Irish Bill Kingsley

[archieclement]

Came across a minor account of him today....

Supposedly fought at battle of Trafalgar, enlisted in the Confederate Navy at age of 80, lived to be over 120.

William “Irish Bill” Kingsley (1781-1906) - Find a...

Military Figure. He gained fame for being an elderly soldier. Born in Ireland, he served in the Royal Navy where he fought in the War of 1812, the Battle of Trafalgar and the Crimean War under Horatio Nelson. In 1857, after the war was over, Kingsley moved to Bloomfield, Missouri. In 1861, he...

www.findagrave.com

 

[TallTallMan]

Came across a minor account of him today....

Supposedly fought at battle of Trafalgar, enlisted in the Confederate Navy at age of 80, lived to be over 120.

William “Irish Bill” Kingsley (1781-1906) - Find a...

Military Figure. He gained fame for being an elderly soldier. Born in Ireland, he served in the Royal Navy where he fought in the War of 1812, the Battle of Trafalgar and the Crimean War under Horatio Nelson. In 1857, after the war was over, Kingsley moved to Bloomfield, Missouri. In 1861, he...

www.findagrave.com

Now THAT'S a character.

 

[Pollaco]

I can't help but notice the word "supposedly" in the opening post. Can that part about an 80 year old joining the Navy be verified?

 

[archieclement]

I can't help but notice the word "supposedly" in the opening post. Can that part about an 80 year old joining the Navy be verified?

He joined confederate cavalry, not sure about the navy part. Though the Confederate Navy as far as river gunboats would sometimes take volunteers from army. Phelans Regt would been MSG before transferring to Confederate service.

I used supposedly more in reference to Trafalger, as don't how one would find record of that. I copied navy from the find a grave piece, his gravestone and records show cavalry.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

His story appears far-fetched. Thought it highly unlikely that he lived to 125 years in that era, or in any other era for that matter.

Interestingly, the 'Find-a-Grave' description appears loose with the facts, casting doubt on the exactitudes of the dates mentioned. The description states he fought in the War of 1812, the Battle of Trafalgar and the Crimean War, under Horatio Nelson. But Nelson was killed at Trafalgar in 1805. It's also stated that he died ...'purportedly at the age of 125'... The use of the word 'purportedly' here does not engender confidence, and is unconvincing.

He might have lived over a long lifespan, but not 125 years.

 

[52ndFandS]

His story appears far-fetched. Thought it highly unlikely that he lived to 125 years in that era, or in any other era for that matter.

Interestingly, the 'Find-a-Grave' description appears loose with the facts, casting doubt on the exactitudes of the dates mentioned. The description states he fought in the War of 1812, the Battle of Trafalgar and the Crimean War, under Horatio Nelson. But Nelson was killed at Trafalgar in 1805. It's also stated that he died ...'purportedly at the age of 125'... The use of the word 'purportedly' here does not engender confidence, and is unconvincing.

He might have lived over a long lifespan, but not 125 years.

I'm no doctor but anyone who could live through 18th snd 29th century disease may not have lived to 125 but had a Herculean immune system.

 

[SWS]

I have an ancestor who lived to be 99. She was born shortly following the conclusion of King Philip's War (1678) and died in the midst of the Revolution (1777), resulting in an article in The Connecticut Journal.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

I'm no doctor but anyone who could live through 18th snd 29th century disease may not have lived to 125 but had a Herculean immune system.

Sure, there were intervening environmental events, like wars and disease epidemics, that Kingsley appeared to survive.

He also lived through an era without ultra-processed foods and involving more physical activity, factors which are generally accepted today as being conducive to longer lifespans. He might too have won the genetic lottery of having long-life family genes being passed down. (Do we know the lived age of his parents and any siblings?).

Even if Kingsley's lived age was an outlier (and atypical), in the U.S. for instance, the average life expectancy was 39.4 years in 1860, and it rose to 78.9 years in 2020. ( See https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/ ).

Would consider it near impossible, on the basis of statistical or physical likelihood, that he lived (at least in the so-called western part of the world) to anywhere close to the age claimed of 125 years.

 

[52ndFandS]

Sure, there were intervening environmental events, like wars and disease epidemics, that Kingsley appeared to survive.

He also lived through an era without ultra-processed foods and involving more physical activity, factors which are generally accepted today as being conducive to longer lifespans. He might too have won the genetic lottery of having long-life family genes being passed down. (Do we know the lived age of his parents and any siblings?).

Even if Kingsley's lived age was an outlier (and atypical), in the U.S. for instance, the average life expectancy was 39.4 years in 1860, and it rose to 78.9 years in 2020. ( See https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/ ).

Would consider it near impossible, on the basis of statistical or physical likelihood, that he lived (at least in the so-called western part of the world) to anywhere close to the age claimed of 125 years.

I didn't know the stats. It's interesting. Everyone in my family from 1830 or so on has lived well into their 80s, some their late 90s. With some exceptions of course. That does not include a few that were not fast enough to escape federal bullets and oddly, at least one fist fight.

 

[Cavalier]

To actually have fought in the Napoleonic wars, the Crimean War and the U.S. Civil War would seem to me to be quite an accomplishment in itself. I believe they did make them tougher in those days but I'm not sure about living to 120. I hope he made it though !

John

 

[Nathan Stuart]

To actually have fought in the Napoleonic wars, the Crimean War and the U.S. Civil War would seem to me to be quite an accomplishment in itself. I believe they did make them tougher in those days but I'm not sure about living to 120. I hope he made it though !

John

To endure through three wars, so many years apart, would have been an eroding experience - difficult to believe that he could have managed it, let alone survived to such an age claimed.