For several decades, Norwegian man Eilif Philipsen has been recognized as the earliest-born verified centenarian. Philipsen was born in Kinsarvik, Norway on 21 July 1682 and died in Ullensvang, Norway on 20 June 1785, aged almost 103 years old. Philipsen has thorough documentation from throughout his life, including a baptismal record, census documentation, a marriage record and proof of death. In recent years great effort has been devoted to researching claimed early centenarians and supercentenarians but most research has encountered the same issue: the original records no longer exist. Still, some plausible centenarians have emerged.
Gershom Rice (9 May 1667 – 19 Dec 1768)
The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, 26 Dec 1768
Gershom Rice was allegedly born in Marlborough, Massachusetts on 9 May 1667 as the son of Thomas Rice and Mary King. He married Elizabeth Balcom and had four children with her: Gershom, Abishai, Sarah and Matthias. Gershom Rice died in Worcester, Massachusetts on 19 December 1768 at the claimed age 0f 101.
From Rice’s obituary we learn that he was able to enjoy good health until late in life, being able to walk a mile or two everyday, and also had a pleasant disposition. Rice came from a family that lived relatively long. Of his 13 siblings (most of them named in his obituary), four lived past 90. The obituary notes that he had seven children, all living, at his time of death.
A genealogical history of the Rice family exists and provides further insight into Gershom Rice’s family.
Parents
Thomas Rice (d. 16 Nov 1681)
Mary (d. 1710)
Siblings
1. Grace (3 Jan 1653 – Unk.)
2. Thomas (30 Jun 1654 – c. 1747) m. Mary & Anna
3. Mary (4 Sep 1656 – c. 1736) m. Josiah
4. Peter (24 Oct 1658 – 28 Nov 1753) m. Rebecca
5. Nathaniel (3 Jan 1660 – 13 Nov 1726) m. Sarah & Patience
6. Sarah (15 Jan 1662 – c. 1742)
7. Ephraim (15 Apr 1665 – 25 Oct 1732) m. Hannah & Mary
8. James (6 Mar 1669 – 14 Oct 1730) m. Sarah
9. Frances (3 Feb 1671 – c. 1767) m. Benjamin
10. Jonas (6 Mar 1673 – 22 Sep 1753) m. Mary
11. Grace (15 Jan 1675 – Aft. 19 Dec 1768) m. Nathaniel
12. Elisha (11 Dec 1679 – 1761) m. Elizabeth
Claimant
Gershom Rice (9 May 1667 – 19 Dec 1768)
Spouse
Elizabeth Balcom (16 Aug 1672 – bf. 1744)
Children
1. Gershom (c. 1696 – 24 Sep 1781) m. Esther
2. Elizabeth (20 Oct 1698 – bf. 1744)
3. Abishai (16 Oct 1701 – Aft. 1740) m. Frances
4. Sarah (9 Feb 1703 – Unk.)
5. Matthias (26 Jan 1707 – Aft. 1756) m. Mary
6. Ruth (11 Apr 1710 – Unk.)
We learn that the obituary is a bit unreliable concerning the final ages of his siblings, with some having been older or younger than stated. But we are also given rich information about his life. We know who the parents of his wife, Elizabeth were, and that his marriage record had not been located at the time. He was noted to have moved to Groton, Connecticut around 1698 since five of his children (except his son Gershom) were born there. He received land from Nehemiah Smith in 1704 and conveyed the land to Smith again in 1709. A letter from 1713 notes that his wife was living in Groton.
Before 13 October 1713, Gershom moved to Marlborough, Massachusetts which is indicated by a petition from Gershom and his brother Jonas to the general court in which they expressed a desire to enter the new settlement in Worcester from which they had been driven by the Indian war. The request was granted and Gershom and his family settled in Worcester in 1715. The house of Gershom Rice became an initial place for religious worship and Gershom and his brother Jonas were chosen to take care that Worcester became a functioning town. Gershom’s son Gershom gave Rice a bond on 30 May 1737, where he would support Rice and his wife Elizabeth. The genealogical information also notes that no seventh child of Gershom Rice has been located.
Wow. An almost full life story for Gershom Rice. Prior to researching this man I had never even heard the name “Gershom” and now I know of several people with that name. Anyway, let’s construct a timeline:
- 9 May 1667 – Gershom Rice is born in Marlborough, MA to Thomas and Mary Rice
- bf. 1696 – Gershom marries Elizabeth Balcom
- 1696-1710 – Has six children: Gershom, Elizabeth, Abishai, Sarah, Matthias and Ruth
- c. 1698 – Moves to Groton, CT
- 28 May 1704 – Receives land
- 19 May 1709 – Conveys land
- 1 Apr 1713 – Resides in Groton, CT
- bf. 13 Oct 1713 – Moves to Marlborough, MA
- 1715 – Moves to Worcester, MA
- 30 May 1737 – Receives a bond from his son Gershom
- 19 Dec 1768 – Dies in Worcester, MA aged 101
Let’s see if we can find any documentation.
The book of births for Middlesex, MA appears to be original since it was compiled by Thomas Danforth who was the recorder of deeds for Middlesex county between 1652-1686.
We find that Gershom, son of Thomas Rice and Mary, was born on 9 May 1667 in Marlborough, which is consistent with what Gershom Rice claimed.
