There is a blog post on Elizabeth SMITH and Joel JERVIS, her husband, but there were so many long articles on Elizabeth's 100th birthday, that I thought I'd make it a blog post of its own.
Elizabeth SMITH JERVIS (1794-1895) Suffolk county New York
b. 20 July 1794 in Blue Point, Suffolk, New York
m. 29 November 1815 in Huntington, Suffolk, New York to Joel JERVIS (son of Joseph Ireland JERVIS and Phebe CARLL)
d. 22 January 1895 in Amityville, Suffolk, New York and is buried on the Purdy Farm Private Cemetery
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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
b. 20 July 1794 in Blue Point, Suffolk, New York
m. 29 November 1815 in Huntington, Suffolk, New York to Joel JERVIS (son of Joseph Ireland JERVIS and Phebe CARLL)
d. 22 January 1895 in Amityville, Suffolk, New York and is buried on the Purdy Farm Private Cemetery
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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Brooklyn, New York
21 September 1893 p 5
TROTTING AT AMITYVILLE
Opening Events of the Fall Agricultural Fair.
The first annual autumnal exhibition of the Amityville Agricultural Fair and Driving Park association opened under highly favorable conditions on the grounds at Amityville, L. I., yesterday morning and gathered within the inclosure [sic] about two thousand persons, representing almost every section of Queens and Suffolk counties….
The exhibits were arranged in attractive form in three tents near the entrance to the grounds… In the second tent were the women’s industrial exhibits, paintings, photographs, specimens in crayon and pastel work, curiosities and miscellaneous articles. Among the portraits was one of Mrs. Joel Jervis, relict of Squire Jervis, who dispensed justice in the old village of Huntington South for many years. Mrs. Jervis has passed her 99th year and is hale and hearty. Her faculties are unimpaired and the aged woman reads and sews without the aid of glasses. She resides with her son, Scudder C. Jervis, at East Amityville. Another son is G. S. Jervis of Newtown, Queens county, and a daughter, Mrs. P. M. Van Buren, resides in the Twenty-sixth ward of Brooklyn….
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TROTTING AT AMITYVILLE
Opening Events of the Fall Agricultural Fair.
The first annual autumnal exhibition of the Amityville Agricultural Fair and Driving Park association opened under highly favorable conditions on the grounds at Amityville, L. I., yesterday morning and gathered within the inclosure [sic] about two thousand persons, representing almost every section of Queens and Suffolk counties….
The exhibits were arranged in attractive form in three tents near the entrance to the grounds… In the second tent were the women’s industrial exhibits, paintings, photographs, specimens in crayon and pastel work, curiosities and miscellaneous articles. Among the portraits was one of Mrs. Joel Jervis, relict of Squire Jervis, who dispensed justice in the old village of Huntington South for many years. Mrs. Jervis has passed her 99th year and is hale and hearty. Her faculties are unimpaired and the aged woman reads and sews without the aid of glasses. She resides with her son, Scudder C. Jervis, at East Amityville. Another son is G. S. Jervis of Newtown, Queens county, and a daughter, Mrs. P. M. Van Buren, resides in the Twenty-sixth ward of Brooklyn….
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Times Union
Brooklyn, New York
Mon, Jul 16, 1894 ·Page 2
ALMOST A CENTENARIAN
Amityville, July 16.-- If Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis of this place lives until next Friday, she will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of her birth. Her late husband, Joel Jervis, served through the war of 1812, and at one time was Justice of the Peace of this place. Mrs. Jervis is a pensioner of the war in which her husband served. She is hale and hearty and has an excellent memory.
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A newspaper clipping, source unknown:
LIVED A CENTURY
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis Has Eighty-one Living Descendants.
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis of Amityville, L.I., recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Mrs. Jervis was the wife of Squire Joel Jervis, who was a justice of the peace for many years. He was a veteran of the war of 1812, and Mrs. Jervis is receiving a pension as his widow [not true]. She had eight children, of whom [seven] are still living. Her eldest child is 75 years of age. Eighteen grandchildren, fifty-four great-grandchildren and two great-great- grandchildren do honor their aged ancestor.
Mrs. Jervis is a daughter of Henry C. Smith, formerly a well-known resident of Sayville. The old lady retains all her faculties unimpaired; her sight and hearing being excellent, and her memory strong and retentive. She keeps informed of current topics and her disposition is as sunny as that of most women at 50.
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A newspaper clipping, source unknown:
LIVED A CENTURY
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis Has Eighty-one Living Descendants.
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis of Amityville, L.I., recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Mrs. Jervis was the wife of Squire Joel Jervis, who was a justice of the peace for many years. He was a veteran of the war of 1812, and Mrs. Jervis is receiving a pension as his widow [not true]. She had eight children, of whom [seven] are still living. Her eldest child is 75 years of age. Eighteen grandchildren, fifty-four great-grandchildren and two great-great- grandchildren do honor their aged ancestor.
