Republican Herald

Murfreesboro, Feb. 22.

Remarkable Longevity.—Mrs. Betsy Trantham, died in Maury County in this State, on the 10th of January, 1834, at the uncommonly advanced age of One Hundred and fifty-four years. She was born in Germany, and emigrated to the British Colonies in America, at the time the first settlement was made in North Carolina in the year 1710. It is a matter of history that the proprietors of Carolina induced a number of Palatines from Germany to emigrate to their lands in that colony, in order to give value to their possessions. For this purpose ships were prepared to convey the emigrants, and upon their arrival the Governor Hyde was directed to give to each 100 acres of land. Among the number of those who emigrated at that time, which was one hundred and twenty years ago, was Mrs. Trantham. At the age of 120 her eyesight became almost extinct, but during the last twenty years of her life, she possessed the power of vision as perfectly as at the age of 20. For many years previous to her death she was unable to walk, and it was said to have required a great attention in her friends for many years to prevent the temperature of her body from falling so low as not to sustain animal life. For this purpose, she is said to have been placed between two feather beds for many years before her death, and by this means to have retained the natural warmth of her body. At the time of her death, she had entirely lost the sense of taste and hearing. For twenty years before her death she was unable to distinguish the difference between the taste of sugar and vinegar. At the age of 65 she bore her only child, who is now living, and promises to reach an uncommonly advanced age. We doubt whether the annals of modern history can produce an equally remarkable instance of longevity.