Longevity Claims

Longevity “claims” are quite different to both longevity myths, and supercentarians –people who are practically ancient, and have been substantiated as being a certain age. People have come up with special “tests” to determine whether or not a person is actually over one hundred years old, but on the other hand, it’s never been actually able to prove someone’s age.

The problems with disproving the claims of extreme age in the United States, are just as many of the problems of proving a person is over one hundred years old. In the favor of those trying to prove they’re over one hundred years old, birth documents, etc., can always be forged, and “edited” in such a way as to make the holder seem extremely old. However, on the other hand, for those trying to disprove the person’s age, birth documentation was not exactly a necessity among the poor, and wasn’t even necessary for the longest time. Among the middle class, and the more wealthy in the early 19th century documentation is often much more thorough. But for the less wealthy, and the poor, it was not exactly the first priority. Children born out of the hospital, at home, were rarely documented as even existing.

Those who participated in the earliest known census, in comparison to the last census, are much easier to validate than others. For example, Susie Gibson claimed to be born on October 31st, 1889, but no birth document stating her actual birthdate was ever obtained. However, when officials examined the earliest census performed, in 1900, lists her as being born in October of 1890; obviously as a ten year old, it’s doubtable that she had yet conceived of lying about being over one hundred years old. Maggie Barnes was anywhere from 115, to 117, but inconsistent records can’t determine which exactly, though many experts are leaning towards 116. Likewise, Rosa Williams claimed to be born in May of 1886, however, the 1910 census recorded her as being 22, which would mean she was born in either born in 1887, or 1888. Either way, she was still over one hundred when she died in January 2001. I think, by the time you reach an age over one hundred, that it’s fairly acceptable to have forgotten the year you were born; many of us can recall certain female, or particular males in our lives who can barely remember our names.