The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1930-09-05

seems scarcely more than Is. His face
is sun Drowned and unwrinkled. He is
active and robust and will sooner
offer his arm to woman when cross
ing a mean spot in the road than to
think of taking hers. His memory is
surprising, his outlook young, and his
comments when not serious are col
ored by sense of humor that man
half his age might envy"
Ex-senator Cole died November 3,
1924, at the age of 102. The record
in his case is clear. But considering
the fact that it would have been easy
enough to check up on the facts, it
seems remarkable that in 1924 many
newspapers printed the picture of
Maj. Edward James Monroe, son of
the fifth President Of the United
States, who is feeling fit at the age
Of 109." The only difficulty with this
story is that President Monroe had
two daughters but no son!
Stories of persons who claim to
have lived more than 100 years are
numerous, but few Of these cases will
stand up under rigid investigation, ac-
ording to James A. Toby, writing in
recent issue of the Scientific Ameri-
can, who says that the age of very
old person seems to be one of the
matters most susceptible to deviation
from the truth, for memories are usu-
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
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 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 1876 when he died in
1924; as was also st. Monagh, whose
death occurred in 1851. 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 lat.
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 1886. 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
short time later. John Taylor, known
as the water Poet" got out book
called 'The Olde, Olde, Very Olde
man." In which he extolled this long
life in prose and verse.
Thomas Parr was said to have beer
married at 12O, and after the suitable
interval to have become the father OF
child. When he died in 1886, 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 1904
Old PARIS unusual age was accepted
until 1878 when w. j. 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
real centenarian, but little more
than that.
Mr.. Thoms also exposed two other
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
codntesses Of the same name had been
added together; instead of one person
living to 40 years, two women had
each lived about 20.
A writer familiar with Mr.. Thom's
iconoclasm on this subject, a John b.
Bailey, wrote book in 1888 which he
called Modern Methuselahs," and in
it he cited a number of instances Of
well-known centenarians.
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.
20 by Western Newspaper unionj