RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: bibliotaphist on Tuesday 05 June 18 13:11 BST (UK)
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This was previously discussed a decade ago (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=329849.msg2102534). Who's the oldest person you can find in a census?
Discounting obvious transcription errors, I can find three people—two male and one female—in the 1911 census (England) who gave their ages as 105 (i.e. born abt 1806). No-one older than that.
I can see from FreeBMD that the two male centenarians died later in the census year, the female a year later in 1912 aged 106.
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According to the Registrar Generals 1911 Report.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5w/
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A few here
http://oldestinbritain.nfshost.com/living.php
Malky
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A few here
http://oldestinbritain.nfshost.com/living.php
Malky
I think it's fair to say I won't be around in 2121 to check them on censuses! ;D ;D
Philip
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One never knows the future miracles of science ::) ::) ::)
Malky
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Predating censuses, an ancestor of mine was said to be 102 when he died in 1811. This was noted in the parish register, and no other ages at death were, so even if it wasn’t exact, he was clearly old enough for it to be unusually noteworthy.
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Predating censuses, an ancestor of mine was said to be 102 when he died in 1811. This was noted in the parish register, and no other ages at death were, so even if it wasn’t exact, he was clearly old enough for it to be unusually noteworthy.
What a great find. I only have two centenarians in my tree, both distant relatives and not direct ancestors, one born in the C19th (d. aged 102 in 1990) and one in the early C20th (d. aged 100˝ in 2008).
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Oldest person I have in a census is my several times great gran Elizabeth Packard (Nee Martin) who was 102 in the 1841 census. She died in February 1842. I have not yet found her baptism or parents but she married in 1763.
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One of the oldest direct ancestors of mine appearing on the Census was listed as 92 in 1881, he was actually only 87 based on the birth date on his baptism. When he died in August 1888 a newspaper report claimed he was 99 and his eldest son was 80! Obviously what the family thought and provided. He was actually 95 and his "oldest son" was actually a stepson and was 78. Just shows they were a bit fluid on ages in those days.
I only have two centenarians in my tree, both distant relatives and not direct ancestors, one born in the C19th (d. aged 102 in 1990) and one in the early C20th (d. aged 100˝ in 2008).
An uncle of my Aunt (my mother's sister in law) was just under four months short of his 106th birthday when he died in July last year. One of his sisters was a 100 when she died in 2009 and my Aunt's mother was four months short of her 97th birthday when she died in 2013. Two other siblings made 91 and 82 respectively, three others died as youngsters.
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5y/
From the Irish census 1901.
What I notice is that a high percentage of this age group cannot read or write.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5z/
Irish census 1911
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5y/
From the Irish census 1901.
What I notice is that a high percentage of this age group cannot read or write.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5z/
Irish census 1911
You missed the oldest guy in 1901
John Mc Donough aged 122 with his 90 year old wife and 95 year old sister in law.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Errislannon/Drimmeen/1370106/
He died August 1901, death cert gives his age as 120, his sister in law was the informant.
:D
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5y/
From the Irish census 1901.
What I notice is that a high percentage of this age group cannot read or write.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5z/
Irish census 1911
You missed the oldest guy in 1901
John Mc Donough aged 122 with his 90 year old wife and 95 year old sister in law.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Errislannon/Drimmeen/1370106/
He died August 1901, death cert gives his age as 120, his sister in law was the informant.
:D
Definitely the winner so far! And if verified, he'd be a contender for the second oldest person ever to have lived (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_verified_oldest_people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_verified_oldest_people)) ;)
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Whilst researching my son in law's family I found an article in the Scotsman dated December 1861 referring to his 4 x great grandfather Walter Glover.
It stated that he had been born on 18/7/1758 and died on 22/12/1861 aged 100. It goes on to say he had been a contemporary of Robert Burns (well known Scottish poet) and a carter between Edinburgh and Dumfries. That checks out with him having known Rabbie. His death was registered by his unmarried daughter. Unfortunately his birth record says he was born on 18/7/1767. Poor Walter was only 94 :) still a good age.
Dorrie
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hi all. A new member ex pat sat in Co Limerick. My mother was born february 1909 and died december 2014. Had she lived to her birthday she would have been 106. I am following in her footsteps!! I never eat brown bread and would ravage a bowl of fruit!!
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My oldest rellie that I am aware of is my Uncle George who was born in 1910 and died in St. Thomas Hospital in 2013 aged 103. I was thrilled to have a living relative in the 1911 census when it was released ;D
Carol
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hi all. A new member ex pat sat in Co Limerick. My mother was born february 1909 and died december 2014. Had she lived to her birthday she would have been 106. I am following in her footsteps!! I never eat brown bread and would ravage a bowl of fruit!!
Hi Chrissy and welcome to Rootschat, that's a good age, I hope you beat her ;D
Carol
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My oldest rellie that I am aware of is my Uncle George who was born in 1910 and died in St. Thomas Hospital in 2013 aged 103. I was thrilled to have a living relative in the 1911 census when it was released ;D
Carol
Although my mother-in-law didn't make it onto the 1911 census as she was born in October 1911 she did live until 2012 and at the moment is the oldest person on my wife's and my combined family trees.