Mrs. Jervis is a daughter of Henry C. Smith, formerly a well-known resident of Sayville. The old lady retains all her faculties unimpaired; her sight and hearing being excellent, and her memory strong and retentive. She keeps informed of current topics and her disposition is as sunny as that of most women at 50.
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Richmond, Virginia
22 July 1894 Sunday Page 7
HER HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY.
Mrs. Jervis Has Lived Under Every President of the United States
(New York Herald)
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, of Amityville, L. I., has been living on borrowed time for more than a quarter of a century. She passed her alloted [sic] three-score-years-and -ten thirty years ago, and yesterday celebrated her 100th birthday. It was the occasion of a great family reunion at her home, a pretty and quaint little farmhouse, where Mrs. Jervis has lived for the last seventy-five years.
There were five generations represented at the gathering, and all came laden with presents for the dear old lady. There were great white frosted cakes, with "Grandma and Her Hundreth Birthday" put on in ornamental letters; there were loads of flowers, rare and beautiful laces, books, silverware, and pretty tidings too numerous to mention.
Judging from her present appearance and manner, Mrs. Jervis is good for another fifty years. She looks younger than most women do at 70, and still retains all her faculties. She is able to read and sew without glasses.
Mrs. Jervis stood for many hours yesterday receiving her guests, and did not seem in the least fatigued.
NEVER HAS BEEN ILL.
When I asked her to what she attributed her long life and good health, she said she could hardly tell; that she inherited a good constitution and came from long-lived stock.
"I have not," said Mrs. Jervis, "lived differently from other women, but I have been blessed with good health, never having been ill in my life. I have always eaten lean meat, discarding the fat entirely, and have drank plenty of strong green tea.
"I am very happy to have lived to see my hundredth birthday, and I am very proud of my large family of descendants, fr they are all good and I consider them all very handsome. It seems almost impossible for me to realize that I have lived under every President of the United States."
Mrs. Jervis was born in Sayville, L. I., on July 20, 1794. She was a Miss Smith, daughter of Captain Henry Clark Smith, whose father was Governor of Tangier, and for this reason the family have always been known in Long Island as the Tangier Smiths.
COMES OF GOOD STOCK.
Mrs. Jervis is the widow of Joel Jervis, to whom she was married in 1815. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The Jervises, or Jervais, as the name was originally spelled, are of the oldest and most respected families of Long Island, having settled there in 1654. They are descendants of Sir Francis Jervais, who came to this country in the good ship Primrose for Scotland, in the year 1636, landing in Salem, Mass. From there he went to Huntington, L. I., where he settled.
Mrs. Jervis has had eight children, only one of them having died.
At the gathering yesterday were her seven children, the eldest being 76 years old. There were also twenty-three grandchildren, fifty-four great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
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Suffolk County News
BLUE POINT
On Friday last at Amityville, Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, relict of Squire Joel Jervis, celebrated her one hundredth birth-day. Scores paid their respects to the old lady who was born at what is now Blue Point on July 20, 1794, and was a daughter of Henry Clark Smith (of the “Tangier Smiths”.) She was married to Joel Jervis of Huntington the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Mr. Corwin. Squire Jervis died in 1863 at the age of 72. For a period of forty years he was prominent in politics in the old town of Huntington, holding various official positions, and for twenty-three years was a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Town Board.
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South Side Signal
Suffolk County News
Sayville, New York
28 July 1894 Saturday page 2
BLUE POINT
On Friday last at Amityville, Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, relict of Squire Joel Jervis, celebrated her one hundredth birth-day. Scores paid their respects to the old lady who was born at what is now Blue Point on July 20, 1794, and was a daughter of Henry Clark Smith (of the “Tangier Smiths”.) She was married to Joel Jervis of Huntington the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Mr. Corwin. Squire Jervis died in 1863 at the age of 72. For a period of forty years he was prominent in politics in the old town of Huntington, holding various official positions, and for twenty-three years was a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Town Board.
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South Side Signal
Babylon, New York
December 1893
Amityville
In the last issue of the Dawn of Day, a religious monthly published in Brooklyn by Miss Hannah Smith, we find the following leader headed, “Honored:”
Yes, we felt honored in being privileged to spent [sic] part of the day and dine with Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, of Amityville, L. I., the 2d of Nov. 1893, who is now in her 100th year. How we did enjoy talking over old times! Her husband, Squire Joel Jervis, was own cousin to my father, and was Justice of the Peace for many years. It is not true that he was a veteran of the war of 1812 and his widow in receiving a pension, as stated in a paper that I recently saw. He never was at war, and she is not receiving a pension. She lives with her son, Mr. Scudder Jervis. Mrs. Jervis is a daughter of Mr. Henry C. Smith, formerly a well-known resident of Sayville, L. I., of the Tangier Smith descendants. She had eight children, her oldest is 75 years of age; 24 grand-children, 65 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. One child, 3 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren are dead.
