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19/01/2026 5:32 pm
https://longeviquest.com/2026/01/was-delphia-welford-117-in-1992/
Was Delphia Welford 117 in 1992?
Abstract
This editorial contains a validation summary of the age of American supercentenarian Delphia Welford, an African-American woman who was born in Okolona, Mississippi, USA on 9 September 1875 and died in Humboldt, Tennessee, USA on 14 November 1992, aged 117 years 66 days. Despite claiming to be several years younger in later life, there are several early-life documents that confirm that she was older than claimed. Thorough documentation, contact with relatives and a consistent trail of mentions in newspaper demonstrate that at the time of her death, Welford was the second oldest person of all time, only trailing Jeanne Calment (1875 – 1997), who at the time was half a year older than Welford.
Introduction
Supercentenarians are people who have a lifespan exceeding 110 years and the earliest known such instance was Dutch seaman Geert Adriaans Boomgaard who was born in 1788 and died in 1899 (Chambre et al., 2020). During the first half of the 1900s, supercentenarians were still rare, with the human longevity record being held by New York woman Delina Filkins (1815 – 1928) for over 50 years, before being eclipsed by a string of women in the 1980s (Young, 2021). The oldest known person of all time, Jeanne Calment, was born in Arles, France on 21 February 1875 and died in the same town on 4 August 1997, aged 122 years, 164 days (Robine et al., 2019).
It has been observed that very few people live to become supercentenarians (about 1 in 1,000 centenarians) and the annual mortality risk at this advanced age is around 50 percent (Gampe, 2021). Almost all claims to ages beyond 115 years are false, and there is a need for solid proof to prove that a person has achieved an exceptional lifespan (Poulain, 2010). To validate the age of a supercentenarian there needs to be a life-long trail of documentation supporting the age claim.
The Discovery of the Delphia Welford Case
The US National Death Index is an index that contains the deaths of almost all people who have at one point been receiving social security from the Social Security Administration (Kestenbaum & Ferguson, 2010).
By looking through the index many supercentenarian age claims can be observed, one such being a woman named Delphia Welford who died in Tennessee on 14 November 1992, supposedly aged 111 years. 111 years is far from anything sensational when it comes to supercentenarians, so no eyebrows were raised when discovering this case. The next step was to try to identify a potential match for the claimant. Luckily, Welford was found to have been mentioned in several articles from The Jackson Sun from the 1950s until her death in 1992, the last one being her obituary from 17 November 1992. The obituary provided important family tree information that allowed research to begin.
In the obituary several relatives were mentioned, including her parents Richard and Heddie Welford. Welford was noted to have had one child, Leo Henry Mathis, who preceded her in death. A vast number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren were mentioned in her obituary, giving many leads. Welford was mentioned to have been born in Okolona, Mississippi and having moved to Gibson County, Tennessee as an infant and having remained there for the rest of her life.
Interestingly, not a single newspaper article focused on the age of Welford, instead she was only mentioned in passing as a relative of deceased individuals in obituaries.
In the 5 September 1954 obituary of Ora Mathis, Welford was noted to be the mother-in-law (mother to Leo Mathis).
In the 10 July 1966 obituary of Leo H. Mathis, Welford was noted to be the mother. Mathis was noted to have been 64 years old at his time of death and his place of birth and residence was given as Gibson county, Tennessee. In the obituary it was noted that Mathis had a sister named Mammie Watt. Mathis was noted to have four children, Ora Lee Holder, Elizabeth Mathis, Helen Bledsoe, and Leon M. Mathis.
In the 21 April 1971 obituary of Charlie Welford Sr., aged 84, Delphia Welford and Mamie Mitchell were listed as surviving siblings. Charlie Welford was noted to have been born in Okolona, Mississippi and having moved to Humboldt, Tennessee as a child. His parents were listed as Rev. Richard Welford and Heddie Welford.
In the 25 April 1980 obituary of Richard Henry Boykin Jr., Welford was mentioned as the maternal grandmother, with Ora Lee Holder, being listed as Boykin’s mother (Welford was in fact his great-grandmother).
The 9 October 1992 obituary of Sanford F. Holder, aged 81, listed Delphia Welford as his grandmother-in-law, with Ora Lee Holder being his wife.
