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Early centenarians

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Robbie
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I've always been particularly fascinated by early centenarians - the people who lived to extreme ages at a time when many of the comforts and tools we now have and use in everyday life hadn't been invented or weren't available, and the study of extreme longevity had yet to really begin.

I was amazed to find a portrait of Elizabeth Gray (11 May 1748 – 2 Apr 1856) which was posted in a Facebook group. I researched her claim back in 2019 on the 110 Club; to sum up there is early and late-life evidence to support her case, and a fairly complete family tree, but in my view it's unlikely that enough mid-life evidence would exist to verify her claim with the rigor of today's cases. Nevertheless, with a family history of longevity (her mother and two of her siblings would probably also have been within the 50 oldest living people in Scotland at the time of their deaths) I personally think it's fairly likely her claim is true. 

Here's the portrait, drawn in November 1851 when she was 103:

I started a project on researching early centenarians a few years ago but never got very far (there's no better time like the present to resurrect dormant projects..!), and to put into perspective the extremity of Elizabeth Gray's age compared to her contemporaries, here are the only three other people whose ages I was able to verify to a similar degree of confidence to reach 105 in Scotland born in the 18th century:

  • Agnes Forrester (already verified; 4 Oct 1755 – 20 Feb 1861), 105
  • Isabel Morison (10 Nov 1772 – 19 Nov 1877), 105 
  • Agnes Fleming (17 Feb 1799 – 29 Apr 1905), 106

That's not to say there weren't plenty of people claiming to be older though. 1856 also saw the deaths registered of Robert Bruce at '109', Ann Mackay at '108', and Margaret Morrison at '107'. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people of people registered as dying at centenarian ages in the 20th century are unable to be verified - many of them were people who simply never tracked their age throughout life and simply had to estimate whenever asked. If we follow Margaret Morrison, she went from '80' in 1841, to '100' in 1851, to '107' at the time of her death in 1856. 

A few other factors that may impact record-finding for claimed centenarians in this era include:

  • They may have been born in a parish where baptism records were not kept or lost
  • They may have based their current age on the age they remember being at the time of certain historical events, however memory isn't perfect and they may misremember their age, or the event in question
  • Personal details such as maiden name, name of parents or siblings, birthplace etc may have not been recorded and lost to time, so they can't be used as parameters for searching
  • They may have an extremely common name which makes it difficult to search for records. This is especially true for Gaelic-speaking regions at the time, where half of the population would share 10 forenames and 10 surnames. 

On the other hand, if someone has an uncommon name it can be much easier to find records for them. The earliest verifiable centenarian (to more archaic standards, not those of today; and almost certainly not the actual verifiable earliest centenarian) in Scotland I've found is Hugina Leslie, who was born on 15 Mar 1746 and died on 22 Apr 1846 in Cupar, Fife. She was a member of the well-attested noble family Leslie of Lindores, her brother was John Leslie (1750 – 1813), the 8th Lord Lindores and final holder of the title. 

I wonder what the true preponderance of centenarians worldwide was in the 19th century. As late as 1897 there were periods where there seemed to be no verifiable centenarians living in Scotland (which, admittedly, only held about 0.25% of the world's population then). 


   
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930310
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The earliest Swedish centenarian that I've been able to verify was Kerstin Johansdotter (5 May 1716 - 17 Aug 1816) of Trehörna. She’s decently documented in the Swedish records. There are however a lot of earlier-born claims but I have not been able to find proof of birth for them.


   
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JimJim00
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The earliest Dutch centenarian that I found (so far) is Anna van Os-Kersbergen (baptized 26 May 1726 - 9 January 1827). I found her 1726 baptismal record, her 1782 marriage record and her 1827 death record. 


   
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heatwave116
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I made a list of early centenarians on the Gerontology Wiki a while ago. I'm sure there are some that can be added or removed.

https://gerontology.fandom.com/wiki/User:Richard_Monkey/Earliest_centenarians


   
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I take advantage of the launch of this thread to announce that I am currently working on a master thesis about early centenarians. I have chosen a French region (Burgundy) to conduct a complete demographic study of the centenarians who celebrated their 100th birthday between 1825 and 1949. To find all the people who were declared centenarians at their death, I use two sources: the press online and a complete analysis of the death tables which provide the age of all the deceased who died there between 1825 and 1968, except for missing registers or information not communicated (quite rare).

