Kentucky Ancestors, Volume 39, Number 2 - Kentucky Historical ...

Thataway, continued________________________________________
esteem of his fellow-men. His second wife enjoys the
blessings awarded to him in his declining years.
Seventeen of his children are living, the oldest being
72 and the youngest 17 years of age. Mr. Mann is hale
and hearty, and though his mind is considered somewhat
impaired, he talks intelligently upon subjects
known to him in his earlier days. He takes walks, and
when asked in what county in Virginia he was born,
he laughed heartily, and said he came into the world
before Virginia was divided into counties, and was
afterward associated with Daniel Boone, his three
sons, and six dogs in Kentucky. He is one of the
pioneers of this county, and bids fair to enjoy good
health for some time yet to come.
Unidentified newspaper clipping,
September 1884
THE OLDEST MAN IN MISSOURI.
Recollections of a Man Who Was Born
Before the Declaration of Independence
Was Signed.
At a point two miles north of Independence off the
Wayne City road stands a one-story weather-beaten
frame house formerly owned by Col. Gilpin, the man
who is credited with first prophesying the greatness of
Kansas City. From here an unobstructed view is obtained
on Independence on the south, Kansas City and
Wyandotte on the west, and Liberty on the north. Here
resides Christopher Mann, who is undoubtedly the
oldest person in Missouri, and one of the oldest in the
United States. A. Times reporter visited the aged
patriarch recently, the occasion being the celebration of
his 110 th birthday. “Uncle Chris,” as he is familiarly
called by his neighbors and acquaintances, has a mind
well filled with the happenings of “other days long
gone,” and nothing gives him more pleasure than the
presence of a good listener. Having been born at a time
when the American colonies were struggling for freedom
from a tyrannical power, his early training instilled
into his mind a deep love of independence and a strong
sence [sic] of right. Unlike many men who first saw
light in “declaration days,” he claims no personal
acquaintance with the father of his country, although
born within a few miles of the Washington homestead.
While yet a boy he removed with his father to
Kentucky, and never tires relating anecdotes of
Daniel Boone, the great hunter and trapper. He
2003 Kentucky Ancestors V39-2 102
describes Boone as being medium height, muscular
build, keen gray eyes, small nose and thin lips. He
was a man who dealt only with the realism of life,
and when he smiled, which was seldom, his face
lighted up with a very singular and striking expression.
Boone held very little intercourse with the few
white people of that section, preferring the solitude
of the forest or society of his wife to that of the
outside world.
Mr. Mann claims with pride that he never was
whipped in a personal encounter, and cites an
incident in his life in Kentucky, when he had a sever
fight with a noted “bully” named Lyons. This man
Lyons had on one occasion chastised Mrs. Mann’s
father in a manner which fired the blood of the
young man, and he determined to whip Lyons on
sight. One day Lyons approached the house through
the orchard and young Mann met him half way and
told him of this purpose. Both men stripped to the
waist and proceeded to spar in a manner that showed
they were well matched. First Mann struck Lyons a
powerful blow in the face, which dislocated his
thumb, and he was immediately [enclinched?] by
Lyons. The bully, expecting an encounter with the
young giant, had previously had his hair cut very
short, and had greased his head with bear’s oil,
making it sol slick that Mann could not gain any
advantage in that direction, but, getting a hold on
his throat, he soon checked the breathing of his
opponent to such an extent that he readily consented
to say enough. During the scuffle Mann received a
powerful blow in the side, which swelled to such size
that his father produced a lance and performed a
surgical operation on his son which caused him to
lose considerable blood but afforded no relief.
Later on in life Mr. Mann passed through Indiana
on his way to a home in the far west and stopped
one night at a tavern kept by Gen. William Henry
Harrison, afterward president of the United States.
Mr. Mann says the house was crowded and he was
compelled to sleep on the floor, for which accommodation
the landlord charged him full rate. “Never
since then” observed Mr. Mann, “have I liked Bill
Harrison.” He remembers distinctly when a single
log hut stood on the bank of the White river, where
now is built the prosperous city of Indianapolis.
“Harrison was a good fighter though,” remarked Mr.
Mann, as his mind reverted to his favorite topic,