Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-03-09
Vas Once C0r0mQted
Queen of Oregon

/
army.
Judge Williams was called for. H
narrated the circumstances in tina
clear and comprehensive way SO char
acteristic of him and repeated verba
tim the address which he had deliv
cred at the coronation. This was re
markable for a man "a years Of age
Tt was as follows: "On behalf o
the citizens of Portland and as a par
of the celebration Of the 131st ami
versary of the declaration of indepen
dence, I have the honor of crownins
you as mother queen of Oregon, so fa
as advanced years and the respect ant
veneration of the people can max,
you such queen. AS young mai
of "a years of age am proud Of thu
opportunity to confer this distinction
upon lady who is old enough to bt
my grandmother.
81 do not believe there is another
person now living in this country who
was living as you were when George
Washington was inaugurated presi
dent of the United States.
81 congratulate you upon the pleas
ure you must feel in meeting youl
friends and neighbors who have as.
sembled to do you honor, and I hope
you may have that peace which the
world cannot give in the closing
scenes of your long and eventful
life"
Some months afterward the Judge
told me that he had received numer-
GUS inquiries from all parts of the
union as to the correctness of the As
sociated Press story. 1t was his
pleasure to corroborate ii.
Since then three other mother
queens have been elected by the Pho
neer association and it has been made
an honorary Office in that organiza-
tion. Texas followed our example
and elected most estimable lady 105
years of age.
At II years of age Grandma Wood
joined the Methodist Episcopal
church, so that her membership there
in overlapped full century by about
eight years.
Our state historian, Mr.. Geo. H.
Haines, attended the 118th anniver-
sary of her birth. Her pastor and
many friends were present. AS they
were about to part someone asked her
if she had preference as to what
hymn they should sing: She said:
Sing when Can Read My Title
Clear to Mansions in the Sky" Tt
was sung with great fervor and i'm
and many eyes were
moist.
She was herself no mean singer. A
few months after her coronation my
son had a desire to see her. He took
I present to her and she volunteered
o sing for him. Of course her voice
was cracked, but there was weird
about it. 1t seemed to
lin like voice of the past.
To show the remarkable retention
If her mentality, Hon. C. f. Runyon,
,ur veteran court reporter, relates
hat at the age of 116 she was called
o the witness stand relative to a land
'ase, some circumstances of which
lad occurred a half lifetime before.
No cross-questioning could confuse
Ter. She answered with clearnesstthe
questions.
Naturally the question would arise
Is to the correctness of her claim to |
such great age, so Hon. Thomas H.
Tongue. congressman from Oregon,
listed Knoxville, and, after examina-
ion of records and historical data,
vas fully satisfied as to the correct
less of her age. Her mother lived
o be 10 years of age. Her children
I'll passed away, none reaching the
Ige of 90.
She was twice married: To Jacob
lemons in 1904, who died in 1889, and
o John Wood, in 1854. He died in
874 She lived for brief periods, af-
er leaving Tennessee, in Alabama,
ieorgia and Missouri. From the lat
er state she came to Oregon at the
ge of So. She rode on horseback
most of the way.
She reached the age of Moses; per-
APPS passed it. On the first day of
anuary, 1908, the white soul of the
ear old saint winged its way quickly
nd silently to the immaterial realm
he elysian fields-God's paradise
0 begin the new, glad unending year
4 the abiding home of the good and
rue.