With this information, a very basic family tree could be constructed:
Summary of age claim and preliminary family tree
Name: Delphia Welford
Born: 9 September 1881
Birthplace: Okolona, Mississippi
Died: 14 November 1992
Place of death: Humboldt, Tennessee
Parents: |
Siblings: |
Spouse: |
Children: |
Grandchildren: |
Case research
Following this construction of the family tree, a search for documentation occurred, which revealed that there was a match for a person named Delphia Welford in the census record.
Name: Delphia Welford
Social Security Number: 408849019
Birth Date: 9 Sep 1881
Issue year: 1965
Issue State: Tennessee
Last Residence: 38343, Humboldt, Gibson, Tennessee, USA
Death Date: Nov 1992
The Death Index was obtained from the National Archives and listed a person named Delphia Welford having been born on September 9, 1881 and having passed away in Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee in November 1992.
Reference Number: 64035531297
Social Security Number: 408849019
Form: 5
Entry Code: Life claim
Date: 29 Apr 1976
Name: Delphia Welford
Birth Date: 9 Sep 1880
Sex: Female
Field Office Address: Dyersburg, Tennessee
Claim Date: 22 Sep 1965
The Social Security Claim File from the National Archives indicated that Delphia Welford had made a claim for social security in 1965 and a life claim in 1976. Her date of birth was given as September 9, 1880 when she filed the claim in Dyersburg, Tennessee.
The 1950 United States Census, dated April 25 (Sheet 14, Family 106), listed Leo Mathis (49), his wife Ora (49) and Leo Mathis’ mother Delphya (sic) Welford (68) as living in Humboldt, Tennessee. All were noted to have been born in Tennessee. An age of 49 for Leo Mathis is consistent with an age at death of 64 in 1966 and Delphya Welford’s age of 68 would also be consistent with an age at death of 111.
The 1940 United States Census for Humboldt, Tennessee, dated April 23 (Sheet 8B, Family 127), listed Leo Mathis (45), his wife Ora (39), their children Helen (18), Elizabeth (16), Leon (12), and Ora Lee (20) as well as Ora Lee’s husband Richard (24), Ora Lee’s son Richard (10 months) and Leo Mathis’ mother Delphia Welford (60). Welford and her descendants were noted to have been born in Tennessee. Ora Mathis in Tennessee too, and Richard Boykin in Mississippi. The age of Leo Mathis is only four years younger than in the previous census taken a decade later, indicating that he might have been older. The age of Welford might have been rounded, but could suggest her being two years older if not.
The 1930 United States Census for Humboldt, Tennessee, dated April 16 (Sheet 12A, Family 235), listed the Mathis family and Welford too. Leo Mathis (36), wife Ora (42) and children Ora Lee (8), Helen (6), Elizabeth (4) and Metlon (2) Leo Mathis’ mother was Delpha Wilford (50). The ages in the census are inconsistent to the 1940 census, with Mathis’ wife Ora being six years older than him, but having been four years younger than him at the time of marriage (which suggests a transcription error and that she was 32 at the time), the three oldest children are all two years younger than expected and the name of Mathis’ son is given as Metlon. The only person with a consistent age is Welford, who was ten years younger than in the previous census.
The 1920 United States census from Humboldt, Tennessee, dated February 6 (Sheet 12B, Family 248), listed Delphi Wetherford (46) as being the head of a household consisting of her son Leo Mathis (22), daughter-in-law Ora (21), grand daughter Ora Lee (1 month) and four people with no relationship, Mattie Roe (36), Bessie White (14), Lessie Trigg (10), and Oss Winfield (36). With Welford this time being the respondent, her age is listed as 46 rather than the expected 38/40. Welford’s place of birth is also given as Mississippi instead of Tennessee. Leo Mathis is a few years younger than in the previous census, while Ora Mathis is now younger than her husband again. The fact that Ora Lee Mathis is listed means that the 1930 census is inaccurate considering her age.
The 1910 United States census from Humboldt, Tennessee, dated April 21 (Sheet 7A, Family 93), listed Delphia Wiliford (27) as the head of a household with three additional people with no relationship. Mattie Roe (22) is listed again and there are two men, John McLemore (19) and Luther Jackson (19). In the household prior to Welford’s, Leo Mathis (14) can be found working as a servant to J B Dardy (56). Welford reported that she had only had one child in this census and the age of Leo Mathis (14) suggests that if Welford was 27, as claimed in this census, she would have become a mother at 13.