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AT THE AGE OF A HUNDRED
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis Feted By Her Descendants
There Are A Great Many Of Them, But The Centarian Is Almost As Sprightly As Some Of Her Great-Great-Grandchildren----------A Celebration At Amityville.---
AMITYVILLE, Long Island, July 20, 1894:
An unusual birthday party is being held here today at the home of Scudder Carl Jervis. It is the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, widow of Joel Jervis, who died here at the age of 72, in 1862, after having been Justice of the Peace in the town for forty-two years.
About forty direct descendants of Mrs. Jervis came out from Brooklyn this morning and a fete is being held in the orchard, under the shade of trees that have been standing for a century or more. Mrs. Jervis, who is in the possession of all her faculties and still quite vigorous, is outdoors with the party, taking a lively interest in the festivities. Her descendants living today number seven children, 19 grand children, 60 great great grandchildren, and three great great grandchildren--a total of eighty-nine. Nearly all of these are attending the celebration and many of them are Brooklynites.
The children are:
Mrs. Phebe J. Van Buren, Miss Eliza Jervis, Scudder C. Jervis, Mrs. Ezra R. Sammis, H. Clark S. Jervis, William I. Jervis, Mrs. Adele J. Vogt.
The grandchildren are: Perlee V. Jervis, Frank Terry Jervis, George S. Jervis, Joshua P. Jervis, Arthur N. Jervis, Mrs. Ida Jervis Schepmoes, Miss Jessie W. Jervis, Frederick B. Sammis, Miss Lena Sammis, Mrs. Henry Pettitt, Mrs. Henry Beers, Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Mrs. Joel Gardiner, Mordaunt Smith, Horace M. Smith, Joel Smith, Henry Smith, William W. Smith
As most of these children have their husbands or wives and their children with them the family reunion is one of considerable proportions. The eldest of Mrs. Jervis' children is 76. She has lost only one, a Mrs. Gilbert Smith, who died at Huntington eight years ago.
Mrs. Jervis is a wonderfully well preserved woman. The luxuriant tresses for which she was noted in girlhood and which became a family feature in the descendants of her own sex, have almost defied time.
She reads without the aid of glasses, hears well, moves about unassisted and has always a trace of color in her cheeks. She never has experienced any kind of illness. She was born in Brooklyn and she with her descendants represents some of the oldest of Long Island families. She was the only child of Henry Clark Smith and Jemima Terry. Her father was a son of Col. William Smith, [not true but is probably a descendant] governor of Tangiers, who, in 1690, purchased a strip of Long Island fifty miles wide and extending from the sound to the bay. This was known as Setauket. From him sprang the families known as the Brookhaven Smiths, Smithtown Smiths and Tangiers Smiths.
The mother of Mrs. Jervis was a daughter of Jeremiah Terry of Sayville. Joel Jervis, to whom the centenarian was married in 1816, traced his lineage to Stephen Jervis, who landed in Primrose in 1637.
From this ancestor the line ran back to a Gervaise who crossed with William the Conqueror and settled in Scotland. Lord Jervis, the Earl St. Vincent, represented the English branch of the family.
Joel Jervis was the only son of Phebe Carll of Joseph I. Jervis, who, by a second marriage, had seven children, one of them being John B. Jervis, the engineer of the first croton aqueduct and the man after whom Port Jervis, NY, was named. [this relationship here is definitely incorrect...John B. Jervis was a first cousin twice removed and not a half-brother]
The house in which Mrs. Jervis is living, now the property of her son, Scudder C., belonged to her husband and is on the farm which is one of the old landmarks in this part of the island. Some of the buildings are a century old as also is the furniture and finishings inside the dwelling The assemblage here to-day is strictly a family affair and Mrs. Jervis has been made the recipient of many warm congratulations and mementos, which she receive with smiling grace.
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The World,
Amityville
In the last issue of the Dawn of Day, a religious monthly published in Brooklyn by Miss Hannah Smith, we find the following leader headed, “Honored:”
Yes, we felt honored in being privileged to spent [sic] part of the day and dine with Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, of Amityville, L. I., the 2d of Nov. 1893, who is now in her 100th year. How we did enjoy talking over old times! Her husband, Squire Joel Jervis, was own cousin to my father, and was Justice of the Peace for many years. It is not true that he was a veteran of the war of 1812 and his widow in receiving a pension, as stated in a paper that I recently saw. He never was at war, and she is not receiving a pension. She lives with her son, Mr. Scudder Jervis. Mrs. Jervis is a daughter of Mr. Henry C. Smith, formerly a well-known resident of Sayville, L. I., of the Tangier Smith descendants. She had eight children, her oldest is 75 years of age; 24 grand-children, 65 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. One child, 3 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren are dead.