The individual study of each person found will then allow me to know, except for insoluble cases, whether the centenarians are real, in order to constitute a reliable database.

I hope I could release all of this next year.


   
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930310
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@guillaume that sounds like a very interesting endeavour. Is it within demography?


   
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stoa-oid
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Robbie, I share your interest, too.

In the early 1980s I started ancestor research based on our old family archive with genealogical trees and documents starting about 1650. My ancestors kept baptismal certificates they needed for a marriage. These originals were manually written by clerics.

As I wrote in another topic, we are in very lucky position here in Austria possessing parish records since approximately 1540. Land register you can find hundreds of years ago before.

My first oldest ancestors are for example Christian W., 1645-1750, and Thomas H., 1684-1786. Due to data protection I will not give further details. 


   
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@930310 It's a master thesis in History. More specifically, what is called in France contemporary history (the period extending from the French Revolution, end of the 18th century, to today). In English historiography, this period also exists but has a different meaning (end of WWII to now) and is considerred as a subset of the modern period.


   
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Here's one of the centenarians who is part of this study. Besides having found her in both press and death tables, her life is very well documented and there is no doubt that she was 102.

https://gw.geneanet.org/attila1301?lang=en&n=pezier&oc=&p=marguerite+colombe


   
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JimJim00
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Here are a few Dutch (super)centenarians who died before 1 January 1900:

 

  1. Anna van Os-Kersbergen (24 May 1726 (baptized 26 May) - 9 January 1827), 100 years, 230 days.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
  2. Johan Samuel Frederiks (24 May 1772 - 12 April 1874), 101 years, 323 days                                                                                                                                                           
  3. Dijmpna Jongenelen-Helmonts (baptized 20 February 1775 - 29 May 1876), 101 years, 99 days                                                                                                                               
  4. Pieternella Abigael Snelli-Akkerman (baptized 21 December 1784 - 1 December 1889), 104 years, 345 days                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  5.  Pieter Roggeveen (baptized 1 October 1786 - 1 December 1887), 101 years, 62 days                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  6.  Johannes Lorette (baptized 22 November 1786 - 10 October 1890), 103 years, 323 days                                                                                                                                  
  7.  Anna Cornelia Dubois-de Colonia (baptized 17 November 1787 - 18 December 1890), 103 years, 31 days                                                                                                             
  8.  Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (baptized 21 September 1788 - 3 February 1899), 110 years, 135 days                                                                                                                    
  9.  Jan van Herwaarden (27 November 1788 - 6 March 1891), 102 years, 70 days                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
  10.  Martinetta Buquet-Tam (20 March 1793 - 6 March 1895), 101 years, 351 days                                                                                                                                                  
  11.  Jan Straver (25 May 1796 - 24 November 1897), 101 years, 184 days                                                                                                                                                                       
  12.  Martinus Wilhelmus van de Waal (15 July 1796 - 21 November 1898), 102 years, 130 days                                                                                                                               
  13.  Gerrit Buurman (baptized 9 April 1798 - 30 July 1898) 100 years, 113 days                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  

 


   
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Aquanaut
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Wow. I had no idea there were so many. I knew of Eilif Philippsen, Pierre Dacourt, and Margaret Anne Neve. (I hope I spelled their names right) But that's super interesting to hear about how many people made it to 100, centuries ago. Good work on you!

 

EDIT: Whoops, Margaret Anne Neve was actually a SC. I had remembered incorrectly that she was 109 years and 321 days, when she was actually 110 years and 321 days. My bad.


   
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Beaumont
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As part of my project to identify the centenarian population of North East England through time, I have identified many claims of early centenarians.

This list is not exclusively of early centenarians but includes all unverified cases, of which many early cases:

Please note this is not yet complete

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSPvvKSqe3XAfmZH24TJuiKmn8GOwySbAA1lgG1B6VYtY4ne-bR6SpB2GfDYEvL3ZlYEbVvb7GRx_s-/pubhtml?gid=489210917&single=true

The only pre-1800 born cases I have been able to fully verify as true from the region are:

