The Oldest Woman in Perry County.

There is no doubt that Catherine Cavinee, who died August 8, 1901, at the age of one hundred and five years was the oldest person that ever lived in Perry county. She was born in Pennsylvania and came to Perry county when she was nearing middle life, The county was then practicaly one unbroken forest, except, where the pioneer settler had here and there begun his clearing. No bands of steel crossed the county as a net-work, but the hunter's trail and the settler's path were the only roads. There were no bridges across the streams. There were only a few small hamlets. The population of the county was only a few hundreds. There were no blast-furnaces to light up the darkness of the night. The hills had not begun to pour out their tons of "black diamonds." The screech of the locomotive, the whirr of wheels and the hum of industry had not yet been heard. Instead there were the sounds of the woodman's axe, as he drove it into the heart of the oak; the gurgle of the brook as it trickled over ledge and rock through the virgin forest, the voice of bird and beast as if they were discussing the new order of things. What a transition to have seen the changes of three centuries. It is not given to many to so see. But to have lived from Washington to McKinley; to have seen the growth of a Republic; to have seen forests change to fields, and these fields to teem with a great popula- tion, and then to "wrap the drapery of the couch about us and lie down to pleasant dreams," is a boon to be desired. 191

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