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AT THE AGE OF A HUNDRED
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis Feted By Her Descendants
There Are A Great Many Of Them, But The Centarian Is Almost As Sprightly As Some Of Her Great-Great-Grandchildren----------A Celebration At Amityville.---
AMITYVILLE, Long Island, July 20, 1894:
An unusual birthday party is being held here today at the home of Scudder Carl Jervis. It is the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, widow of Joel Jervis, who died here at the age of 72, in 1862, after having been Justice of the Peace in the town for forty-two years.
About forty direct descendants of Mrs. Jervis came out from Brooklyn this morning and a fete is being held in the orchard, under the shade of trees that have been standing for a century or more. Mrs. Jervis, who is in the possession of all her faculties and still quite vigorous, is outdoors with the party, taking a lively interest in the festivities. Her descendants living today number seven children, 19 grand children, 60 great great grandchildren, and three great great grandchildren--a total of eighty-nine. Nearly all of these are attending the celebration and many of them are Brooklynites.
The children are:
Mrs. Phebe J. Van Buren, Miss Eliza Jervis, Scudder C. Jervis, Mrs. Ezra R. Sammis, H. Clark S. Jervis, William I. Jervis, Mrs. Adele J. Vogt.
The grandchildren are: Perlee V. Jervis, Frank Terry Jervis, George S. Jervis, Joshua P. Jervis, Arthur N. Jervis, Mrs. Ida Jervis Schepmoes, Miss Jessie W. Jervis, Frederick B. Sammis, Miss Lena Sammis, Mrs. Henry Pettitt, Mrs. Henry Beers, Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Mrs. Joel Gardiner, Mordaunt Smith, Horace M. Smith, Joel Smith, Henry Smith, William W. Smith
As most of these children have their husbands or wives and their children with them the family reunion is one of considerable proportions. The eldest of Mrs. Jervis' children is 76. She has lost only one, a Mrs. Gilbert Smith, who died at Huntington eight years ago.
Mrs. Jervis is a wonderfully well preserved woman. The luxuriant tresses for which she was noted in girlhood and which became a family feature in the descendants of her own sex, have almost defied time.
She reads without the aid of glasses, hears well, moves about unassisted and has always a trace of color in her cheeks. She never has experienced any kind of illness. She was born in Brooklyn and she with her descendants represents some of the oldest of Long Island families. She was the only child of Henry Clark Smith and Jemima Terry. Her father was a son of Col. William Smith, [not true but is probably a descendant] governor of Tangiers, who, in 1690, purchased a strip of Long Island fifty miles wide and extending from the sound to the bay. This was known as Setauket. From him sprang the families known as the Brookhaven Smiths, Smithtown Smiths and Tangiers Smiths.
The mother of Mrs. Jervis was a daughter of Jeremiah Terry of Sayville. Joel Jervis, to whom the centenarian was married in 1816, traced his lineage to Stephen Jervis, who landed in Primrose in 1637.
From this ancestor the line ran back to a Gervaise who crossed with William the Conqueror and settled in Scotland. Lord Jervis, the Earl St. Vincent, represented the English branch of the family.
Joel Jervis was the only son of Phebe Carll of Joseph I. Jervis, who, by a second marriage, had seven children, one of them being John B. Jervis, the engineer of the first croton aqueduct and the man after whom Port Jervis, NY, was named. [this relationship here is definitely incorrect...John B. Jervis was a first cousin twice removed and not a half-brother]
The house in which Mrs. Jervis is living, now the property of her son, Scudder C., belonged to her husband and is on the farm which is one of the old landmarks in this part of the island. Some of the buildings are a century old as also is the furniture and finishings inside the dwelling The assemblage here to-day is strictly a family affair and Mrs. Jervis has been made the recipient of many warm congratulations and mementos, which she receive with smiling grace.
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The World,
Brooklyn, New York
21 July 1894
BORN IN THE DAYS OF WASHINGTON
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis. One Hundred Years Old, Celebrates with Four Generations of Children
(Special to The World)
AMITYVILLE, July 20--Born when Washington was President, Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis to-day celebrated the hundredth anniversary of her birth at the residence of her son, Scudder C. Jervis, in this village. The event was a notable one even for Amityville, which has a score of octogenarians.
Mrs. Jervis is a remarkable person. Her mental faculties are as clear as at the age of fifty years, and frequently during the interview with The World reporter she would correct some of the younger ones present as to the names and dates. She was born near Sayville, where in 1819 she married Joel Jervis, of Huntington. Within a few years they removed to what is now Amityville, but was then know as Belam. Here they lived till his death in 1863. For about a quarter of a century her husband held the office of Justice of the Peace, a position at that time of great importance, as lawyers were few, and the squire usually acted as lawyer and arbitrator, and no man in the county knew the family skeleton closets as well as the county squire.