  • The Rev. Ferdinand Ashmall, 9 Jan 1695 - 5 Feb 1798, 103 years, 27 days
  • The Hon. Lady Catherine Duncombe Shafto (née Eden), 10 Feb 1771 - 19 Mar 1872, 101 years, 38 days
  • Jane Arnott (née Hindmarch), 30 May 1771 - 21 Jan 1873, 101 years, 236 days
  • Joseph Saint, 21 Feb 1784 - 26 Apr 1886, 102 years, 64 days
  • Thomas Ironsides, 12 Apr 1791 - 19 Aug 1793, 102 years, 129 days
  • Dorothy Grey (née Aynsley), 18 Jan 1793 - 26 Nov 1893, 100 years, 312 days
  • Margaret 'Peggy' Dobson (née Hague), 5 Apr 1794 - 14 Aug 1895, 101 years, 131 days
  • Jane Kell (née Shipley), 10 Dec 1795 - 16 Aug 1897, 101 years, 249 days
  • Hannah Cochrane (née Scott), 10 Jun 1799 - 17 Jun 1899, 100 years, 7 days

   
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Marco
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Posted by: @jimjim00
Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (baptized 21 September 1788 - 3 February 1899), 110 years, 135 days                                                   

Baptised 23 September 1788. 🙃 

 

Overduidelijk misschien.


   
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Marco
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Posted by: @guillaume

I take advantage of the launch of this thread to announce that I am currently working on a master thesis about early centenarians.

 

Bonne chance!

 

Overduidelijk misschien.


   
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JimJim00
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Posted by: @marco

Posted by: @jimjim00
Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (baptized 21 September 1788 - 3 February 1899), 110 years, 135 days                                                   

Baptised 23 September 1788. 🙃 

 

 

You're right, I was tired when I typed this so that's why I made a typo. 😑 

 


   
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Beaumont
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This case is pretty solid:

Parkinson Wouldhave, a woolcomber, was buried in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, England, on 31 December 1826 at the claimed age of 102

There is some slight conflict as John Sykes records in his book "Local Records, Northumberland and Durham" (1833) that Wouldhave died on 4 January 1827, aged 108. However the burial record proves that death date cannot be right, so he likely died around 27/28 December 1826. The age of 108 seemingly comes from nowhere.

There is a record of a baptism at Darlington, Co Durham, on 30 August 1725, son of John Wouldhave. This would make him 101 years if this was a match. But is it him?

There is no marriage record seemingly available, but his wife was Ann Wouldhave, who died on 12 May 1806 at Bishop Auckland, aged 91 (unlikely, but clearly she must have been old), recorded as "wife of Parkinson Wouldhave, woolcomber".

There are baptisms for children of this couple:

William, bapt 9 March 1750/51, Barnard Castle, Co Durham, married Anne Haines at Bishop Auckland, 6 Feb 1774 (marriage witnessed by Parkinson Wouldhave), buried at Bishop Auckland, 30 July 1834 (aged 84)

Parkinson, bapt 29 Apr 1753, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, died at Bishop Auckland, 17 June 1845 (aged 92)

Mary, bapt 21 Mar 1756, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham

Ann, bapt 22 Apr 1759, bur 8 Apr 1763, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham (aged 3)

I initially thought perhaps the Parkinson Wouldhave who died in 1826 could be his son of the same name who was born in 1753, but the 1841 census shows the 1753 Parkinson Wouldhave alive and well aged 88 (recorded as 85), and a death record at age 92 recorded in 1845, eliminating any possibility of a switch.

In 1774 in the register of electors there was a record in Bishop Auckland of "Parkinson Wouldhave", another "Parkinson Wouldhave" and "William Wouldhave", matching the above family exactly.

Only issue is we are missing an exact death date, and a marriage record would be nice as well. Apart from that, it seems very likely that Parkinson Wouldhave was baptised on 30 August 1725, and died around 27 December 1826, aged 101 years.


   
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Just found out that one of the 19th century centenarians, whose age I authenticated a few years ago, was actually the aunt of the godfather of one of my direct ancestors.

Véronique Gallois (1786-1887), sister of father of Pierre Jean Baptiste Nicolas Gallois (1797-1869), himself godfather of Constance Léger (1820-1900) who is my great-great-great-great-grandmother.

The world is small.


   
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One of the earliest centenarians of Switzerland, and also former doyenne of this country, is Madeleine "Henriette" Rapin-Monachon.

She was born in Payerne (Vaud) on 5 October 1770 and died in the same location on 23 March 1875, aged 104 years and 169 days.

