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Aged One Hundred And Nine

Aged One Hundred And Nine image
Parent Issue
Day
27
Month
August
Year
1875
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

He isright herí! in Troy, and his ñamo is Jolm Heiiry Iüuekwell, and he has scen 109 summera (when August is out) and 108 winters! He was, therefóre, born iii the spring. John Henry hves in ii little old house in the hollow, bosido a babbling but nasty litüe brook, just oiï Lincoln avenue, uuder the liill. The liouse is ah old style frame, with wooden shutters, and has stood where it now stands about forty-five years. Neither outside in has ever been molested by a painter. Tlie house is weather'-bëateri likè its owner (for Blackwell owns it), and loolfs as if the ups and downs of this world had had no effect j upon it. John Henry lives all alone in j tb; liouse. It eannot be called ! lor's hall, 1 cause John Henry is nót a bachelor. He has been mm-ried, but it was so long ago that he has aluiost forgotten höw it feels. His house is not a hall eitter. It is more like a den or a hermitage. No one is ever invited into tho place, and no one is ever allowed to look into it unless he does so stealthily. Jolin keeps tho doors and windows securely fastened, and at night he never uses a light unless ho is looking for something that has been mislaid in the chasm of disorder thut existe there. Then he uses a tallow candle. Ho is not very sociable. Se Bás lived so long that he imagines the present generation is a pack of fools, and he a miae man. The firét statement may be all right, but there is roorrkfrtr debate on tho latter. Jolm Henry is au Irishman, and has been in this country sixty yars. He lived in New York uiteen years, and remombers the city whon it wa.s, Ue says, no bigger 'than Troy. He has lived in Troy forty-five years, ind recollocts Troy as a small country viliage. He lost liis wife ftfty vears ago. He kad tlrree sons anti one daughter, but thoy have all gono to ti& other world, and uow the old man is alono. i fSfkJfi He lias livcd alone for tventy-hvo years, ever sinco Iris daughtor died, yho was (5 years old. He has no relatares now, having outlived tho wholo of them, grandchildren and all. About niuety yawra ago hc leai-ncd the tailoring business, and has worked iu different cities, but within tho last thirty years he, has lived in a very mysterieus way. He does not work, but goes away sometimos for weeks at a time, nobody knows where. He returns as mysteriously as hc goes, and scems to havo money. üf late years he has turned his attcution somowhat to the study of medicine; and not only tho study, but the practico. He imagines that he can cure any disease, aud will always solicit a trial of his skill on any one whom he sees sick or suffering. Instances have been known where he has reheved pain and ciu-ed illness, but in more castïs an opposite effect iias followed. lílackwell seems as vigorous as a man of 50. In fact, he is the type of a very lively old man. He can walk a inile without a cano as fast as almost any one seveiity-iive years younger. He never rides. He is a thorough pedestrian. Hc was never on a street car, and only once on a railroad. Then he went to Albany on the c irs, got lost there, and walked back. He thinks jackasses superior to horses for general use, and often expresses surprise that they are not now in use. The wld man may not bo awaxe of it, but the jackasses are just as numerous as ever; tbej havo two legs.though, instiad of four, aml are balky. BlaokweD will not ride beldnd a horse. It is against his principies. Ho believes in ancient iiistead of modern civilization. The good old Oriental times are tho times for hini. Ho believes in an eye for an eyo, and a tooth for a tooth. He is opposed to lawyers, and puts no faíth in newspapers. Beligiously speaking, John Henry BlackweU is a Protestant. He scarcely over goes to church, however, but he evidently reads the Bible, as hc is conversant with its passages. Ho has no fear of death, and acts as

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus