Portland Gazette, And Maine Advertiser

An extraordinary instance of longevity lately occurred in the Island of Jamaica, in the person of Joseph Ram, a black man, belonging to Maurice Hall's Estate, and who died in December last, at the advanced age of 140 years; he perfectly remembered the duke of Albemarle, who succeeded to the government of that island in 1687. His daughter, Grace Martin, an inhabitant of Spanish Town, and upwards of 85 years of age, says he had a complete set of new teeth about 20 years ago, which remained sound to the day of his death. His hair turned quite gray: he retained his sight and memory well, and had all his senses perfect, except that of smelling. He was stout and inclined to corpulence: was never sick but once, and all the physic he ever took in his life was one dose of nut oil. He had 26 children by different women. His appetite was always good, and a few days previous to his death, he walked a distance of four miles. His dissolution was gradual, and unattended by pain or sickness; it seemed indeed to be the mere decay of nature.