Henriette was the daughter of François Monachon, a latin teacher in Payerne, native of Orbe, and his wife Henriette Waigner, native of Aubonne. She had 8 siblings born after her [I didn't check for potential previous children]: Madeleine Sophie (1773), Marie Anne (1775), Julie Catherine (1778), Catherine Elisabeth (1780), Louis Jean Daniel Augustin (1782), Jeanne Rose Christine (1785) and Jean Louis Samuel Auguste (1789).

On 24 November 1798, she married Daniel David Rapin (1775-1822), a municipal councilor and clerk of the justice of the peace in Payerne. The couple had 6 children: Daniel (1799), François Rodolph (1801), Charles Louis Daniel (1803), Anne Louise Marie Susane (1805), Rodolph (1807) and Daniel Albert (1809).

 

Le Jura - 14 October 1870 (p. 2-3)

"The commune of Payerne counts among its citizens a venerable person who has just completed the hundredth year of her existence: it is Mrs. Rapin-Monachon, born October 5, 1770. Although she has reached such an advanced age, this lady is still mentally sharp and goes about the little tasks of her household quite cheerfully.
Last Wednesday, a delegation from the municipal authority went to the home of Mrs. R. to offer her, in addition to a large bouquet and a letter of congratulations, two pots of wine taken from the best vase that the municipality owns."

 

Le Confédéré de Fribourg - 26 March 1875 (p. 3)

"We announce from Payerne the death of a person loved and revered in this town, Mrs. Rapin-Monachon, who died at the age of 104 years, 5 months and 18 days. Until her last moments, the deceased retained all her presence of mind and she attended, even recently, to the small tasks of the household.
A spiritual, kind and charitable woman, she will leave unanimous memories.
Mrs. Rapin was the mother of 4 sons, all of whom occupy an honorable position in society, and of a daughter, the wife of Mr. Frossard-Rapin, whose name is justly esteemed in our city of Fribourg.
Mrs. Rapin was the oldest person in the entire Broye region and perhaps in all of Switzerland."

 

Baptism record (folio 172 bis)

Marriage record (folio 110)

Death record (n°783)


   
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Posted by: @guillaume

One of the earliest centenarians of Switzerland, and also former doyenne of this country, is Madeleine "Henriette" Rapin-Monachon.

She was born in Payerne (Vaud) on 5 October 1770 and died in the same location on 23 March 1875, aged 104 years and 169 days.

Henriette was the daughter of François Monachon, a latin teacher in Payerne, native of Orbe, and his wife Henriette Waigner, native of Aubonne. She had 8 siblings born after her [I didn't check for potential previous children]: Madeleine Sophie (1773), Marie Anne (1775), Julie Catherine (1778), Catherine Elisabeth (1780), Louis Jean Daniel Augustin (1782), Jeanne Rose Christine (1785) and Jean Louis Samuel Auguste (1789).

On 24 November 1798, she married Daniel David Rapin (1775-1822), a municipal councilor and clerk of the justice of the peace in Payerne. The couple had 6 children: Daniel (1799), François Rodolph (1801), Charles Louis Daniel (1803), Anne Louise Marie Susane (1805), Rodolph (1807) and Daniel Albert (1809).

 

Le Jura - 14 October 1870 (p. 2-3)

-- attachment is not available --

"The commune of Payerne counts among its citizens a venerable person who has just completed the hundredth year of her existence: it is Mrs. Rapin-Monachon, born October 5, 1770. Although she has reached such an advanced age, this lady is still mentally sharp and goes about the little tasks of her household quite cheerfully.
Last Wednesday, a delegation from the municipal authority went to the home of Mrs. R. to offer her, in addition to a large bouquet and a letter of congratulations, two pots of wine taken from the best vase that the municipality owns."

 

Le Confédéré de Fribourg - 26 March 1875 (p. 3)

-- attachment is not available --

"We announce from Payerne the death of a person loved and revered in this town, Mrs. Rapin-Monachon, who died at the age of 104 years, 5 months and 18 days. Until her last moments, the deceased retained all her presence of mind and she attended, even recently, to the small tasks of the household.
A spiritual, kind and charitable woman, she will leave unanimous memories.
Mrs. Rapin was the mother of 4 sons, all of whom occupy an honorable position in society, and of a daughter, the wife of Mr. Frossard-Rapin, whose name is justly esteemed in our city of Fribourg.
Mrs. Rapin was the oldest person in the entire Broye region and perhaps in all of Switzerland."

 

Baptism record (folio 172 bis)

Marriage record (folio 110)

Death record (n°783)

According to my files, Madeleine would have been the WOLP for three days, following the death of Anah Goss (1 February 1770 - 20 March 1775).