This document is not original and likely dates from the 1800s. We can at least see that five of Gershom Rice’s children (Elisabeth, Alishai, Sarah, Matthias and Ruth) were born in Groton, CT between 1698 and 1710.
Looking through the Worcester book of deeds we get countless mentions of Gershom Rice
The proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity from 1908 has transcribed some deeds.
Documentation such as this serves as mid-life documentation. We know that Rice had sons named Gershom, Matthias and Aisha, who are all mentioned in these indexes. The extracted deed mentions Gershom Rice and his wife Elisabeth Balcom, which also helps us identify some semblance of the previously constructed timeline.
This death registration is probably not original, but it doesn’t really matter since we have Gershom Rice’s obituary from 1768. This record states that Rice died in Worcester, Massachusetts on 19 December 1768 during his 102nd year of life.
Gershom Rice’s original gravestone has itself been buried, along with several others, under a memorial gravestone at the Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts but his year of death is recorded on the mark.
Was Gershom Rice an earlier-born centenarian than Eilif Philipsen?
Yes, the material that has been located this far indicates that Gershom Rice was born in 1667 and died in 1768 at age 101. We would of course want to find more information, such as the original birth records of his children. But these documents won’t really add that much since they won’t give any information about his age or when he was born. What we have is proof of birth, mid-life documentation and proof of death, which is what is required to validate the age of someone.
It is of course possible that someone could have stolen the identity of Rice, but I am fairly sure that his children who were still alive would have opposed against that. Gershom Rice was also a fairly prominent member of the town of Worcester, being recognized as the second settler after his brother Jonas, so it is unlikely that someone would be able to assume his identity.
Martha Thomlinson (bp. 14 Jul 1668 – 16 Dec 1769)
The Publications of the Harleian Society, 1895
Shortly after Gershom Rice was born a child named Martha Ray was baptized in Birstal, Yorkshire, England on 13 July 1668. She was the daughter of John Ray of Gomersal (bp. 15 Apr 1638) and his second wife, Catherine (d. c. 1730). She had three siblings, John and Thomas from her father’s first marriage, and Robert Ray (d. 1730) from her father’s second marriage. Martha Ray would marry Dr. Robert Thomlinson, the future rector of Whickham. Martha Thomlinson died at Whickham in Durham, England on 16 December 1769 at a claimed age of at least 103.
From the genealogy we learn that Martha Ray was baptized in Birstal/Birdsall, Yorkshire on 13 July 1668.
The baptismal record is an original document and states that Martha, daughter of John Ray of Gomersal, was baptized in Birstal on 13 July 1668.
We know that Martha Ray married Robert Tomlinson from the genealogy book and this record of her marriage from East Ardsley in 1702 confirms the marriage, which took place on 8 April that year.
The will of Martha Thomlinson, dated 22 August 1768, proves that she was a centenarian. The content of the will solidifies her identity. In the obituary, Thomlinson mentions Elizabeth Dawson and Catherine Williamson (both her great-nieces), Robert Ray (her nephew John’s son) and Mary Dawson (wife of great-nephew Robert).
The burial record of Whickham notes that Martha Thomlinson, aged 102, was buried on 19 December 1769.
We obtain Martha Thomlinson’s date of death (16 Dec 1769) from here
Local Records, 1866
Was Martha Thomlinson an earlier-born centenarian than Eilif Philipsen?
Yes, very likely. Martha Thomlinson has original proof of birth, proof of name change, proof of death as well as a will and genealogical information that confirms her identity and status as a centenarian. We can, unfortunately, not know exactly how old Thomlinson was and we therefore have to go with her baptismal date as her latest possible date of birth. Once again, it is possible that someone else assumed her identity, but given Thomlinson’s relatively high status as the wife of a vicar, it is highly unlikely.
André Levesque de La Souctière (2 Oct 1668? – 5 Sep 1772)
Frenchman André Levesque de La Souctière was potentially born just one year after Rice and a couple of months after Thomlinson and would die at almost 104 years of age in 1772. While I speak absolutely terrible French I am glad that Google Translate exists, which helps me understand his claim.
Potential birth registration of André Levesque, which confirms the date of birth and the names of his parents.
According to Axel Antigny at Geneanet, Levesque de La Souctière was a privateer captain who was born in Granville, Basse-Normandie, France on 2 October 1668 and died in Saint-Malo, Bretagne, France on 5 September 1772. His parents were Jean-François Levesque and Jeanne Baillon and he had two brothers, Jean and Antoine. He married Anne-Servanne Le Fer de La Motte but there is no info on whether he had any children.
Death registration of André Levesque
In order to consider his claim “verified” I would prefer having more documentation. Some French researchers do consider him to be a verified early centenarian, so it is possible that they possess more information.
Conclusion
What we can learn from this editorial is that Eilif Philipsen was likely not the earliest verifiable centenarian with at least two highly likely, and decently documented, people born over a decade earlier. Are there earlier-born centenarians out there that we can research? Probably, but it is rather hard to find them and they can only come from a limited number of places since few areas kept birth registrations that far back.
Many thanks to the volunteer researchers who have compiled information of several possible centenarians born before 1700 that was used as a basis for writing this editorial.
