Bettie Wilson
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American supercentenarians (i.e. citizens of the United States who have attained the age of at least 110 years) include:

Summary table

The order of people in the main list is by date of birth. The table below summarizes the people listed on this page, providing name, birth year, age and an indicator of whether or not the person is still living or deceased. Age claims may be disputed, but this is not indicated in the summary table.

People

Martha Graham

Martha Graham (December 27?, 1844? – June 25, 1959) was an American supercentenarian who became the oldest recorded person ever. Guinness World Records recognizes her as being born into slavery in December 1844 in Virginia, and to have died at age 114 years and 180 days in Fayetteville, North Carolina.^[2] Using this, an extrapolated birth date is December 27, 1844. Her original claimed year of birth, however, was 1840.^{citation neededoriginal research?} According to continuous Guinness books in the 1970s, she allegedly claimed to be "117 or 118," suggesting more than 1 year of birth (1840 and 1841). The 1900 census is the only census listing her as born in 1844 (aged 114).

As of June 2008, Graham is listed as one of the 50 longest lived people ever.

Fannie Thomas

Fannie Thomas (April 14?, 1867 - January 22, 1981)^[3] was listed in Guinness World Records as the oldest living American supercentenarian. As the Shigechiyo Izumi case was later disputed, Thomas may in fact have been the world's oldest person when she died at 113 years and 283? days.^{citation needed} Her age was validated by a SSA study in 2002.^{citation needed} However, the study put her birthdate as April 14, 1867, making her ten days older than previously believed.^{citation needed}

As of June 2008, Thomas is listed as one of the 80 longest lived people ever.

Mary McKinney

Mary Elizabeth Wallace McKinney (May 30, 1873 – February 2, 1987) was briefly recognized by Guinness as the world's oldest person. Following the death of fellow 113-year-old Mamie Eva Keith in September 1986, she became the "world's oldest person" according to the Guinness Book of Records. However, her own death five months later in Sacramento, California meant that she never appeared in the record book, even though her Guinness recognition made the news. She lived for 113 years and 248 days.

As of June 2008, McKinney is listed as one of the 100 longest lived people ever.

Florence Knapp

Florence Knapp (October 10, 1873 – January 11, 1988) was, for the last two weeks of her life, recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person in the world.

Born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, she lived in nearby Montgomery Square much of her life and came from a large and long-lived family, eight of her siblings dying in their 80s and 90s and one sister reaching 108.

By October 1987, when she was honored by the Pennsylvania legislature, she was recognized by Guinness as the oldest person in the United States, and the death of Anna Eliza Williams that December made her oldest authenticated person in the world. Her death shortly thereafter meant that she never appeared in a Guinness Book as oldest living person.

Her death caused some confusion as to who her successor was, with Guinness recognition and press publicity alighting first on Orpha Nusbaum (August 1875 – March 1988), who died before the 1989 edition's deadline, then Birdie May Vogt (August 1876 – July 1989), who appeared in the 1989 edition's main text, then Jeanne Calment, mentioned in the addenda section, and finally in November 1988 on Carrie C. White, whose claim to birth in November 1874 was accepted. With recent census research calling White's authentication into question, however, Jeanne Calment may very well have been Florence Knapp's actual immediate successor.

As of June 2008, Knapp is listed as one of the 60 longest lived people ever.

Carrie C. White

Carrie C. White, born Carrie C. Joyner (November 18, 1874? – February 14, 1991), was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person in the world around the time she celebrated her alleged 114th birthday in 1988.

A resident of a Palatka, Florida nursing home, she had been institutionalized since a nervous breakdown in 1909, about the time of her divorce. Her documentation was described as impeccable, but recent research has indicated she might in fact have been 21 rather than 35 when she was admitted, meaning she probably died at 102 (instead of 116).^{citation needed}

If this is the case, Jeanne Calment became the world's oldest living person not when Carrie White died February 14, 1991 (considered the holder of the United States longevity record until it was first broken by Lucy Hannah, then later by Sarah Knauss), but immediately on the death of Florence Knapp in January 1988. However, the 1900 Census match could not be considered an unequivocal identification.

As of June 2008, White is listed as one of the 10 longest lived people ever; however, there is still much speculation concerning this case.^{citation needed}

Joe Thomas

Joe Thomas (May 1, 1875 - December 14, 1986) was an American supercentenarian and the oldest recognized living man from February 1986 until his own death. He lived in Louisiana. Following his death, Herman Smith-Johannsen became the world's oldest living man.

(Note: this is a retroactive reconstruction of history. In reality, the Joe Thomas case was not verified until July 2002 by the SSA study, and Guinness did not recuperate the "oldest living man" category until 2000).

Ettie Mae Greene

Ettie Mae Greene (September 8, 1877 – February 26, 1992) was an American supercentenarian who was recognized by Guinness World Records as the 'oldest living American' in 1991 (later, the SSA study would replace her with Lucy Hannah, who was apparently older).^{citation needed} She was born in Wayside, West Virginia, and worked as a seamstress and a farmer.^{citation needed} In an interview in 1991, she claimed that her longevity was due to her "good, clean living" and a milkshake she drank every day.^{citation needed}

Greene died of a cold at the Springfield Comprehensive Care Center in Springfield, West Virginia.^{citation needed} At the time of her death at age 114, she had nine children (four of whom she had outlived), 21 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren and 37 great-great-grandchildren.^{citation needed} She still holds the record for being the the oldest person ever in the state of West Virginia.

As of June 2008, Greene is listed as one of the 50 longest lived people ever.

• New York Times obituary

Wilhelmina Geringer Kott

Wilhelmina Geringer Kott (March 7, 1880 - September 6, 1994) was an American supercentenarian recognized by Guinness World Records as the 'oldest living American' in its 1995 edition, following the passing of Margaret Skeete. Born in Peru, Illinois as one of 16 children, she moved to Chicago in 1881, where she lived almost her entire life and subsequently died.

Her age was subject to a one-year discrepancy. Guinness recognized her as born in 1879 (based on the 1900 Census), but later research by the SSA study showed that she was listed as two months old in the 1880 Census, making her age more likely 114, not 115.

As of June 2008, Kott is listed as one of the 40 longest lived people ever.

Mary Electa Bidwell

Mary Electa Bidwell (May 9, 1881 - April 25, 1996)^[4] was an American supercentenarian. She died at 114 years and 352 days, making her the 26th oldest person to ever live and the oldest American living at the time of her death. She was also the oldest person ever to die in Connecticut.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Her parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Bidwell worked as a teacher in a one-room school house for six years. She married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, a distant cousin, in 1906.^[5]

Bidwell lived on her own in North Haven, Connecticut until she was 110. Bidwell died at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut.^[4][7] She was the last surviving person documented as born in 1881.

As of June 2008, Bidwell is listed as one of the 30 longest lived people ever.

Carrie Lazenby

Carrie Lazenby (February 9, 1882 - September 14, 1996) was an American supercentenarian. She died at 114 years and 218 days, making her the 32nd oldest person to ever live (tied with Japanese woman Ura Koyama), the fifteenth-oldest American person ever, and the sixth-oldest African American person. Lazenby is also still the oldest person ever in Georgia.

As of June 2008, Lazenby is listed as one of the 40 longest lived people ever.

Maggie Barnes

Maggie Hinnant Barnes (March 6, 1882 – January 19, 1998)^[11] was an American supercentenarian. She was a resident of Johnston County, North Carolina until her death in 1998 from complications following a minor foot infection.^[12] Barnes, who was born to a slave and married a tenant farmer, was survived by four children; 11 of her children preceded her.^[12]

Some dispute exists as to her date of birth. Though the family Bible gives the 1882 date, she is listed as having been born in 1881 by the 1900 US Census, and she is listed as having been born in 1880 on her marriage license.^[12] Authenticating to the latter of those dates, Barnes was 115 years, 319 days old when she died.

Clara Huhn

Clara Herling Huhn (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 2000) was an American homemaker and supercentenarian. Born near Clarkson, Nebraska, she lived near Schuyler for most of her life. She remained active, healthy and independent until the last few months of her life, and even answered an interview right before her 113th birthday. At age 113 years 327 days, she is the oldest person born in Nebraska, but she was not the oldest to die in that particular state, since she died in La Mesa, California. That title belongs to Helen Stetter, who died on June 1, 2007 at age 113 years and 195 days.^[13]

As of June 2008, Huhn is listed as one of the 80 longest lived people ever.

Delvina Dahlheimer

Mary Delvina Dahlheimer Morisette (December 31, 1888 – March 13, 2002) was an American supercentenarian. At the time of her death, aged 113 years and 72 days, she was the oldest person ever in Minnesota, and the fourth-oldest person in the world.^{citation needed} After she broke her hip in 2000, she was sent to the Guardian Angels Care Center, where she lived out the rest of her days.^{citation needed} Dahlheimer's Minnesota state record title was surpassed by Catherine Hagel on February 9, 2008. Incidentally, Hagel is the sister-in-law of Dahlheimer.

Mae Harrington

Mae Maxwell Harrington (January 20, 1889 – December 29, 2002) was an American supercentenarian who became the oldest person in the history of the state of New York, breaking the record held since the 1920s by then world's oldest person Delina Filkins, also 113, but her own record was subsequently broken in 2005 by Grace Thaxton, who was born in the state before moving to and dying in Kentucky. Because her age was not authenticated during her lifetime, the public recognition she was due went to another 113-year-old, Mary Parr (January 29, 1889 – October 29, 2002), who was born nine days after her, dying two months before her, as her age was only validated posthumously.^[14]

As of June 2008, Harrington is listed as one of the 80 longest lived people ever.

Elena Slough

Elena Rodenbaugh Proctor Slough (July 4, 1889 – October 5, 2003)^[15] was the oldest recognized person in the United States from the death of Mary Christian in April 2003 until her own death that following October, six months later. After her death, the oldest recognized person in the United States was Charlotte Benkner.^[15]

Born in Horsham, Pennsylvania, she married twice and had children by each marriage.^{citation needed} Incidentally, her 90-year-old daughter died three days before her at the same Cape May, New Jersey nursing home.^{citation needed}

Some sources date her birth to 1888, but the oldest records state that she was born in 1889.^[16]

As of June 2008, Slough is listed as one of the 60 longest lived people ever.

Bettie Wilson

Bettie Rutherford Wilson (September 13, 1890 – February 13, 2006)^[17] became the oldest verified living person in the United States with the death of fellow 114-year-old Emma Verona Johnston on December 1, 2004. She lost this designation when the age of Elizabeth Bolden was verified in April 2005. Both were born in the rural South—where they lived less than 100 miles apart.

Born of freed slaves, she is the oldest resident of the state of Mississippi ever recorded (the previous record was 113 years and 12 days set in 1994). Her oldest son, Will Rogers, was said to be born October 27, 1909—making him 96 years old himself at the time (although the 1930 census lists him as 19 years old in April 1930, indicating that he was 95 instead). In late April 2005, Mrs. Wilson moved into a new home funded by donations.

Wilson celebrated her 115th birthday in September 2005, at which time she ranked as the third-oldest living person in the world.

Wilson died at her New Albany home on February 13, 2006, aged 115 years and 153 days. She was survived by the aforementioned son, five grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren, 95 great-great-grandchildren and 38 great-great-great grandchildren.

As of June 2008, Wilson is listed as one of the 20 longest lived people ever.

• NBC videos of Bettie Wilson and Susie Gibson

Grace Thaxton

Grace Menges Thaxton (June 18, 1891 – July 6, 2005) was a supercentenarian, the oldest person in Kentucky, the fourth-oldest person in the U.S. and the sixth-oldest documented person in the world at the time of her death at age 114.^[18] Grace was the oldest documented person ever born in the state of New York, in Rockland to be precise, and narrowly missed the all-time age record for a Kentucky resident of 114 years and 92 days, set by Mary Anna Boone in 2001, when she died in Winchester from a bout of pneumonia not long after her last birthday.^{citation needed}

Moreover, her own mother died at 109,^{citation needed} nearly a supercentenarian herself, and Thaxton almost lived to see her son Robert turn 90 on July 12, 2005. As of June 2008, Thaxton is listed as one of the 70 longest lived people ever.

Consuelo Moreno-López

Consuelo Moreno-López (February 5, 1893 – November 13, 2004) was born in Spanish Morocco (then a colony of Spain) to Spanish parents.^[19] She later emigrated to the United States in 1960. She died stateside, aged 111 years and 282 days, as the result of an adverse reaction to a flu shot. Moreno-López holds the longevity record for Morocco, which declared its independence in 1956.^[20]

• http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp970207/02060153.htm

Grace Nelsen Jones

Grace Rebecca Nelsen Jones (June 4, 1893–April 24, 2006) was born in Richmond, Virginia, United States to Danish immigrant parents. Grace was their 12th and last child, born when her mother was already 43 years old. She later married Charles Jones and started a family of her own. In 2005, Grace became the Virginia state recordholder for the oldest verified person born over there. She died at the age of 112 years and 324 days. At the time of her passing, Grace ranked as the world's 10th-oldest person.^[21]