 


   
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France, 1809 – The wife was 78 years older than her husband!

Marie "Françoise" Brogniez was baptised on 27 March 1711 in Neuf-Mesnil, Northern France, the daughter of Nicolas Brogniez and Jeanne Carpentier.

On 18 June 1743, at the age of 32 [the age is written on the document], she married Nicolas Joseph Chony, aged 29. The couple had at least 4 children: Marie Joseph (° 1745), Marie Thérèse Joseph (° ~1748, married 1788 at the age of 40, died in 1841), Adrien Joseph (° 1749) and Pierre François (° 1756).

Nicolas Chony died on 19 April 1793, leaving his wife a widow.

On 7 June 1809, Françoise Brogniez married a second time at the age of 98 [marriage certificate says 99] with a young primary school teacher, Jean Baptiste Lion, aged 19. Indeed, the husband was born on 23 October 1789, which means that there is an age difference of 78 years and 210 days between the two spouses!

This union has nothing to do with a marriage of love. The reality is more complex and must be placed in the context of the times: in 1809, during the Napoleonic wars, unmarried men aged 20 could be drawn to join the army. Jennifer Heuer, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote in this 2007 article : "Indeed, to the extent that marriage made it possible to escape the war machine of Napoleon, it frequently happened that couples married quickly and formed incongruous alliances. Young men married widows or spinsters of 80, even 90 years old, or women in their fifties that their physical or mental health had been condemned to remain single. Parents and neighbors forced young girls to make these marriages of circumstance, probably reassured by the idea of ​​saving one of the villagers from probable death on the battlefield".

As we would expect, marriage and death registers show that Françoise and Jean Baptiste did not share a common residence and therefore probably did not live together: at the time of their marriage, the husband was living in Neuf-Mesnil while Françoise resided in the neighbor town of Feignies. Then, the two spouses seem to have kept their respective residences where they eventually died 18 years apart.

Françoise Brogniez passed away on 19 March 1812 at the age of 100 years and 358 days [death certificate says 102].

Jean Baptiste Lion passed on 5 August 1830 at the age of 40. He did not remarry after being the widower of a centenarian.

Two probable others examples of this situation found:

  • In 1806, Jean Coussirat (20 years old) married Jeanne Capdecoste (84 years old).
  • In 1820, Pierre Dauguet (~ 20 years old) married Anne Guilhat (~ 95 years old).

   
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Liévin Perin (12 September 1715 - 20 January 1819), blacksmith of the town of Leulinghem (Pas-de-Calais, Northern France) lived to be 103 years and 130 days.

Born in Maisoncelle, about 30 km as the crow flies, he married Jeanne Thérèse Dubois in Saint-Martin-au-Laërt on 23 February 1740, aged 24 (marriage certificate says 25).

His wife, born on 28 December 1713, also lived to an extraordinary age for the time. Indeed, she died on 20 March 1808 at the age of 94 (death certificate says 98).

At the end of his life, Liévin requested at least two financial assistance from the prefect of the department, which were granted to him because of his very old age and the resulting inability to work (pension funds were then still far from existing for blacksmiths). However, it seems that Liévin died a very short time before receiving the second one.

 

Gazette de France - 24 October 1817

"The prefect of Pas-de-Calais has just granted assistance of 120 francs to Liévin Périn, aged 102, living in the district of Saint-Omer. This respectable old man, active and hardworking, had, until now, completed his long career without being reduced to poverty. His physical strength no longer matching his courage, he requested, with dignity, help from the administration. His rights could not fail to be appreciated; and, as at his age one cannot wait long, the prefect granted his request immediately."

 

Journal des débats politiques et littéraires - 5 February 1819

"We read in the Journal du Pas-de-Calais, February 2: "Mr. the prefect has just granted assistance of 300 francs to Liévin Périn, from the commune of Leulinghem (district of Saint-Omer), who has reached his 104th year. This respectable old man has three living sons, the eldest of whom is 73 years old, the second 67 years old, and the youngest 65 years old."

 

Although their parents lived respectively to 103 and 94, the three remaining sons, Liévin, Gilles and Pierre, did not reach a so extraordinary age. They died respectively at 74, 70 and 80 years old.

 

Baptism certificate (view 88)

Marriage certificate (view 1125)

Death certificate (view 810)


   
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stoa-oid
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It is always a pleasure to read your fantastic reports. Thanks a lot, Guillaume!


