The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-06-15
IMMIGRANT 1O7 YEARS Old
BRINGS A son OF SEVENTY AND
GRANDSON OF FIFTY.
From Europe Great -Great-Grandfath-
er Arrives and Goes West to
Grow Up With Country.

from Europe NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
err Arrives and Goes West to
Grow Up With Country.
A unique procession of immigrants
passed out of the iron gates of the
Barge Office landing at the Battery
Saturday. At the head was a white
haired little man of leatherly COM
plexion, wearing large bone-rimmed
spectacles. He scorned the assist
ance of his gray-haired son and his
grandson, a youngster of so. The
alert, parchment faced little man is
Peter Bekel, the Oldest immigrant
that ever has been admitted into this
port. He arrived with a son, George,
aged 20, and grandson, Frederick,
and Frederick's two children, who
are under 20.
The Ellis Island inspectors were
inclined to stop Frederick, who led
the Bekel tribe from the barge that
landed them at the island from the
Cunarder Lusitania. He looked at
his age, and there is tradition of
the Osler sort that a man after 60
has no right to seek pastures new.
Frederick referred the inquirers to
his father, just astern.
"How about it, pop?" Maj. Sem
sey, who speaks all the languages
of Europe, asked the venerable
George Bekel. Frederick's father
smiled and remarked that he re-
GREETED that he could not stand spon-
sor for Frederick, but that he would
have to pass the problem up to the
real head Of the family, the leathery
little alert pioneer, Great-great-
grandfather Peter, aged 107.
Maj. Semsey had seen Irish immi-
grants of the tender age of so who
spoke nothing but Gaelic, the only
language the major does not know,
but he never had seen a centenarian.
He could not recall that there was
any age limit on immigrants. While
he was meditating the head of the
family drew from a large and very
fat pocketbook a lot of money and
securities, the total value of which
was $4,000. This he thought might
indicate that ne did not intend to be
a burden on the community.
son Frederick then Strengthened out
things. The centenarian was farm
er in southern Russia. His son
Georges son had gone away to North
Dakota many years ago, and had
reared children and grandchildren.
George felt the call of the west, and
preached the subject of immigrating
to America TO Peter. The centena-
rian had a strong desire to look at
those Yankee youngsters he had
heard about, and finally after half a
years consideration a proper Ger
man intermission, decided that he
would cross the Atlantic and grow
up with the new country. He is a
Mennonite, hard worker and a man
of proper piety, as his son also is.
This is why the head of the family
had charge of the funds. They alone
would have admitted him, but he had
also affidavits from his grandsons,
who are prosperous farmers in North
Dakota, that they are willing and
able to take care of Great-great-
grandfather Peter for the rest of his
days, which, judging from the ap-
pearance of the little man yesterday,
may some time make him the oldest
man that ever has lived in America
The family says it has the record to
prove that he is just as old as he
says.
Great-great-gran Peter said
he rather liked sea travel, particular
ly on so swift a ship as the Lusita-
MIA, which he had heard was much
faster than the ships that used to
bring folks here when lie was a boy.
He said he had seen Halley's comet
several times on the trip, and de-
clared that it was not nearly so i'm
pressiVe as the same visitor when it
came before. He could not recall
having seen it the time before that
but he heard his father, who died
at the age Of los, talk about comets
of tremendous power He himself
had seen many other comets much