Jones County GaArchives Obituaries.....Negro  Sam March 14 1860
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Virginia Crilley varcsix@hot.rr.com October 13, 2003, 3:19 pm

The Upson Pilot #22 April 14, 1860

The oldest Negro on Record.  Dr. Horatio Bowen of Clinton, Jones County, mentioned
to us the death of Sam, a native African negro at the plantation of his master,
Mr. A.J. Billingsly on the 24 December, 1859.  When captured in Africa to be
brought to this country, he says he was forty-five years old. He landed in
Charleston, and was bought by the Lowther famly -- lived with them in that city
nearly 12 years and was in their possession till a few years since.  From
Charleston, Sam was carried to Savanna, staid there 40 years and moved to this
section about the year 1826.  At this time he came under the notice of Dr. Bowen,
as he had occastion to attend him to cure a bone felon on his finger, and his
gratitude never ceased, but exhibited itself whenever the Dr. came near him, in
expressions half in African, for he never learned to speak English well. From the
evidence of reliable persons and the negro's own statement, he is ussposed to have
been over 140 years old at the time of his death.  This is the same Negro Sam to
whom, if we are not mistaken, an illusion is made in White's statistics of
Georgia, at being a very old negro and having died a few years previous to the
publication of the work' but the record of his death was a mistake.  [Macon
Telegraph]


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