Mrs. Jervis is the mother of eight children, seven of whom are living, six being present to-day, the seventh, Edna A. Vogt, being at Charleston, S.C. She has twenty-three grandchildren, thirty-eight great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren, nearly all of whom were present. Her oldest child, Phoebe M. Manburen [Van Buren], is seventy-eight years old, while the youngest is sixty-one. The combined ages of the widow and her family aggregate 589 years. As to her personal habits in connection with her long life, she has nothing to say. She always ate what she liked, following the old custom of taking a little wine when she felt like it. Her hearing and eyesight are good, although she has read but little during the last two years. Until that time she regularly read six weekly papers with whatever else came to hand. She has a clear recollection of eight generations of her family.
A remarkable thing is that Mrs. Jervis is much interested in politics, and expressed Jeffersonian Democracy with vigor and clearness. When asked by The World reporter who she considered the best President she quickly replied, “Why, Washington, of course.” But of modern Presidents her ideas were Jackson and Cleveland in that order. The lady is quite indignant over the story published in several papers that she is a pensioner. Her husband enlisted and drilled for the war of 1812, but never was called into active service.
The centennial dinner to-day was eaten in an apple orchard nearly as old as Mrs. Jervis. Over 200 guests were entertained and at the close Mrs. Jervis was apparently as fresh and bright as if she had not entertained this host of friends. Of the six children present not one appeared over sixty years old, and most of them bid fair to become centenarians.
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BORN IN THE DAYS OF WASHINGTON
Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis. One Hundred Years Old, Celebrates with Four Generations of Children
(Special to The World)
AMITYVILLE, July 20--Born when Washington was President, Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis to-day celebrated the hundredth anniversary of her birth at the residence of her son, Scudder C. Jervis, in this village. The event was a notable one even for Amityville, which has a score of octogenarians.
Mrs. Jervis is a remarkable person. Her mental faculties are as clear as at the age of fifty years, and frequently during the interview with The World reporter she would correct some of the younger ones present as to the names and dates. She was born near Sayville, where in 1819 she married Joel Jervis, of Huntington. Within a few years they removed to what is now Amityville, but was then know as Belam. Here they lived till his death in 1863. For about a quarter of a century her husband held the office of Justice of the Peace, a position at that time of great importance, as lawyers were few, and the squire usually acted as lawyer and arbitrator, and no man in the county knew the family skeleton closets as well as the county squire.
Mrs. Jervis is the mother of eight children, seven of whom are living, six being present to-day, the seventh, Edna A. Vogt, being at Charleston, S.C. She has twenty-three grandchildren, thirty-eight great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren, nearly all of whom were present. Her oldest child, Phoebe M. Manburen [Van Buren], is seventy-eight years old, while the youngest is sixty-one. The combined ages of the widow and her family aggregate 589 years. As to her personal habits in connection with her long life, she has nothing to say. She always ate what she liked, following the old custom of taking a little wine when she felt like it. Her hearing and eyesight are good, although she has read but little during the last two years. Until that time she regularly read six weekly papers with whatever else came to hand. She has a clear recollection of eight generations of her family.
A remarkable thing is that Mrs. Jervis is much interested in politics, and expressed Jeffersonian Democracy with vigor and clearness. When asked by The World reporter who she considered the best President she quickly replied, “Why, Washington, of course.” But of modern Presidents her ideas were Jackson and Cleveland in that order. The lady is quite indignant over the story published in several papers that she is a pensioner. Her husband enlisted and drilled for the war of 1812, but never was called into active service.
The centennial dinner to-day was eaten in an apple orchard nearly as old as Mrs. Jervis. Over 200 guests were entertained and at the close Mrs. Jervis was apparently as fresh and bright as if she had not entertained this host of friends. Of the six children present not one appeared over sixty years old, and most of them bid fair to become centenarians.
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The Brooklyn Times (Times Union)
Brooklyn, New York
20 July 1894 page 3
Scores Of Descendants From All Parts Of The Country Visiting The Old Lady At Amityville---A Family History More Than Usually Interesting.
AMITYVILLE, Long Island, July 20, 1894
A contented and happy life, covering a period of just one hundred years, surrounded by children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, is a privilege rarely allotted mortals who dwell on this mundane sphere. Men or women of this class are the exception, not the rule, and Long Island, which is noted the world over for the longevity of its people, is furnishing its quota of persons who live to a remarkable old age and in a large measure retain their faculties.
The village of Amityville claims the proud distinction of containing to-day one of the oldest, if not the oldest, native of this "right little, tight little" spot on the map known as Long Island, in the person of Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, relict of Squire Joel Jervis, who was a man of considerable prominence in Huntington town and Suffolk County affairs.
To-day, at the home which the centenarian graces--where Scudder Carl Jervis, one of her sons, ministers to every comfort and pleasure of her who bore him--there is being celebrated was fairly well posted on the current events as portrayed in their favorite journals, and hers was a remarkable retentive memory. The conditions have changed, however, and to a Times man she complained of a blur before her eyes, and lamented her inability to fully enjoy the contents of the newspapers. Her comparison between the newspaper of her younger days and the journal of to-day was quaint and homely, but highly commendatory of the modern methods of gathering and conveying news of the world.