Flossie Page

Flossie Page (Haven, Kansas, June 12, 1893^[22] – Butler County, Kansas, February 22, 2006 was an American supercentenarian who broke the record for the oldest person of Kansas on record on February 9, 2006, the previous record of 112 years 241 days having been set by Katherine Jones in 1992, but she died exactly two weeks after achieving this feat.^{citation needed}

Page ranked as the sixth-oldest person in the U.S. and eleventh in the world when she died, aged 112 years and 255 days.^{citation needed}

After graduating from high school, she taught at a one-room school house near Lewis, and later worked at the "War Risk and Insurance Department" in Washington, D.C. upon the start of the Second World War. Page married Fredric William Page in 1926. He died in 1967. She attributed her longevity to living a moral life, and taking no medication whatsoever.^{citation needed}

Marion Higgins

Marion Bigelow Higgins (New York City, June 26, 1893 - Seal Beach, California, March 2, 2006) was an American supercentenarian. At an early age, she moved to Maine, and later on to California.^[23]

On May 29, 2005, Marion was recognized as California's oldest living person, four weeks shy of 112 following the passing of Margaret Russell, aged 112.

Her memory was remarkable for a person her age. She could remember from age one, and recite poems backwards. Moreover, she wrote her first book herself at the 'tender' age of 102.^[24]

Marion died from congestive heart failure, aged 112 years and 249 days. She was ranked as sixth-oldest in the U.S. and 11th in the world at the time of her passing.

Gertrude Baines

Gertrude Baines (born April 6, 1894) is an American supercentenarian, who is currently the third-oldest living person in the world, since the March 22, 2008 death of American woman Arbella Ewing, the second-oldest living person in the United States and the oldest living African American. Aside from her arthritis, Baines is very healthy and has never had a seriously ill day in her life. Born in Shellman, Georgia, she currently lives in Los Angeles.

As of June 2008, aged 114, Baines is one of the 60 longest lived people ever.

Catherine Dahlheimer Hagel

Catherine Dahlheimer Hagel (born November 28, 1894) is an American supercentenarian. She was born in Dayton, Minnesota, and is currently, at age 113, the fourth-oldest validated person in the world since the May 25, 2008 death of Clémentine Solignac, and the third-oldest validated person in the United States. As of February 9, 2008, she is also the oldest person ever in the state of Minnesota. This record was assumed from her sister-in-law Delvina Dahlheimer. Hagel was a farmer, and didn't stop farming until she was 100, when she moved to the North Ridge Care Center in New Hope, Minnesota. She planted a huge garden, sewed, quilted and visited relatives. She had 11 children with her husband, John, who died in 1966 at age 74, nine of whom were still living as of early 2008. Her oldest living daughter was, as of July 2008, 89 years old. She takes no medications.^[25]

As of August 2008, Hagel is listed as one of the 90 longest lived people ever.

• "Her 112 Years Have Been Filled with Hard Work, Faith and the Funnies", Minneapolis Star Tribune

Elizabeth Stefan

Elizabeth Stefan (May 13, 1895 – April 9, 2008)^[26][27] was an American supercentenarian of Hungarian descent.

Born in Austria-Hungary, Stefan emigrated to the United States in 1913. She is believed to be the oldest Hungarian ever. Stefan lived in a nursing home in Norwalk, Connecticut, where she celebrated her 112th birthday in May 2007.

Stefan died aged 112 years and 332 days, just five weeks shy of her 113th birthday. At the time of her death, she was the seventh-oldest validated person in the world and the fifth-oldest validated person in the United States. She leaves behind a daughter, grandchildren and a great-grandson.

• Obituary: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/5eb39f4e67eeeb5f

Thomas Nelson, Sr.

Thomas D. Nelson, Sr. (July 8, 1895 - January 9, 2007) was, at age 111, the oldest living man in the USA and the second-oldest one in the world from December 7, 2006 (the death of fellow black American Moses Hardy) for one month until his own death.

He had been living in Port Arthur, Texas since the early 1930s. He opened a candy shop in the mid-1930s, and worked there for more than 60 years.^[28][29]

Neva Morris

Neva Freed Morris (born August 3, 1895) is, at age 113, an American supercentenarian who is, as of August 2008, the ninth-oldest person in the world. She was born Neva Freed and married Edward Morris in 1914. They had four children: Leslie, Mary Jane, Walter and Betty Lee. They lived on a farm in Iowa. She stayed there until the age of 99, when she moved into a nursing home. She is also known for her love of cars. Morris is the oldest Iowan since the death of 112-year-old Emma Carroll in 2007.

