male relative.
But he is in good health, reads without
glasses, his hearing is but slightly impaired,
and he is cheerful, contented and ever rem
infscent.
IS He went to San Fransico in 1919, arriving
there on December 1. and went to work for
the Putnam brothers from Aroostook
county, saving shingles, at Redwood.
Shingles were then worth $50 a thousand,
while wages were s16 a day for anyone who
could drive a nail or swing an axe.
Work as a miner, prospectOr and cook
in a restaurant and a winters illness,
brought him to the spring Of 1851, when
he got a three years contract to furnish
timber for a mining company. He cleaned
up 5000.
The mine gave out, but in the belief that
the vein of another would be found, the
company kept on. and Meservey continued
to cut timber. In two months he lost all
he had made.
Successes and failures followed, but such
was the passion for gold that nobody
wanted to give up until he had made a
fortune. Money was plenty and free-with
those who had any-and everybody thought
1t would last forever.
In 1853 Mr.. Meservey started for home on
the steamer Winfield Scott, which ran on
the rocks OF an island thirty-six hours out
from San Francisco. For several days the
700 on board were put on an allowance Of
one ounce of food a day, and at last had
nothing to drink but vinegar mixed with
salt water. They were rescued by another
steamer.
In S. Mr.. Meservey again started for
the Pacific, taking his wife and son with
him., but the wife died soon after arrival,
and he was left alone in California with
his boy OF 10 years.
Vicissitudes followed until 1862, when he,
with his son, took a load OF lumber by
train to Aurora. where he built mills for a
mining company.
In 1853 Mr.. Meservey lost every donar
OF what was a good fortune for those days.
In 1854 he lost his son. The next year
he came home to Bangor with less than
5000. After farming in Delaware he went
back to California and sold one of his best
teams to a Bangor man in Aurora, taking
his note for $3.50, which has never beer
paid. In 1878 he settled in Carson City. HI
was hurt on the railroad In 1874 and the
company gave hkAl a job as night watch.
man. He came home for good IN 1877.
In 1880 Meservey married Lizzie A
George of Bangor and settled on a farm
about three miles out Of the city. The
buildings were burned a few years later
and he bought another farm in Hermon
from whence he moved to Winterport in
1884, and to Northport in 1896. His wife
died last June.
In the winter of 1866 Mr.. Meservey
went into the woods alone and cut 1000
hoop poles and brought them out on hi
back through from eighteen to twenty-fouI
inches Of snow to the teaming road. H,
chopped more the next winter, and a few
in the fall of 1907.
Late in the autumn of 1907 he had oc
= casion to go to Belfast on business, fiv,
and one-half miles. and walked both ways
, Mr.. Meservey has never used tobacco
a and has drank liquor but moderately. H
, is stalwart of frame. and his strong feat
ures, illuminated by eyes ~undimmed, ar
surmounted by a wealth OF thick and bush
white hair.-Boston Globe.