   
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 Fish
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Here is possibly the earliest verifiable instance of a centenarian having a child also reach 100+.

Samuel Lincoln was born in the town of Windham, located in what was then the Colony of Connecticut, on 29 November, 1693 to parents Samuel Lincoln (b. 1658 - d. 1738) and Elizabeth Jacobs (b. 1668 - d. 1727).

Samuel (b. 1693) had seven siblings — two of them lived into their 90s. 

Samuel (b. 1693) passed away on 27 November, 1794, two days short of 101, in his hometown of Windham.

Samuel's son, Nathaniel, was born in the town of Windham, located in what was then the Colony of Connecticut, on 18 November, 1728, would live to be 105 years old, passing away on 16 March, 1834, in the town of Windham, Connecticut.

(Documentation link for Nathaniel Lincoln.)

(Documentation link for Samuel Lincoln, the centenarian.)

This post was modified 2 months ago 6 times by Fish

   
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Robbie
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I have been very slowly trawling through the Scottish death index in order to attempt to research the thousand or so claims of centenarians born in the 1700s that appear on it. As I find more cases whose ages I can verify to an acceptable (for the time) degree of confidence, I will update this post and list them here:

  • William Hutton (24 Jan 1712** – 8 Feb 1812), 100
  • Janet Osburn (24 Oct 1723** – 21 Jun 1825), 101
  • Margaret Dewar (17 Mar 1729** – 26 Jul 1829), 100
  • Hugina Leslie (26 Mar 1746** – 22 Apr 1846), 100
  • Elizabeth Gray (22 May 1748** – 2 Apr 1856), 107
  • Jean Marshall (8 Dec 1753 – 26 Jan 1855), 101
  • David Rennie (28 Feb 1755 – 2 Mar 1857), 102
  • Isabella Smith (25 Mar 1755 – 28 Sep 1855), 100
  • Euphemia Dewar (23 Jul 1755 – 8 Aug 1856), 101
  • Agnes Forrester (4 Oct 1755 – 20 Feb 1861), 105
  • Christian Mitchell (12 Nov 1756* – 1 Feb 1858), 101
  • Patrick McCallum (13 Feb 1757* – 15 Aug 1857), 100
  • Grace Rodger (15 May 1757* – 17 Nov 1857), 109
  • Ann Strachan (5 Jul 1761* – 7 Nov 1861), 100
  • Agnes Kay (6 Mar 1771 – 24 Dec 1873), 102
  • Isabel Morison (10 Nov 1772 – 19 Nov 1877), 105
  • James Ingram (3 Apr 1776 – 3 Mar 1879), 102
  • Archibald McArthur (5 Sep 1777 – 25 Oct 1881), 104
  • Alexander Thomson (26 Jan 1782 – 22 Apr 1882), 100
  • Ann Campbell (25 Dec 1783* – 25 Jan 1884), 100
  • Helen Kerr (17 May 1788 – 10 Feb 1890), 101
  • Helen Campbell (11 Oct 1788 – 6 Jun 1891), 102
  • Isabella McAndrew (17 Mar 1789* – 20 Apr 1892), 103
  • James Foubister (3 Aug 1789 – 5 Jan 1890), 100
  • William Liddle (15 Mar 1790 – 12 Nov 1892), 102
  • Agnes Wemyss (11 Sep 1790 – 8 Aug 1892), 101
  • Margaret Kidd (8 Oct 1790 – 9 Jul 1892), 101
  • Archibald Guillan (18 Oct 1790 – 30 May 1891), 100
  • Margaret Donaldson (1 Apr 1791 – 8 Dec 1893), 102
  • Jane Balfour (21 May 1791 – 7 Jan 1893), 101
  • David Murray (6 Aug 1791 – 17 Nov 1891), 100
  • Janet Fullarton (27 Oct 1791 – 21 Dec 1893), 102
  • Walter Ness (21 Mar 1794 – 17 Dec 1894), 100
  • Agnes Robertson (2 Nov 1794 – 15 May 1895), 100
  • James Dodds (16 Apr 1795 – 14 Apr 1896), 100
  • Agnes Percy (12 May 1796 – 21 Jul 1897), 101
  • Janet Curr (13 Jun 1796 – 13 Apr 1897), 100
  • Jean Hill (2 Aug 1797 – 18 Dec 1897), 100
  • Martha Strachan (19 Aug 1797* – 7 Sep 1901), 104
  • Margaret Watt (21 Aug 1797 – 20 Dec 1897), 100
  • Margaret Binning (10 Mar 1798 – 1 Aug 1898), 100
  • Marion Thomson (9 Apr 1798 – 8 May 1901), 103
  • Betty Muir (14 Jul 1798 – 25 Dec 1899), 101
  • Margaret Thom (19 Jul 1798 – 21 Feb 1900), 101
  • Barbara Barclay (10 Jan 1799 – 12 Jan 1899), 100
  • Agnes Fleming (17 Feb 1799 – 29 Apr 1905), 106
  • Christina Rose (20 Mar 1799* – 9 Feb 1901), 101
  • Ann Mitchell (3 Apr 1799 – 19 Nov 1900), 101
  • Janet Rawline (18 May 1799 – 10 Feb 1900), 100
  • Janet Roxburgh (19 Jun 1799 – 10 Feb 1900), 100
  • Catherine MacDougall (20 Sep 1799 – 24 Aug 1901), 101
  • Grace Donaldson (12 Nov 1799 – 16 Jan 1903), 103