Mrs. Jervis' faculties, however, have displayed gradual impairment for several months, defective hearing and loss of memory being particularly noticeable. Physically there is no change, and there is a possibility of her life being prolonged for several years to come. Life is enjoyable to her, and loving hands and hearts minister constantly to her every want, and surround her with all the comforts and pleasures means can afford.
A banquet in honor of this occasion was partaken of to-day in the old homestead. Among those who were present were nearly all the forty-three great-grandchildren, the children, grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
The children number eight, as follows:
Mrs. Phoebe M. Van Buren, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Gilbert Smith, Huntington; [Jemima]
Miss Elizabeth Jervis, Amityville;
Scudder Carll Jervis, Amityville;
Henry Clark Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Charlotte R. Sammis, Brooklyn;
William Ireland Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Adele Vogt, Charleston, S. C.
The grandchildren number twenty-two, and the names follow:
Joshua P. Jervis, Amityville;
George S. Jervis, Newtown;
Mrs. Henry Beers, Huntington; [Susan Smith]
Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Huntington; [Sarah E. Smith]
Mordaunt Smith, Brooklyn;
Joel Smith, Northport;
Henry Smith, Brooklyn;
William Smith, Huntington;
Mrs. Nettie Gardiner, Huntington; [Henrietta Smith]
Mr. Horace Smith, Rockville Center;
Mrs. Henry Pettit, Brooklyn; [Isabel Van Buren]
Mrs. Jacob C. Smith, Amityville; [Edna Louisa Van Buren]
Frank Smith, now deceased;
Perlee W. Jervis, Brooklyn;
Frank Jervis, Brooklyn;
Jesse Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mr. Frederick Sammis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Lena Sammis, Brooklyn; [she was a Miss, not a Mrs.]
William Jervis, Northport; [I believe this should say William Van Buren]
Arthur Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Ida Schepmouth, Brooklyn; [Ida Jervis Schepmoes]
[the list is missing the name of George E. Smith]
The three great-great-grandchildren are as follows:-
Ethel Drummond and sister, Huntington; [this should say Ethel Grumman and brother Charles]
Wallace Jeffrey Young, son of Wallace Young, an attaché of the Brooklyn Standard Union.
The event to-day is one of the most important of its character ever celebrated in or about Amityville, and hundreds are flocking to the scene of the festivities and congratulations pour on the centarian, who receives all with the cordiality and hospitality which have marked her life among the people there.
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From The Long Islander
A Centennial Celebration
On Friday of last week Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, of Amityville, reached her one-hundredth birthday, and about eighty of her relatives and friends gathered at the home of Scudder C. Jervis, with whom the centenarian lives, to celebrate the anniversary by a quiet family reunion.
The grounds around the old homestead, where Mrs. Jervis has lived for seventy-five years, were very attractive with their decorations of bunting. She rose with old-time dignity and grace to receive the congratulations of her friends, and did not complain of fatigue, even toward the close of the day. She preferred to walk around without assistance, and indeed was almost as sprightly as any of her guests. A photographer was on the scene, and she was photographed alone, in two groups of five generations each, and in a group composed of all present. While being photographed alone, one of her grandsons, in order to change her position, undertook to lift her chair while she was still sitting in it, but she objected, saying, "You treat me as if I were an old woman." Soon after this Mrs. Jervis walked out to the orchard near by, where a bountiful repast was spread, and took her place at the head of the long table, at which sat nearly seventy of her descendants.
Mrs. Jervis is still a handsome old lady. Her form is straight, and her hair abundant and there is always a trace of color in her cheeks. Only within the last few months have her eyesight and hearing become noticeably impaired. Physically her health is excellent. The partial loss of her eyesight is a great grief to her, as she has always been a great reader, and kept herself posted on current events.
Living under all the Presidents as she has done, she has her political opinions. Washington she considers beyond all question as having been our best President.
Her long life is due to the inheritance of a good constitution, and her careful, temperate living, helped by a calm, contented disposition. She has never had an illness. She has always eaten lean meat, entirely discarding the fat, and always drank strong green tea.
Her children, nearly all of whom were present Friday, are Mrs. Phebe M. Van Buren, Brooklyn; Mrs. Gilbert Smith, who died in 1886; Miss Ann Elizabeth Jervis, Amityville; Scudder C. Jervis, Amityville; H. Clark S. Jervis, Brooklyn; Mrs. Ezra R. Sammis, Brooklyn; Mrs. E. Adele Vogt, Charleston, S. C. The grandchildren are Mrs. Henry Pettit, Mrs. Henry Beers, Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Mrs. Joel Gardiner, Joel Smith, Wm. W. Smith, Mordaunt L. Smith, Henry Smith, Horace Smith, George S. Jervis, Joshua P. Jervis, Perlee V. Jervis, Frank T. Jervis, Miss Jessie W. Jervis, Miss Lena Sammis, Frederick B. Sammis, Mrs. Ida Jervis Schepmoes and Arthur N. Jervis. There are sixty great-grandchildren.
