This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: abracadabra243 Surnames: Shepherd, Quinn Classification: biography Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.dutchess/9676/mb.ashx Message Board Post: [Mrs. Mary Shepherd - Poughkeepsie - Approaches the Century Mark] The Courier Poughkeepsie Sunday Feb. 11, 1900 - Page 5 APPROACHING THE CENTURY MARK Three Old Residents of Dutchess County, Who if they Live, Will be One Hundred Years Old This Year. There are three residents of Dutchess County, who, if they live, will this year reach the advanced age of one hundred years; each will have lived through the entire period between the close of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. Mrs. Maria C. Turner, of the town of Poughkeepsie, is the oldest of the trio, having been born July 5th 1800; Mr. John V. Storm, of Fishkill, was born November 24th, 1800, and Mrs. Mary Shepherd, of No. 17 Davis street, Poughkeepsie, was born on Christmas Day, 1800. [SKETCH - Mrs. Mary Shepherd] To a representative of THE COURIER yesterday, Mrs. Mary Shepherd said that her girlhood was spent in Ireland. Her birthplace was a small village in the County of Tipperary, near the Kilkenny line. Until she came to New York about seventy years ago, she resided most of the time in Kilkenny. Her memory is exceedingly good and she named several deceased persons who resided in Poughkeepsie, or whose descendants reside here, who were born in the neighborhood of her early home. Mrs. Shepherd's maiden name was Mary Quinn. Her husband, John Shepherd, has been dead half a century. He was killed at the time of the construction of the Hudson River Railroad. He went to work on the road on Monday and lost his life in an accident on Thursday of the same week. Mrs. Shepherd was the mother of three children, John Shepherd, Martin Shepherd and Katie Shepherd. The latter died at the age of five years; Martin Shepherd has been dead a long time. The only surviving child is John Shepherd, who is about sixty years of age. He is married and lives with his family at Albany. [This was a long article which I printed in sections - it seems I may have missed a line or two here - nonetheless I will continue.] . . . . with her husband and children in a home on lower Church street. About fifty-five years ago she purchased a little house on Davis street, which has since been her home. Despite her advance age, Mrs. Shepherd is active. She lives entirely along. Everything about her premises is neat and clean. She does her own house cleaning, even whitewashing the walls when occasion requires; she bakes and cooks and does her own washing, and finds time between her tasks to visit her neighbors, by whom she is always welcomed. In appearance Mrs. Shepherd is short and sturdy framed. Her, eyesight and hearing are both good and she moves about with an elastic step which shows more vigor than one would consider possible to be contained in the human frame after nearly a century of wear and tear. She is an excellent needlewoman, and a few months ago completed with her own hands a quilt containing hundreds of pieces, which is triumph of skill and patience. When asked what her means of subsistence were, Mrs. Shepherd replied that she had none except a small sum of money she receives at intervals from the House of Industry, for which institution she formerly did some sewing and an occasional gift of coal from the city authorities. "The neighbors are very kind," said the old lady. "When they bake they often send me in a loaf of bread and I am always welcome to a cup of tea when I drop in on them for a little visit." There is a mortgage on Mrs. Shepherd's little house of $200 of which she borrowed one hundred dollars at one time when work was slack, and the other hundred dollars when her husband was killed to defray the funeral and other expenses. Mrs. Shepherd finds solace in her lonely life in her tobacco pipe. She says that she has smoked for years and that the habit is a great comfort to her. She doe not think that tobacco hurt her; in fact she holds to the contrary. She lights her pipe the first thing in the morning upon getting out of bed and smokes at intervals during the day. Sketches of the other two old residents of Dutchess County, portraits of whom are given in connection with this article, have been published in THE COURIER; that of Mr. Storm about a year ago, and that of Mrs. Turner two or three weeks ago. [Copyrighted transcription by G. Buechele, ginnyflies@usa.net - Feb. 2, 2008] Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.