*Baptism date

**Hugina Leslie and Elizabeth Gray were born before Scotland switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, so their birth dates have been amended to their Gregorian equivalents. 


   
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heatwave116
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Agnes Fleming could have been WOP, as looking at Jimmy's list, she fits in between Emily Everett (4 Feb 1799 - 23 Sept 1904) and Sophia Wijnberg (12 Mar 1799 - 11 July 1905).


   
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Robbie
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Posted by: @heatwave116

Agnes Fleming could have been WOP, as looking at Jimmy's list, she fits in between Emily Everett (4 Feb 1799 - 23 Sept 1904) and Sophia Wijnberg (12 Mar 1799 - 11 July 1905).

Here are a couple photos of her (sourced from Ancestry):

Luckily, her case is probably one of the more concretely verified on the list, due to having being born right at the end of the 1700s, remaining in a relatively small area her entire life, and the existence of a marriage record, so she can hopefully be added to the WOP list in due time. 

 

 


   
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Robbie
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A shockingly early example of a mother-daughter centenarian pair from Scotland:

Margaret Dewar (17 Mar 1729 (N.S.) – 26 Jul 1829), 100

Euphemia Dewar (23 Jul 1755 – 8 Aug 1856), 101

I've also been able to find an even earlier centenarian than Margaret Dewar. William Hutton (24 Jan 1712 (N.S.) – 8 Feb 1812) was at one point the magistrate of Lanark, and voyaged to the East Indies a few times in his early life. 

 

 


   
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930310
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@robbie Impressive finding!


   
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Robbie
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Another early Scottish centenarian - Jane Hamilton (née Gordon) of Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, was born on 4 April 1804 and died on 14 October 1910 aged 106 years, 193 days. She was from a fairly well-to-do family, as can be seen from the fact that she was able to have herself and her family photographed in around 1850 (she is on the left, source):

One (very small) issue I previously had with her case is that Kirkcudbright's church register is missing marriage records from 1822-1826, which is the time frame she was married. Her social status helps out here, as her marriage was recorded in the 15 September 1823 edition of the Caledonian Mercury:

Taking a look at this list, it seems - like Agnes Fleming - she could've been the WOP at the time of her death, although as the early 20th century and before is still definitely somewhat of a 'wild west' period of oldest person tracking, I'd imagine her reign would mostly be as a placeholder until someone older is found. 


   
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stoa-oid
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Posted by: @robbie

One (very small) issue I previously had with her case is that Kirkcudbright's church register is missing marriage records from 1822-1826, which is the time frame she was married. Her social status helps out here, as her marriage was recorded in the 15 September 1823 edition of the Caledonian Mercury:

-- attachment is not available --

A great find when there are no marriage records. One can see that you are a fantastic researcher.

PS There was also a gap in the marriage records of ancestors of mine in a small village. Jakob G. (1770-1853) and Maria M. (1771-1854) married in 1798 which I could find in the death register of 1853. A very rare find. In these times it wasn´t usual to annotate such dates. Only because of very long duration of a marriage back then. 

The longest marriage of my ancestors: Cristiano de S. (1787-1874) and Maria S. (1780-1867), living in Trentino, married in 1806. 

 


   
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