The 1900 United States from Civil district 2 (Humboldt), Tennessee, dated June 20 (Sheet 10, Family 139), listed a household consisting of a brother Patt Darety (Dec 1856) and sister Jane Hughs (Mar 1843), two boarders John Delap (Jan 1877) and Newt Walker (Mar 1877) as well as servants Della Wiliford (Apr 1876) and Mattie Rhodes (Jan 1888). Listed last in the household is a child named Leo (Dec 1896). The census suggests that there was a long period of time that Welford and Roe lived together, extending until at least 1920. Leo is not listed with a last name, but rather a drawn line, which could indicate that he was the son of Mattie Rhodes rather than Welford, but this is not any listed information. While Welford wasn’t the respondent, her age was given as 24.
The 1880 United States Census from North Okolona, Mississippi, dated June 2 (Sheet 4, Family 31), listed Richard Welford (28) and his wife Hettie (24) and four children, Carter (7), Delpha (5), Melissa (2) and a baby (3 months, born in March). From the obituary of Welford, which gave her place of birth as Okolona and parents as Richard and Hettie Welford, this document can be matched to Delphia Welford.
A second 1880 United States Census match from Okolona, Mississippi, dated June 21 (Sheet 30, Family 336), listed the Welford family living with Richard Welford’s mother-in-law Mary Johnson (50) and her father Richard Nabers (80) and an adopted child named Jennie Jerrold (12). The Welford family consisted of Richard Welford (30), Hetty (26), Astera (7), Delphia (5), Melissa (2) and Johnson (3 months, born in February). While the two census records are generally consistent, it must be noted that Richard and Hettie are listed as being two years older, Astera is listed as female rather than male and that the son, Johnson, is now being listed as born in February rather than March 1880. An age of five for Delphia Welford solidifies the fact that she really was that age in 1880, rather than it being a mistake by the enumerator.
1880 Mississippi State Census Enumeration of Children Under 21 I
Mississippi conducted a state census in 1880, one of which included enumerating all children under the age of 21, which started on July 1, 1880. (MDAH, 2023). In this census Caster Welford (7) and her sister Delpha (5) were listed in Okolona (Page 204) and their father’s name was given as Richard.
1880 Mississippi State Census Enumeration of Children Under 21 II
The Welford children were listed twice in the state census for children under 21. Asteria Welford (8), Delfy S (4), Malissa (2) and Johnson (infant) were listed as being the children of Richard Welford and living in Okolona (Page 201).
1885 Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children
Mississippi conducted an enumeration of educable children several times during the time period between 1850 – 1965, one of which was in 1885 that included the name of the child, age and the name of the guardian and another in 1892 (MDAH, 2017). The 1885 enumeration in Okolona (Page 211) listed the three oldest children from the 1880 US Census, C(astoria) (12), D(elphia) (8), and M(elissa) (6). Their father was listed as R Welford. The ages of the children are decently consistent with the 1880 census, with D and M being a year younger than expected.
1892 Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children
The 1892 enumeration of educable children listed Castora Welford (19), Delpha (16), Malissa (14), Charley (7), and Howard (5) as being the children of Richard and H. Welford and living in Okolona (Page 195). Johnson Welford is missing, indicating that he likely passed away prior to the enumeration. Charlie Welford was noted in his obituary from 1971 to have died at the age of 84. An age of 7 in 1892 would indicate that he was born in 1884 or 1885 and thus about two years older than claimed.
Additional documentation mentioning Delphia Welford
Leo Henry Mathis was drafted into the United States military on September 12, 1918 (270-1881) and mentioned that he was born on November 25, 1897 and that his nearest relative was Delpha Welford on R. 5, Humboldt, Tennessee. Leo Henry Mathis died in Humboldt, Tennessee on 7 July 1966, aged 64 (File 66-019379) and his spouse was listed as Ora Mathis, his father unknown, and mother Delphia Welford.
Family tree reconstruction
The 1900 United States Census of the Welford family listed them as having moved to Humboldt, Tennessee. The widowed Richard Welford (May 1845) was living with his children Castorine (Oct 1879), Charlie (Mar 1885), Howard (Feb 1886) and Mary A (Oct 1889).
Richard Welford was noted to have married Hettie Johnson in Chickasaw, Mississippi on November 30, 1871 and having lived with his son Charlie Welford’s family in Humboldt in the 1920 US Census.
Castoria Welford married Em Bobbitt in Gibson County, Tennessee on August 27, 1904. She was noted in the 1910 – 1950 US Census records to have had five children. Castoria Bobbitt died in Mckenzie, Carroll, Tennessee on May 25, 1951 (File 51-09893). At the time she claimed to have been born on November 9, 1883. Her parents were listed as Richard Weatherford and Hettie Johnson.
