Mahala Wells Huff

Mahala Wells Huff and son, Henderson Wells

                The only pensioner on the records of the United States Government, Mrs. Mahala Wells Huff, 108 years old, died at her home near Louisa early Thursday morning January 13th.

                Mrs. Huff who was in excellent health until a few days ago was born at Wellsville, W Va , December 25, 1918. She lived with her son, Henderson Wells who is now 74 years old.

                Mrs. Huff, not withstanding her age was by no means a burden on her family. She helped with the housework. Glasses were her only concession to her great age. Her features were wrinkled only slightly more than they had been 40 years ago, and she was cheerful until the last.

                Mrs. Huff's husband James, who enlisted when he was 19 years old to fight the British in the War of 1812 died in 1872. Mrs. Huff was then granted a pension. recently it was discovered that she was the last pensioner of that war and the oldest pensioner of the United States.

                Just a few days before her death, Aunt Mahala remarked jokingly to one of her visitors that "I just intend to keep going until I die, I enjoy living as much as I always did and i do not expect to get tired of it.

                Aunt Mahala Huff claimed the distinction of being the oldest living pensioner from the War of 1912. She lived with her son, Henderson Wells and his wife, Mrs. Laura Wells, on a farm about seven miles from Louisa, in a region virtually in accessible to travelers other than by foot or by mule or by horseback.

                When she was about 90 years old she practically became blind, but after passing the century mark she regained her sight rapidly and went without glasses.

                Twenty five years ago she suffered from epilepsy but she has had no trouble since the century mark.

                When she was 67 she fell and broke her hip which caused her much pain for two to three years. However the venerable old lady apparently recovered fully and moved about the 268 acre farm without difficulty.

                Rheumatism was a great worry to Mrs. Huff during her middle age but, living to be 100 she outgrew it.

                Toothaches seem to have vanished with the century insofar as Aunt Mahala was concerned. She never visited a dentist and still had enough of her own teeth left to enable her to eat in comfort. When it was necessary to have a tooth drawn in younger day, she attended to that matter herself.

                Aunt Mahala wore her years with grace and dignity. The recurrent cycles of the seasons have left their record on her face in lines of deft and delicate etching. Her hair was like a cap of fine spun silver. Her hands were heavily veined and corded. It was her hands, laying on her lap motionless as she talked that testified most eloquently to her years and the manner in they have been spent. Looking at them clasped at the gingham apron one saw the long round of milking and keeping house, and farm chores, mayhap, many times farm work they have done, for the life of a woman on the mountain is a stern taskmaster.

                But it was in her eyes that gave to Mrs. Huff an air of wisdom and of latent strength. Set wll apart, her eyes were bright until the last, not withstanding her great age.

                Aunt Mahala talked but little. The years have made her a good listener rather than a garrulous old woman. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say but apparently experience has taught her the futility of wasting time and thought on trivialities.

                In brief the essence of Aunt Mahala's creed evolved from more than a century of living, it that work is what really counts after all and that life even 108 years of it, is to brief to waste on non-essentials.

                Politically Aunt Mahala was a democrat, but not hopelessly so, as the fact that she married a republican would indicate. In fact her opinion in this respect seemed that the country would get along not because of the Democrats and republicans but in spite of them.

                Although she spent her life in a little world consisting of Western West Virginia, Southern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky, she was no twentieth century Rip Van Winkle in Skirts discovered on Greasy Creek or Hell-for-Sartan and brought out of the wilderness for a first sight of a railroad train.

                Riding on the steamers was no novelty to her and she has seen airplanes in flight. John Woods, formerly from Louisa, having piloted his plan over the Huff farm to show Aunt Mahala how a man at last has learned to fly.

...paper missing... Ohio, is the most distant point from her home to which he had ever gone and Huntington, WVa is the largest town she has ever visited. Her last trip away from home was made about 4 years ago when she went to visit Florence Vinson, a neighbor, two miles away.

                Aunt Mahala leaves four grandchildren, Miss Carrie Wells and Miss Irene Wells both nurses living in Chicago; Willis Wells of Cincinnati and Talmadge Wells, an employee of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. Both the grandsons served in the United States Army during the World war and their grandmother had pardonable pride in their military experience.

                In saying that Aunt Mahala is officially 108 years old it should be explained that she is not certain of the exact year and date of her birth and that her age is fixed at 108 by the pension records. She was living with the family of John Frazier on Mill Creek, WV when she was wooed by, and wed to James Huff. She was at that time the mother of a son and Mr Huff was a widower. No children were born of their marriage.

                An inquiry at the Bureau of Pensions relative to the record of Mr. Huff brought this reply:

                "It appears that Mr. Huff enlisted at Jonesville, Lee County Virginia, November 5, 1812 and served as a private in Capt. G W Camp's Co., or Virginia Militia and was discharged March 10, 1814.

                He married in August 1816, Anna Pennington, or Pendleton and she died July 19, 1864. He married December 1869, in Wayne County W. Va., Mahala Wells. He was allowed pension on his application dated September 27, 1871, at the time he was 77 years old and he died February 10, 1879 in Wayne County, W. Va.

                His widow Mahala was allowed pension on her application March 15, 1879 and she then stated that she was 60 years old. Her present post office address is R F D No. 2, Louisa Ky.

                With all her human Qualities, it must be admitted that in one phase of her character Aunt Mahala is eccentric. Of that small group of persons who in recent times have reached 100 year mile post she is probably the only one who did not have a formula to attain the age.

                Aunt Mahala who lived to be 108 was loved and respected by all.

The Paintsville Herald

March 10, 1927 Thursday