Centenarians

“I made it this long by living a good clean life. I’ve never been in any trouble, no drinking, I worked hard.” Those were the reasons Ed Gosha (pronounced go-shay)…

As the second of ten children to live in the Scott household, Laura gained practical experience in child-raising. She was 20 when the youngest was born, and she saw all…

Something about this Scotch-Irish family inclined several of them to have a long lifespan, and not just Elizabeth, who was known affectionately as Lizzie. Her Irish mother, Jane, and two…

The nation celebrated its 100th birthday on July 4, 1876, as did formerly enslaved people in the South. It was an occasion to recognize their freedom, particularly for one couple…

As with other centenarians, different claims were made about Mary’s date of birth. Newspapers at the time of her death ran with the idea that she was 102 when she…

The notion that Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag was propagated most vocally by her descendants nearly 40 years after she died. (Historians consider it family lore and without…

The Hall family would readily acknowledge their lives revolved around their relationship with their Creator, and some of them made it their full-time occupation to share the good news of…

The title of “Oldest Old Maid” was proudly claimed by Mary Ann Crothers before she died in 1898 at age 104 because she had never been married. So far, three…