Mrs. E. C. Grumman, of this village, is the oldest great-grandchild, and her daughter, Ethel, is the oldest great-great-grandchild. The other two great-great-grandchildren are Charles S. Grumman, and a small boy by name of Wallace Jeffrey Young.
Mrs. Jervis is the widow of Joel Jervis, who was prominent in politics in the old town of Huntington, for a period of forty years. He held various official positions, and for over a quarter of a century was Justice of the Peace. He died in 1863 at the age of 72 years. She was born at Sayville on July 20, 1894, and is of the family known as the "Tangiers Smiths." She was the only child of Henry Clark Smith and Jemima Terry. Her great-grandfather was Colonel William Smith, governor of Tangiers. [perhaps 3rd great-grandfather, but we're still working on that]
The mother of Mrs. Jervis was a daughter of Jeremiah Terry, of Sayville. Joel Jervis, to whom the centenarian was married in 1815, traced his lineage to Sir Francis Jervais, who came to this county in the ship Primrose, from Scotland in 1636 [26?], landing in Salem Mass. From this ancestry the line ran back to a Gervaise who crossed with William the Conqueror and settled in Scotland. Lord Jervis, the Earl St. Vincent, represented the English branch of the family. Joel Jervis was the only son by Phebe Carll and Joseph I. Jervis, who, by a second marriage, had seven children, one of them being John B. Jervis, [John B. Jervis was a first cousin twice removed and not a half-brother] the engineer of the first croton aqueduct and the man after whom Port Jervis, N. Y. is named.
HAS LIVED A CENTURY.
—
Mrs. Jervis Receiving Congratulations To-day.
—
LONG ISLAND’S OLDEST RESIDENT
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HUNDREDS OF LONG ISLANDERS HONORING HER AT HER HOME.
Scores Of Descendants From All Parts Of The Country Visiting The Old Lady At Amityville---A Family History More Than Usually Interesting.
AMITYVILLE, Long Island, July 20, 1894
A contented and happy life, covering a period of just one hundred years, surrounded by children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, is a privilege rarely allotted mortals who dwell on this mundane sphere. Men or women of this class are the exception, not the rule, and Long Island, which is noted the world over for the longevity of its people, is furnishing its quota of persons who live to a remarkable old age and in a large measure retain their faculties.
The village of Amityville claims the proud distinction of containing to-day one of the oldest, if not the oldest, native of this "right little, tight little" spot on the map known as Long Island, in the person of Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, relict of Squire Joel Jervis, who was a man of considerable prominence in Huntington town and Suffolk County affairs.
To-day, at the home which the centenarian graces--where Scudder Carl Jervis, one of her sons, ministers to every comfort and pleasure of her who bore him--there is being celebrated was fairly well posted on the current events as portrayed in their favorite journals, and hers was a remarkable retentive memory. The conditions have changed, however, and to a Times man she complained of a blur before her eyes, and lamented her inability to fully enjoy the contents of the newspapers. Her comparison between the newspaper of her younger days and the journal of to-day was quaint and homely, but highly commendatory of the modern methods of gathering and conveying news of the world.
Mrs. Jervis' faculties, however, have displayed gradual impairment for several months, defective hearing and loss of memory being particularly noticeable. Physically there is no change, and there is a possibility of her life being prolonged for several years to come. Life is enjoyable to her, and loving hands and hearts minister constantly to her every want, and surround her with all the comforts and pleasures means can afford.
A banquet in honor of this occasion was partaken of to-day in the old homestead. Among those who were present were nearly all the forty-three great-grandchildren, the children, grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
The children number eight, as follows:
Mrs. Phoebe M. Van Buren, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Gilbert Smith, Huntington; [Jemima]
Miss Elizabeth Jervis, Amityville;
Scudder Carll Jervis, Amityville;
Henry Clark Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Charlotte R. Sammis, Brooklyn;
William Ireland Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Adele Vogt, Charleston, S. C.
The grandchildren number twenty-two, and the names follow:
Joshua P. Jervis, Amityville;
George S. Jervis, Newtown;
Mrs. Henry Beers, Huntington; [Susan Smith]
Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Huntington; [Sarah E. Smith]
Mordaunt Smith, Brooklyn;
Joel Smith, Northport;
Henry Smith, Brooklyn;
William Smith, Huntington;
Mrs. Nettie Gardiner, Huntington; [Henrietta Smith]
Mr. Horace Smith, Rockville Center;
Mrs. Henry Pettit, Brooklyn; [Isabel Van Buren]
Mrs. Jacob C. Smith, Amityville; [Edna Louisa Van Buren]
Frank Smith, now deceased;
Perlee W. Jervis, Brooklyn;
Frank Jervis, Brooklyn;
Jesse Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mr. Frederick Sammis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Lena Sammis, Brooklyn; [she was a Miss, not a Mrs.]
