SIR RALPH VERNON.
Much has been written in "N. & Q." respecting the "Old Countess of Desmond," who is said to have died at the age of 140; but there is a still more remarkable instance of longevity recorded in the pedigree of the Vernon family, and which seems to be too well authenticated to admit of doubt. Sir Ralph Vernon, of Shipbrooke (Lysonsi styles him Baron of Shipbrooke, a barony founded by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester), who was born some time in the thirteenth century, died at the great age of 150! and is said to have been succeeded by his descendant in the sixth generation. He was called the "Old Sir Ralph," or Sir R. "the long liver." His first wife was a daughter of the Lord Dacre; and in 1325 he made a settlement on the marriage of his grandson (or, as some pedigrees represent, great-grandson,) Sir Ralph with the daughter of Richard Damory, Chief Justice of Chester. This deed was the cause of future litigation; and it is said that the papers respecting this law-suit still exist, to prove the fact of the old knight's patriarchal age. I would refer those who may be curious for further information on the subject to Ormerod's History of Cheshire, where, in the pedigree of "Vernon of Shipbrooke," they will find some account of "Old Sir Ralph."
While on the subject of longevity, I may mention that in 1833, while passing through Savoy on my way from Italy, I saw and conversed with an old woman, who was then in her 119th year. It was at Lanslebourg, on the Mont Cenis. Her name was Elizabeth Durieux, and the date of her birth was the 17th of December, 1714, only four months after the death of Queen Anne, and when Louis XIV. still occupied the throne of France. Her age was well authenticated. In early life she had been in the service of the then reigning family, and a small pension had been settled upon her, which she had been receiving nearly a century; and, until within ten years of the time when I saw her, she had been in the habit of journeying on foot over the mountain annually to receive it. She had all her faculties, with the exception of a slight degree of deafness; and assured me that she could remember everything distinctly for one hundred and twelve years! She was bony, large limbed, and appeared to have been a tall strong woman formerly; excessively wrinkled, and very dirty. How long she may have continued to live after I saw her in 1833, I know not.
W. SNEYD.
Denton.