George Rene Francis

George Rene Francis (born June 6, 1896) is, at age 112, an American supercentenarian who is the joint second-oldest living man in the world, together with Englishman Henry Allingham. He is also the oldest living man in the United States. Francis lives in California. Since the death of fellow 111-year-old Thomas Nelson, Sr. on January 9, 2007, he is the oldest living American male.^[26] As of May 25, 2008, he is one of the 20 oldest verified people in the world, tied with Allingham.

Francis resides in Sacramento, California, but traces his roots to New Orleans, Louisiana. He credits his long life to nature, and enjoys a rich diet of pork, eggs, milk and lard. He gave up smoking cigars at the age of 75.^[30] As of June 2008, he ranks among top 25 men ever.

• Video of George Francis at age 106

Delphia Spencer Hankins

Delphia Spencer Hankins (July 23, 1896 – October 17, 2007) was an American supercentenarian. Hankins was the oldest person in Mississippi at the time of her death at age 111.

She was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi.^[31] to Henry Jackson Spencer and Samantha Fikes Spencer.^[31] In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Curtis Hankins; her brothers, Bobby, Kip, Grady, Chester and Curtis Spencer; and a son who died in infancy.

Hankins had been a resident of Aberdeen, Mississippi from 1942 until 2000.^[31] She worked at Aberdeen Hospital and at Dr. Murphree's Clinic,^[31] and then a homemaker until she was 104.^[31] Afterwards, she moved to West Point, Mississippi, where she spent the last seven years of her life.^[31]

Delphia Hankins died at the Dugan Memorial Home in West Point.^[31] At the time of her death she was survived by two daughters, Olema Poss of West Point and Kathryn Crump of Aberdeen; a son, W.D. Hankins of Aberdeen; twenty-seven grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

Walter H. Seward

Walter H. Seward (born October 13, 1896) is an American supercentenarian who is, at age 111, the third-oldest man currently living in the U.S. and the sixth-oldest in the world. As of June 2008, he is one of the 30 oldest verified living people in the world. Seward was raised in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Vineland, New Jersey while he was in high school.

He is a 1917 graduate of Rutgers University and a 1924 graduate of Harvard Law School. He practiced law through his 90s, and now lives in West Orange, New Jersey.

Ella Schuler

Ella Frieda Winkelmann Schuler (born (September 5, 1897 in Fontenelle, Nebraska) is the fourth child of German-immigrant parents. Her family raised horses, milked cows, and grew corn and oats.^[32] While her brothers eventually enrolled in school, her childhood was mostly spent working at home. Schuler reflects that farm-life was very difficult, concluding, “if you don’t want to work hard, don’t go to a farm.”^[33]

She married John Cecil Schuler on August 19, 1923. Originally from Virginia, Ella met John when he traveled through Kansas working on the Union Pacific Railway. Over the next ten years, Ella gave birth to three sons: James, John, Jr. and Robert, all born in Page City, Kansas. In 1934, husband John left his post in the railroad industry and with Ella founded Schuler’s Grocery Business in Topeka. Eventually the Schulers expanded their business and purchased the gas station adjacent to their grocery store.^[34]

While in her 50s, Schuler earned her high school diploma and soon after completed a two-year program at what was then known as Washburn College, now Washburn University.^[33] In 1952, James, the first of Ella’s three sons, died at age 26 of complications resulting from appendicitis. The Schuler’s closed their grocery store in 1978 to enter retirement. During the spring of 1983, after almost 60 years of marriage, Ella’s husband died. Following this, Ella spent several years traveling both through Europe and the US. She still lived independently until 1995, aged 98, when she sustained injuries from a fall on an icy sidewalk and consequently moved to an assisted living facility, where she has spent the last twelve years.

Leila Denmark

Leila Denmark, M.D. (born February 1, 1898) is an American pediatrician who became the oldest practicing pediatrician in the world, retiring at the age of 103 in May 2001.^[35]

Born in Portal, Georgia, Denmark is the oldest of 12 children, as well as the only one still living. She attended Tift College in Forsyth, Georgia, where she trained to be a teacher, but decided to attend medical school when her fiancé, John E. Denmark, was posted to Java, Indonesia, by the United States Department of State and no wives were allowed. She was the only woman in the 1928 graduating class of the Medical College of Georgia, and married soon after graduation. Denmark is credited as co-developer of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine in the 1920s and 1930s.

Denmark lived in Alpharetta, Georgia until age 106, when she moved to Athens, Georgia to live with her daughter Mary Hutcherson. On February 1, 2008, Leila Denmark celebrated her 110th birthday, attaining supercentenarian status.

References