The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-09-05

from the truth, for memories are us1-
ally hazy in the extremely old, and
the relatives, friends, and neighbors
of these patriarchs seem always ready
to exaggerate their antiquity.
He then cites numerous examples
of longevity which proved to be
greatly exaggerated. A few years ago
a Kentuckian named John Shell re-
ceived considerable notOriety as being
131 years of age, but a somewhat
searching inquiry revealed him to be
not more than 100, if he were even
that.
In 1904 a Russian newspaper calmly
reported the death at the advanced
age of $50 of woman named Therese
Abalva. Another Russian newspaper
in 1926 was more modest, for 1t al
lotted only 1873 years to Ivan Tretya,
a peasant of ROstov. A Hungarian
farmer, Peter Zortay or Torton, ex-
ceeded them all for he was supposed
to have been 1S5 when he died in
1924: as was also st. Monagh, whose
death occurred in 1871. Some months
ago Henri Barbusse, the French au-
thor, recounted his visit in Georgia
in Transcaucasia to NikOlai Andreye-
witch Shapkovsky, who was reputed
to be between 142 and 147.
One of the most famous of the very
aged persons of history was Old Parr,
who was said to have been born in
England in 1883 and to have died
there in 1885. He was working as
farm laborer at the age of 152 when
an interested nobleman, the earl of
Arundel. took him to London and put
him on exhibition where he died a
short time later. John Taylor, known
as the water Poet" got out a book
called 1.-THE Olde, Olde, Very Olde
man." in which he extolled this long
life in prose and verse.
Thomas Parr was said to have been
interval to have become the father of
a child. When he died in 1885, the
celebrated William Harvey, discover
er of the circulation of the blood, per-
formed an autopsy on him and found
his general condition good, though the
brain cells were somewhat worn. A
reprint of Taylor's book was issued
by James Caulfield of London in 1894.
Old PARIS unusual age was accepted
until 1873 when w. ]. Thoms, deputy
librarian of the house Of lords, made
a real investigation of the case and
concluded that about fifty years had
been improperly tackled on to the ac-
tual life of Parr. The gentleman was
a real centenarian, but little more
than that.
notorious long-lifers. A certain coun-
tess of Desmond was credited with
40 years, but the doubling librarian
showed that the ages of two separate
countesses of the same name had been
added together; instead of one person
living to 40 years, two women had
each lived about 20. Thoms examined,
in all, % cases of alleged longevity
and found that none of the records
sustained the contentious of centena-
rianism.
A writer familiar with Mr.. Thom's
iconoclasm on this subject, John B.
Bailey, wrote a book in 1888 which he
called Modern Methuselahs," and in
it he cited a number of instances of
well-known centenarians and nonge-
narians.
He began with st. Anthony, who
was said to have lived to 1O5. but
most of his other examples, such as
the Emperor Cantacuzenus of the
Fourteenth century, Pletho. Cornaro,
| Titan, De Fontenelle and Amory,
were only 80 or 100. The author,
however, did list dozen cases which
he believed to have been actually 100
years old or more.
One of the best surveys of centena.
rians was made in 1899 by T. r.
| Young, former president Of the Brit.
| ish Institute Of Actuaries. At that
| time he could find only % indisputable
instances of such aged persons, but
in a second edition, published in 1905,
| he added eight more. The longest au.
| thentic life he could discover was one
of nearly III years. Mr.. Young dis.
| cusses all of the previous works on
longevity, of which there had been a
| considerable number, such as the
works of Flourens in 1855, Of Pinney
| in 1856 and Of Humphrey in 1889, as
| well as that Of Bailey alluded to
| above. In contrast to the conserva.
tism of Young is the enthusiasm OF
one James Easton, who, in 1899, got
out a book listing LIP persons who
had lived 100 years or more between
66 A. D. and 1899 A. D. Old Parr and
| the countess of Desmond were both
on his list.
| In a rather weighty tome on the
prolongation of life, Prof. Eli Metch.
| nikoff, the famous bacteriologist, haz.
arded the opinion some 20 years age
| that human life ought to average at
least 120 years. In his book he de.
scribes various persons who were sup
posed to have attained great ages
| Among them were Marie Priou, who
| died in 1888 at the alleged age of 15S
after subsisting for most of her life
on cheese and goats milk; and there
was also Nicole Marco, who lived to
be ITO on diet of bread and milk.
A woman, Maria Ustav, who died in
Carcalia In Rumania in 1927. was as
serted to have been 1876, while Milo
Frantsitch Of Yugoslavia. who also
died in 1927. was reputed to be 126
! &c BY Western Newspaper Union,