In 1877, the remarkable 108-year-old John Roseberry stood at just four feet tall and captivated the people of Yorkshire with his unique lifestyle. Surviving on a daily diet of three beers and no solids, he was well-known in many Yorkshire Towns as the Centenarian Pedlar who travelled around on the railways selling stationery to earn money. He was interviewed by a journalist and the details of his life made it into newspapers across the country.
Born in Whitby, in 1769, John's working life began at the tender age of 13, when he started an apprenticeship in Leeds for a grocer and chandler. A year later, he began smoking and indulged in cigarettes every day for the rest of his life. Living to a ripe old age ran in the family - John's father (John Roseberry Snr) lived to be 98 and was buried at Leeds Parish Church.
John caused a local scandal when, at 20 years old, he married the local Vicar's daughter who was only 13! Despite trying to keep it secret, their union was discovered and John was thrown in jail while his young wife was sent back to be with her father and finish her schooling.
He was tried in court but amazingly - was acquitted! Perhaps even more surprisingly, the marriage endured. John and his wife stayed together and had 87 happy years of marriage, many of them spent in Peterborough.
John and his wife had no fewer than 22 children together and outlived all of them. They attended the funerals of all 22 children, the last of which was one of his 17 sons, who'd lived to be 82 years old. Despite carrying so many children, John's wife remained in good health and lived to be 98.
At 108, John was still in fine fettle. Described as 'hale and hearty and has the use of all his faculties in a remarkable degree'.
At 110 years of age, and now a Supercentenarian, John mysteriously went missing....
While staying at a lodging house in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he enjoyed an evening meal before declaring to his dinner companions"this shall be my last supper."
The next morning, John didn't emerge from his room and upon inspection, it was discovered that he was gone. A frantic search ensued and eventually, his hat and cane were discovered by the nearby river.
A theory quickly emerged that John had decided to end his long life, perhaps no longer able to go on having been forced to say goodbye to all his children and his beloved lifelong partner only a few years earlier.
A few days later, a lifeless body was found floating down the river Ouse only a couple of miles from the house where John had his last supper.
It was quickly confirmed that the tiny body was that of 110-year-old John Roseberry.
By the end of the century, there were hundreds of people with the surname Roseberry in North Yorkshire and it was widely believed they were all descended from John and his teenage bride. So if you have the Roseberry name in your family history, there's a good chance you might be related to John as well...
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