McIntire, Polly -- 1756 - 1871

MCINTIRE

Posted By: Janice Sowers (email)
Date: 3/10/2004 at 14:58:55

Howard County Times January 26, 1871

DEATH OF AN IOWA WOMAN 114 YEARS OLD.

The Decorah Republican of the 14th, has the following account of the death--by accident--of a woman at the extraordinary age of one hundred and fourteen years:

Canoe, Jan. 7, 1871

Messrs. Bailey.--I send you a notice of the death of Mrs. Polly McIntire with some other facts gathered from her friends. She died in this town yesterday in the 115th year of her age, from the effects of a burn caused by her clothes taking fire. Deceased was bore in Brunswick, New Jersey, Sept. 8th, 1756. She spent the greatest part of her life in the States of Connecticut and New York, four years in New York city--and came to this town from New York in 1856, (just a century after she was born!) She was first married at the age of 24--again at 70. Her last marriage was to N. J. McIntire, (much younger than herself,) at the age of 85, whom she lived with til her death. Through her life she had no more than the comforts of life--few of its luxuries; has been free from any serious sickness except a brain fever at the age of 95, which resulted in a derangement of the mind from which she never fully recovered. Her appetite for food, always above medium, was unimpaired to the last. She so far retained her sight as to be able to read fine print without the aid of glasses, and her hearing was as good as the average for persons at 75. During the past summer she made daily rambles throught the fields and the groves of the farm on which she lived, and was able at the time of the accident, to walk a mile. She was invited out Christmas at a neighbor's where she was unusually jovial, entertaining the company with story and song. The next day she was quite insane, in which state she remained until the following Thursday, when upon being left alone ten or fifteen minutes, her clothes ignited from the stove, burning her so badly as to cause her death after eight days of great suffering.