William Jervis, Northport; [I believe this should say William Van Buren]
Arthur Jervis, Brooklyn;
Mrs. Ida Schepmouth, Brooklyn; [Ida Jervis Schepmoes]
[the list is missing the name of George E. Smith]
The three great-great-grandchildren are as follows:-
Ethel Drummond and sister, Huntington; [this should say Ethel Grumman and brother Charles]
Wallace Jeffrey Young, son of Wallace Young, an attaché of the Brooklyn Standard Union.
The event to-day is one of the most important of its character ever celebrated in or about Amityville, and hundreds are flocking to the scene of the festivities and congratulations pour on the centarian, who receives all with the cordiality and hospitality which have marked her life among the people there.
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From The Long Islander
Huntington, New York
A Centennial Celebration
On Friday of last week Mrs. Elizabeth Jervis, of Amityville, reached her one-hundredth birthday, and about eighty of her relatives and friends gathered at the home of Scudder C. Jervis, with whom the centenarian lives, to celebrate the anniversary by a quiet family reunion.
The grounds around the old homestead, where Mrs. Jervis has lived for seventy-five years, were very attractive with their decorations of bunting. She rose with old-time dignity and grace to receive the congratulations of her friends, and did not complain of fatigue, even toward the close of the day. She preferred to walk around without assistance, and indeed was almost as sprightly as any of her guests. A photographer was on the scene, and she was photographed alone, in two groups of five generations each, and in a group composed of all present. While being photographed alone, one of her grandsons, in order to change her position, undertook to lift her chair while she was still sitting in it, but she objected, saying, "You treat me as if I were an old woman." Soon after this Mrs. Jervis walked out to the orchard near by, where a bountiful repast was spread, and took her place at the head of the long table, at which sat nearly seventy of her descendants.
Mrs. Jervis is still a handsome old lady. Her form is straight, and her hair abundant and there is always a trace of color in her cheeks. Only within the last few months have her eyesight and hearing become noticeably impaired. Physically her health is excellent. The partial loss of her eyesight is a great grief to her, as she has always been a great reader, and kept herself posted on current events.
Living under all the Presidents as she has done, she has her political opinions. Washington she considers beyond all question as having been our best President.
Her long life is due to the inheritance of a good constitution, and her careful, temperate living, helped by a calm, contented disposition. She has never had an illness. She has always eaten lean meat, entirely discarding the fat, and always drank strong green tea.
Her children, nearly all of whom were present Friday, are Mrs. Phebe M. Van Buren, Brooklyn; Mrs. Gilbert Smith, who died in 1886; Miss Ann Elizabeth Jervis, Amityville; Scudder C. Jervis, Amityville; H. Clark S. Jervis, Brooklyn; Mrs. Ezra R. Sammis, Brooklyn; Mrs. E. Adele Vogt, Charleston, S. C. The grandchildren are Mrs. Henry Pettit, Mrs. Henry Beers, Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Mrs. Joel Gardiner, Joel Smith, Wm. W. Smith, Mordaunt L. Smith, Henry Smith, Horace Smith, George S. Jervis, Joshua P. Jervis, Perlee V. Jervis, Frank T. Jervis, Miss Jessie W. Jervis, Miss Lena Sammis, Frederick B. Sammis, Mrs. Ida Jervis Schepmoes and Arthur N. Jervis. There are sixty great-grandchildren.
Mrs. E. C. Grumman, of this village, is the oldest great-grandchild, and her daughter, Ethel, is the oldest great-great-grandchild. The other two great-great-grandchildren are Charles S. Grumman, and a small boy by name of Wallace Jeffrey Young.
Mrs. Jervis is the widow of Joel Jervis, who was prominent in politics in the old town of Huntington, for a period of forty years. He held various official positions, and for over a quarter of a century was Justice of the Peace. He died in 1863 at the age of 72 years. She was born at Sayville on July 20, 1894, and is of the family known as the "Tangiers Smiths." She was the only child of Henry Clark Smith and Jemima Terry. Her great-grandfather was Colonel William Smith, governor of Tangiers. [perhaps 3rd great-grandfather, but we're still working on that]
The mother of Mrs. Jervis was a daughter of Jeremiah Terry, of Sayville. Joel Jervis, to whom the centenarian was married in 1815, traced his lineage to Sir Francis Jervais, who came to this county in the ship Primrose, from Scotland in 1636 [26?], landing in Salem Mass. From this ancestry the line ran back to a Gervaise who crossed with William the Conqueror and settled in Scotland. Lord Jervis, the Earl St. Vincent, represented the English branch of the family. Joel Jervis was the only son by Phebe Carll and Joseph I. Jervis, who, by a second marriage, had seven children, one of them being John B. Jervis, [John B. Jervis was a first cousin twice removed and not a half-brother] the engineer of the first croton aqueduct and the man after whom Port Jervis, N. Y. is named.
Mrs. Jervis was the recipient of many pretty and useful gifts, and the whole occasion was very enjoyable. May she live to witness many more.
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