Information Overload

[xoxoxoBruce]

It started with a picture.



Ok, that's pretty cool, from the Library of Congress and all, so it must be legit.
Lost his arm 40 years earlier? 116 - 40 = 76, wonder what he was doing at 78 to lose his arm?
So I says to myself, self says I, I'll Google him. About 28,000 results (0.38 seconds)
Then I clicked on the first can of worms.

Chedorloamer (Lomer) Griffin
Born April 22, 1772 in Granby, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of Charity Moore — married April 15, 1797 in Simsbury, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Husband of Charity Blodgett — married January 13, 1831 in Harrisville, Medina, Ohio, USA
[children unknown]
Died September 16, 1878 in Lodi, Medina, Ohio, USA

Wait, the Library of Congress picture says born in 1759, not 1772.

Try another can of worms.

THE OLDEST MAN DEAD – The death of Somer Griffin, at Lodi, Ohio, at the age of 106, has already been mentioned. The local journals give some interesting particulars about the man. He died at last from the effects of a fall while splitting wood in his back yard – a vigorous occupation, surely, for a man of his age. But for this accident, it is thought he have lived five or six years longer.
He was a native of the village of Simsbury, Hardford [sic] county, Conn., and resided there until he was 46, when he started West in mid-winter with his family, carrying his worldly goods in a box on an old sled, accompanied by his wife and five children. In ten weeks he reached Medina county, Ohio, put up a log cabin, and made it his home for many years, removing at last to Lodi,10 miles distant.

He was thrice married, and 12 children by his three wives. He was 72 when he took his last wife, who was 40 years his junior, who bore him three children, and who survives him. He always used liquor until a short time before his death, and drank tea and coffee, though he never smoked or chewed tobacco. He was never ill a single day in his very long life until after his fall, when he was confined to his bed five or six weeks.
In politics he had always taken a warm interest, having cast his maiden vote for Washington on his second accession to the Presidency, in 1793. First he was a Federalist; then a Democrat; then a Whig, and finally a Republican, in which faith he died. He is said to have been the oldest man in America, having been born April 22, 1772.

Hmm, there's that 1772 again, but "never ill a single day", how in hell did he lose his arm?
Hi honey, how was your day? Oh, fair to middlin', except my arm fell off.
Well, this link was part 1, let's look at can of worms 2

The Tiffin Tribune seemed to have finally set the record straight on May 16, 1878 as to Chadorlaomer “Lomer” Griffin’s actual age, although it does appear the newspaper may have either mis-reported or mis-printed the birth year (see Part One). The Tribune had dug around in some old birth records which indicated his actual birth date was April 22, 1774. Later accounts and historical records, however, would indicate the date was April 22, 1772, yet Lomer’s own personal accounts seemed to back up the original claim of being born in 1759.
Chadorlaomer “Lomer” Griffin was born to parents Nathaniel and Abigail Griffin in Hartford County, Connecticut. Years later he would claim to remember (or at least that’s what newspapers reported) “distinctly the departure of his brothers, one younger than himself, for the revolutionary army, to also part in the great contest for independence and liberty, while he remained behind to assist in taking care of the homestead.”

If the above quote is accurate, that would seem mathematically to lean more toward the 1759 date because it mentions a brother younger than himself who left to join the fight. Assuming his brother headed off sometime between the beginning of hostilities in 1775 until the war’s end in 1783 following Cornwallis’ surrender, it’s possible that a brother of sixteen or seventeen could have joined the war effort while Lomer remained behind. It would have been less common to have anyone much younger join the war, however, even if serving as a drummer boy. The youngest boy to serve is reported to have been Nathan Futrell who joined the North Carolina militia at the age of seven.

Further down this can of worms it gets bizarre.

In 1875 Lomer became a celebrity of sorts as newspapers reported him to be the oldest man in America. That may or may not have been true. The following year marked the centennial anniversary of America’s founding and a list of “Centennial Centenarians” was published by the Baltimore Sun Almanac. Interestingly, the short article listed several others, men and women, reported to have been considerably older than Lomer, although at the time most newspapers were still of the belief he was several years older.
The centenarians included Betsy Carr, a New Hampshire deaf mute woman who had turned 105 on her last birthday;
Esther Norcutt of Massachusetts was 110;
Captain Frederick Lahrbush of New York was reported to be 110 years old;
Milly Carpenter of North Carolina, 110;
Benjamin Greer of Kentucky, 113 (and newly married!);
John C. La Mont of Maine, 107 with 23 children (and chewed tobacco steadily);
Mr. Shepard of Massachusetts, 119;
John E. Peoples of South Carolina, 126 and his wife who was 123;
Mrs. Nellie Dodd of Bowling Green, Kentucky, 116;
Perez Gurillen of Los Angeles, 137;
and drum roll . . . . Harriet Hawley, born in New Hampshire in 1733 was purported to have been 143 years old!

Oh c'mon, those numbers are a little hard to swallow, even without processed food and corn sweeteners.
However it did go on to say...

An interesting part of his story which added to the challenges Lomer faced as a single father was an accident which occurred sometime during his second marriage. He was passing through a heavily wooded area during a storm when a branch broke off, injuring his shoulder. For years his arm hung loosely at his side, but never healed properly and was later amputated. The loss of his right arm, however, never once hindered his ability to work. Following the amputation he was still able to shave himself, swing an axe and work in his fields.

That remaining arm must have been really strong in his single parent days, it's a wonder he was able to have children with his next wife.

So there you have the wonder and danger of the internet.
A little curiosity will lead you to information overload which may or may not be true.
Wish I had a life.

[Clodfobble]

You know what kind of 72-year-old can get a 32-year-old wife? The kind who is charming, charismatic, and a good liar. His memory about his brother going off to the war is sentimentally touching, and thus probably a lie. I believe the birth certificates that say 1772-1774ish.

[xoxoxoBruce]

As far as being a silver tongued devil, well... Griffin.
Around 1840 social services were nil, so a woman who was without family support, maybe a widow, or even just an "old maid" with no prospects, would see Lomer as a viable alternative.

[Pamela]

May-December marriages were quite ordinary in those days.

[Gravdigr]

Dude made three kids, after age 72.

Just sayin'.

[xoxoxoBruce]

No TV, radio, internet, sports bar, central heat, tension relieving medications, what's a fella to do.

[Gravdigr]

Yeah, it's not like he could beat off.

Well, not for long, anyway...He couldn't switch hands.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Nor could he use the mouse while he was into it.

[Gravdigr]

I prefer not to think how he might've been (ahem) using a mouse in the 1800s.

[footfootfoot]

I, for one, welcome our new information overloads.

[infinite monkey]

Great minds and all...I was thinking the same thing.