Good evening, list members! At the urging of Fred Houts I have conducted an investigation to try and verify the age of Mrs. Eliza Stanton, who died in 1892 at the reputed age of 117. It appears that this age was grossly exaggerated. She had lived with her husband and family in Patton Twp., Centre Co., since before the 1850 census and I found them each census year as follows: 1850 Census, Patton Twp., Centre Co., PA: John Stanton, age 55, black, farmer, bp MD, Eliza Stanton, age 42, black, bp PA, Richard 12, black, Henderson 5, black. 1860 Census, Patton Twp., Centre Co., PA: John Stanton, age 65, day laborer, mulatto, $1500 real, $200 personal, bp MD, Eliza Stanton, age 50, mulatto, illiterate, bp PA, Henderson 14, mulatto, bp PA. 1870 Census, Patton Twp., Centre Co, PA: John Stanton, age 77, black, farmer, $2000 real, $200 personal, bp MD, can vote, Eliza Stanton, age 61, mulatto, keeping house, bp PA, illiterate, Henderson, age 25, mulatto, bp PA, can vote. [Next door was Jacob and Christina Haldeman.] 1880 Census, Patton Twp., Centre Co., PA: Eliza Stanton, age 80, mulatto, keeping house, Henderson Stanton, age 35, mulatto, farmer. Both parties bp PA, as were their parents. 1890 Census, Patton Twp., Centre Co., PA: Henderson Stanton, age 46, laborer -- Buffalo Run; Mary, Mabel, Eliza. It is apparent that Eliza Stanton was more likely born circa 1808-1809, rather than 1775 as was claimed. Her husband John was born circa 1793-1795, and died between 1870 and 1880. She was thus about 83 or 84 at the time of her death in 1892. While this is not as great an age as 117, it is no little accomplishment that in 1890, aged 80 or 81, she walked twelve miles to Bellefonte for a visit. I did not know prior to this that Mrs. Stanton was a member of our African American community. As such, I suspect that her last resting-place, as well as that of her husband, is in the little African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery in Marysville, Patton Twp., near her home. There are several graves there but only one marker remains, that of Civil War veteran Aaron Delige, who died in 1896. If Mr. and Mrs. Stanton are indeed buried there, they make the 3rd and 4th identified burials for this plot. The other is Christina Delige, who died in 1919. Bert Delige, the noted Centre County murderer, is buried just outside the perimeter of the plot. He was hanged about 1911. Justin Justin Kirk Houser Genealogist and Historian of Central PA and Beyond View my homepage: http://members.aol.com/JKHouser84/index.htm Main Lines: Houser, Breon, Shawley, Ranio/Hrynio (and others) President, Bellefonte Area HS Class of 2003 Student Representative, Bellefonte Area School District Board of Education Listowner, PACENTRE-L@Rootsweb.com Historian, Schürch Association of North America (specialty Central PA lines) Member, Valley View United Methodist Church (near Bellefonte, PA) "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"