Sarah Knauss facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Knauss
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A 17-year-old Sarah Knauss in 1897
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| Born |
Sarah DeRemer Clark
September 24, 1880 Hollywood, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Died | December 30, 1999 (aged 119 years, 97 days) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Known for | The oldest person ever from the United States |
| Spouse(s) |
Abraham Lincoln Knauss
(m. 1901; died 1965) |
| Children | 1 |
Sarah DeRemer Knauss (born Clark; September 24, 1880 – December 30, 1999) was an American woman who lived for a very long time. She is the oldest person ever from the United States. On April 16, 1998, she became the oldest living person in the world. She lived to be 119 years and 97 days old. This makes her the third-oldest person ever whose age has been officially proven. Many records, like census reports, have confirmed her birth date.
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Early Life and Family
Sarah DeRemer Clark was born on September 24, 1880. Her parents were Walter Clark and Amelia. She was born in Hollywood, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, a small town where people mined coal. Her family later moved to South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Sarah was the third of seven children. Sadly, three of her brothers passed away when they were very young.
Sarah's Marriage and Daughter
In 1901, Sarah married Abraham Lincoln Knauss (1878–1965). Abraham first worked with leather. Later, he became an important leader for the Republican Party in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. He was also the county's recorder of deeds, which means he kept official records. He worked in this job from 1937 until he retired in 1951. Abraham passed away in 1965 when he was 86 years old.
Sarah and Abraham had one child, a daughter named Kathryn. Kathryn was born in 1903 and lived to be 101 years old, passing away in 2005. For most of her life, Sarah Knauss was a housewife. She enjoyed hobbies like knitting, crocheting, and sewing.
Before Sarah passed away, her family had six living generations! This means there were six different age groups in her family, from her own age down to her great-great-great grandchild. In February 1999, a magazine called Life took a special photo of Sarah with one person from each of these six generations.
Health and Daily Life
Sarah Knauss lived at home until she was 111 years old. Then, because she was becoming frail and her eyesight was getting worse, she moved to a nursing home in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 1995, when she was 115, Sarah said she enjoyed her life because she was still healthy enough to "do things."
When she was 117, Sarah needed a blood transfusion because her blood count was low. She continued to take heart medicine for the rest of her life. People who knew her said she was very sharp and clear-minded until she passed away. Even in her last year, she still talked with her daughter, Kathryn. Sometimes she had trouble recognizing Kathryn, but this might have been because her hearing and eyesight were failing, not her mind.
Sarah's Secrets to a Long Life
When people asked Sarah how she lived to such an old age, she had some good advice. She said you should "keep yourself busy, work hard, and not worry about how old you are." Sarah never smoked and was never considered overweight. She really loved sweets, but her great-granddaughter said Sarah "hated vegetables"!
A staff member at Sarah's nursing home said she was the friendliest person living there. Her family members could not remember a time when she ever scolded anyone or even seemed stressed.
Longevity Records
Sarah Knauss passed away from natural causes on December 30, 1999, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was not known to be suffering from any illness at the time. After her death, Eva Morris from the United Kingdom became the oldest living person in the world.
When Sarah was 116, she became the oldest person ever from the United States. Before her, people thought Carrie C. White held that record. On April 16, 1998, Sarah became the world's oldest living person after Marie-Louise Meilleur, a 117-year-old woman from Canada, passed away.
Sarah Knauss is still the oldest person from the United States whose age has been officially proven. She is also the third-oldest person ever whose age is fully documented. The only two people who lived longer than her were Jeanne Calment from France and Kane Tanaka from Japan. Guinness World Records recognized Sarah as the world's oldest living person from April 16, 1998, until she passed away the next year.
Many records have been checked to make sure Sarah's age claims are real. These include the 1890 census, which was taken when Sarah was still a child.
See also
