List of American supercentenarians facts for kids

American supercentenarians are people living in the United States who have reached the amazing age of 110 years or older! It's a very rare achievement. As of January 2015, a group called the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had confirmed that 782 Americans had reached this incredible age.

The oldest person born in America, who now lives in Spain, is Maria Branyas. She was born in San Francisco, California, on March 4, 1907. The oldest person living in the U.S. is Elizabeth Francis, born in Houston, Texas, on July 25, 1909. The longest-lived American ever was Sarah Knauss from Hollywood, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. She lived to be 119 years and 97 days old before she passed away on December 30, 1999.

Who are the oldest Americans?

Below is a list of the 100 longest-lived American supercentenarians. This information comes from the GRG and other reliable sources.

      Deceased       Living

Stories of supercentenarians

Mary Bidwell

Mary Electa Bidwell (born May 9, 1881 – died April 25, 1996) was an American supercentenarian. She lived to be 114 years and 352 days old. She is the oldest person ever recorded to have died in Connecticut.

Mary's parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, who helped start Hartford, Connecticut. Mary worked as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse for six years. In 1906, she married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, who was a distant cousin. Mary lived by herself in North Haven, Connecticut, until she was 110 years old. She passed away at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut.

Maggie Barnes

Maggie Pauline Barnes (born Hinnant; March 6, 1882 – died January 19, 1998) was an American supercentenarian. Her mother was a former slave. Maggie married a tenant farmer. She died in Johnston County, North Carolina, on January 19, 1998.

There was some discussion about her exact birth year. Her family bible says 1882. However, the 1900 US Census says 1881, and her marriage license says 1880. Based on her family bible, Maggie lived for 115 years and 319 days.

Adelina Domingues

Adelina Domingues (born February 19, 1888 – died August 21, 2002) was a supercentenarian from Cape Verde. She was considered the oldest person in the world for a short time in 2002. This was after Grace Clawson, another supercentenarian, passed away.

Adelina was born in Cape Verde. Her father was Italian and worked as a harbor pilot. Her mother was Portuguese. In 1907, Adelina married a ship captain and moved to the United States. Her husband died in 1950. Adelina was a missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in Cape Verde and other parts of Africa. She was also a religious preacher in Massachusetts. She was a skilled seamstress too.

Adelina strongly believed in the American Dream. She was very religious and had conservative political ideas. She even exchanged letters with former President of the United States Ronald Reagan. She had four children, but only one son, Frank, lived to be an adult. Frank died in 1998 at age 71, and Adelina lived for four more years after him. Adelina Domingues passed away at a nursing home in the San Diego, California, area on August 21, 2002. She was 114 years and 183 days old. She had thought she was 115, but her family and diplomats from Cape Verde found her baptism records. These records showed she was 114 when she died.

Charlotte Benkner

Charlotte Benkner (born Enterlein; November 16, 1889 – died May 14, 2004) was an American supercentenarian. She was thought to be the world's oldest person from 2003 to 2004. Later, when other supercentenarians were confirmed, she was ranked as the third oldest person at the time of her death.

Charlotte was born in Leipzig, Germany. She moved to the U.S. in 1896. She grew up in Peekskill, New York, where her family ran the Albert Hotel. As a young woman, she once met then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. After marrying Karl Benkner in 1908, she moved to Pennsylvania and Ohio. She later retired to Arizona.

Even as a supercentenarian and the oldest person in Arizona, Charlotte moved back to Ohio. She lived in North Lima with her youngest sister, Tillie O'Hare. Tillie passed away in January 2004, just three weeks before her 100th birthday. Charlotte died only four months after her sister, at 114 years and 180 days old. She had a short stay in a hospital in Youngstown, Ohio, before she passed.

Emma Verona Johnston

Emma Verona Johnston (born Calhoun; August 6, 1890 – died December 1, 2004) was an American supercentenarian. She was born into a large family in Indianola, Iowa. She graduated from Drake University in 1912. She then worked as a Latin teacher. Later, she married Harry Johnston, an eye doctor. When she passed away, she was the oldest living graduate of Drake University.

At age 98, Emma moved from Iowa to Ohio to live with her daughter and son-in-law. Even after she turned 110, she was still in good health. She was alert, enjoyed conversations, and could still walk up steps. In May 2004, she became the oldest known living American. Three months later, on her 114th birthday, she received a special paper signed by then-Drake University President David Maxwell. The university's Vice President, John Willey, even suggested she receive an honorary degree. Emma Johnston passed away in Worthington, Ohio, on December 1, 2004. She was 114 years and 117 days old.

Bettie Wilson

Bettie Antry Wilson (born Rutherford; September 13, 1890 – died February 13, 2006) was the oldest person ever recorded in Mississippi. She was considered the oldest living person in the United States from December 2004. This was until Elizabeth Bolden was confirmed as older. Both Bettie and Elizabeth were born in the rural South, living less than 100 miles apart. Bettie was the daughter of freed slaves, Solomon and Delia Rutherford.

In April 2005, Bettie moved into a new home in New Albany. This home was paid for by donations. She celebrated her 115th birthday in September 2005. She passed away on February 13, 2006, at 115 years and 153 days old.

George Francis

George Rene Francis (born June 6, 1896 – died December 27, 2008) was an American supercentenarian. He was the second-oldest living man in the world, tied with Henry Allingham from England. Both were born on June 6, 1896. George was also the oldest living man in the United States after February 8, 2007.

George was from New Orleans, Louisiana. After 1949, he lived in Sacramento, California. A local newspaper there published a poem that George loved to share with friends and the public. He believed his long life was due to nature. He also enjoyed eating pork, eggs, milk, and lard. He stopped smoking cigars when he was 75.

George tried to join the army in World War I in 1918. However, he was not accepted because he was too short and small. He weighed only about 100 pounds. Despite this, he later became a boxer. After that, he worked as a barber and then as a chauffeur.

Bernice Madigan

Bernice Madigan (born Emerson; July 24, 1899 – died January 3, 2015) was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts. She moved to Cheshire when she was six. In 1918, after finishing Adams High School, she joined government efforts to hire women during World War I. She moved to Washington, D.C.. After the war, she worked as a secretary for the Department of the Treasury and the Veterans Administration.

She married Paul Madigan in 1925; he passed away in 1976. They lived in the Washington, D.C., area and then in Silver Spring, Maryland. Bernice retired in 1942. After retiring, she volunteered at her church and at nursing homes, playing piano for the residents. She moved back to Massachusetts in 2007 to live with family.

Bernice took part in the Boston University School of Medicine's New England Centenarian Study. She was also interviewed and filmed by the Center for Aging at the University of Chicago and ABC World News. She is one of 100 centenarians featured in The Archon Genomics XPRIZE. She even joined social media, with profiles on Facebook and Twitter. Bernice Madigan passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 3, 2015. She was 115 years and 163 days old. At the time of her death, she was the oldest person living in Massachusetts. She was also the fourth-oldest living person in the United States and the fifth-oldest living person in the world.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Supercentenarios estadounidenses para niños