LETTER: Chapin resident meets man born in 1809

Addison Bostain Jr., a former Chapin resident, met a man named L. Reid who was born 217 years ago in 1809, when some of the founding fathers were still alive, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Addison, a longtime Chapin resident, was born in Whiteside, Tennessee, in 1914.  He lived to the age of 100 and died in Chapin in 2014.

One day in 1922, when Addison was 8 years old, he was sitting on his front porch in Whiteside and he saw an old African American man walking down the street.  He asked his aunt who the man was and his aunt told him his name was Mr. Reid and that he was well over 100 years old. 

Three years later, Addison saw Mr. Reid’s obituary in the newspaper and he recognized him as the man he saw walking down the street.  The article said that, according to his friends, there are many things to verify Mr. Reid’s age as 116, which would place is birth in 1809. As a child, Reid remembered the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States. This made an impression on Addison, and he cut out the obituary and saved it in his archives.

The article went on to say that Reid was born near Macon, Georgia.  After slaves were liberated in 1865, he moved to Whiteside, Tennessee, where he lived until his death. He was an ardent member of the Primitive Church and was well known as the community’s oldest resident. His funeral on June 21, 1925, was attended by many people from many miles around.

Both Reid and Addison maintained physical and mental vigor into their old age. Between them, they lived during 205 years of the 250 years of this country’s history.

At age 100, Addison could remember specific details about historical events and personal events such as baseball games he played 80 years prior. These two men witnessed most of the major events and inventions of this country. Addison knew Civil War veterans and was a first lieutenant in World War II. He observed the development of inventions such as electricity, automobiles, radios, televisions, space travel and computers. Reid lived through the horrors of slavery. What stories they could tell!

Ronnie Bostain
Mount Pleasant

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