Melissa (likely Malisia) Welford married Lee Williamson around 1897 and was noted in the 1900–1930 US Census to have had six children. She was noted to have married George Taylor in Carroll, Tennessee on December 20, 1930. Her death record (File 61-17120) stated that she was about 74 years old when she died on July 20, 1961. Her father’s name was listed as Richard Weatherford.
Charlie Welford was noted to have married Cleora Greer in Gibson County, Tennessee on June 4, 1908 and in the 1910 – 1940 US Census as having had eight children (his obituary stated that he had ten). He married Corinne Regan in Gibson County, Tennessee on December 8, 1938. He was noted in the Death Index to have died in Gibson, Tennessee in April 1971, with the date of birth given as May 16, 1821.
Howard Welford married Mary McKnight in Gibson County, Tennessee on March 29, 1913. He was noted in the 1920 – 1940 US Census to have had seven children. Howard Welford died in Humboldt, Tennessee on April 12, 1962 (File 62-12876). His parents were listed as R. C. Welford and Hattie Johnson.
Mary (Mamie) Welford was noted to have married Charles Mitchell in Lucas, Ohio on May 10, 1941, At the time she claimed to have been born on October 2, 1901 and to have been married to a Dave Hutchinson previously. Her parents were given as Richard Welford and Hettie Johnson. She was noted in the death index to have died in Detroit, Michigan in October 1986, at the time she claimed to have been born on October 10, 1889.
Family contact
Contact with great-great-grandchildren confirmed that the general information that had been gathered was accurate and provided the information that Welford never married. Brief life stories of Welford’s grandchildren were also provided.
Family tree reconstruction
Parents: |
Siblings: |
Child: |
Discussion
With the census findings it has been revealed that Delphia Welford was several years older than claimed when she died in 1992. Welford was also surprisingly well-documented for an African-American woman born in the 1870s. The missing 1890 United States Census, which was mostly destroyed in a fire (Dorman, 2008) was compensated for by two enumerations of educable children in 1885 and 1892. Welford is therefore documented with an age in 1880 (four times), 1885, 1892, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1965, 1976 and 1992. All of the documents from 1880 suggests that Welford was born in 1874 or 1875, the enumeration in 1885 indicates a birth in 1876 or 1877 and the 1892 enumeration a birth in 1875 or 1876. Welford’s later census records indicate that she deflated her age several times later in life. It was also noted that most of her siblings also deflated their ages later in life. All siblings that were listed in the Welford family’s census records have been accounted for, meaning that the possibility of an identity-switch has been ruled out.
With several early-life documents supporting Welford having been alive at the time of the 1880 census, the claim of having been born in September 1881 can be ruled out. Having had siblings that were born in 1872/1873, 1877/1878, and 1880, Welford was with a very high likelihood born between 1874 – 1876. A birth in 1874 is only indirectly supported by assuming that the given age in the earlier census records wasn’t rounded, and a birth in 1876 has little support in the early-life documentation. Having been listed as being five years old on three different occasions in 1880, it is very likely that Welford was born in 1875. Welford herself claimed to have been born on September 9, the only other document that states a month of birth is the 1900 US Census, which notes that she was born in April 1876. It must however be noted that Welford wasn’t the respondent, meaning that the age and date of birth may be inaccurate. The conclusion that can be drawn is that Welford was most likely born in Okolona, Mississippi on September 9, 1875 and died in Humboldt, Tennessee on November 14, 1992, aged 117 years, 66 days.
To put Welford’s age into perspective, Jeanne Calment was the oldest living person at the time, as well as the oldest person ever. The next-oldest validated person of all-time at the time was Augusta Holtz (1871 – 1986). Welford was the oldest person to ever have died when she passed away in 1992, but was still outlived by Calment by five years. Welford’s American longevity record would stand for a little over five years, before she was outlived by Sarah Knauss (1880 – 1999), who lived to be 119 years, 97 days.
Delphia Welford appears to have led a quiet life, spending her working age working as a servant and later becoming a homemaker. She was never reported in any newspapers despite her very advanced age, and the only other mention of Welford’s name that could be located was in a dispute over a potential adulteration of two cans of cream in 1934 (FDA, 1935). Contact with relatives provided photographs of Welford and a confirmation of her family tree.
Conclusion
Delphia Welford was born on September 9, 1875 and died on November 14, 1992, aged 117 years 66 days.
http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)