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great achievement back then. Getting to be "normal' to have long life but I think the following generation won't be so lucky. Too many stresses with both parents on the workers treadmill as well as keeping up family life. Good luck from Ireland!
chrissy
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The oldest person in my tree was my 3 x great grandfather's younger sister who was 103 when she died according to burial records and newspaper articles on her centenary and death. However baptism and census records show she was born three years earlier, she actually made 100 by four days!
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Cristeen, if she was born 3 years earlier doesn't that make her 106?
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Cristeen, if she was born 3 years earlier doesn't that make her 106?
You spotted my deliberate mistake! Yes she was born 3 years later I believe, certainly baptised 3 years later :)
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Not a record breaker but my grandfather had a brother (died at 42) with 5 children. First, female died within one year, second, male died at 43, third, female died at 93, fourth, male died at 68 and fifth, female died at 104.
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Not a record breaker but my grandfather had a brother (died at 42) with 5 children. First, female died within one year, second, male died at 43, third, female died at 93, forth, male died at 68 and fifth, female died at 104.
It's always seemed slightly incredible to me that it's quite possible to have two siblings dying in non-adjacent centuries - e.g. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who of course died aged 101 in the C21st but who had an older sister (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Bowes-Lyon,_14th_Earl_of_Strathmore_and_Kinghorne#Marriage_and_issue) who died in the C19th.
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I've tried various URL-hack searches for exact years of birth using Ancestry's UK censuses collection (i.e. by manipulating the two highlighted numbers in the search URL https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/1851uki/?birth=1746&birth_x=0-0-0 (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/1851uki/?birth=1746&birth_x=0-0-0)) and found something slightly odd.
For every single census year, there are a surprisingly high number of entries for people aged 105, and zero entries for anyone aged 106 or older.
| Census year | Aged 105 exactly | Aged > 105 |
| 1841 | 21 | 0 |
| 1851 | 19 | 0 |
| 1861 | 8 | 0 |
| 1871 | 16 | 0 |
| 1881 | 9 | 0 |
| 1891 | 11 | 0 |
| 1901 | 10 | 0 |
| 1911 | 6 | 0 |
Some of these apparent 105-year-olds are certainly mistranscriptions. But strange that there aren't any mistranscriptions coming out at 106, or 110.
I'm wondering why this hard cut-off appears consistently in every transcribed census. My thoughts are that it's either that 105 was a popular number to exaggerate ones own age or the age of an elderly relative to (suitably ancient-sounding but believable?) and/or that Ancestry did some extra checking of any transcribed records with an age of 106 or above to remove obviously-mistranscribed outliers.
The alternative explanation would be that in those years a relatively large number of people did just happen to live to that age and not a year longer...
(In the 1841 census of course you'd expect to see more 105-year-olds because of age rounding.)
I tried the same thing with some of the federal U.S. censuses in FamilySearch and found a very similar odd effect there, except that the age for the hard cut-off appears to be 120(!!) rather than 105... e.g. https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bbirth_year%3A1749-1749~%20%2Brecord_type%3A(3)&collection_id=1438024 (https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bbirth_year%3A1749-1749~%20%2Brecord_type%3A(3)&collection_id=1438024)
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The date range of my example was between 1862, fathers birth year and 1995, death year of his youngest daughter.
I have two others although not centenarians. In the Overseers records was a charge for a shroud and burial of a 'phile' Griffiths 1757. I assumed for a long time that this referred to a daughter Tacy born in 1747. Turned out not to be so. She died unmarried in 1827. A very bright Rootschatter suggested it was a Philip Griffiths buried at Llantilio Crosseny aged 97. Until mid 18th Century, it was common in our family to be buried in llandogo where the family was firmly established in the late 17th Century, wherever they had gone since.
Another one is a William Edwards born 1779/1780. He married into our family. Couldn't find him in any Censuses until the 1871 the year he died. His son and family lived in Five Acres, West Dean, Mon. (Gloucestershire). He appears as a lodger aged 92.
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I have no centenarians to report; but my great x4 grandfather Anthony Holcomb[e] was born in 1792 and only just failed to make the 1891 census, dying in 1890 at the grand old age of 98!
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The oldest in my tree is a second cousin born 3 March 1901, died aged 110 on the 5 May 2011.
I don’t intend to compete with him. ;D ;D ;D
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wow we both hope its in the genes eh?
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The 1841 census has a "Fanny Easthrole" born 1743 living in Walton, Woodbridge, Suffolk.
The National Burial Index seems to have the same person but as "Frances Arthrold" born 1740, died 1851, Walton, Suffolk...
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5y/
From the Irish census 1901.
What I notice is that a high percentage of this age group cannot read or write.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m5z/
Irish census 1911
Some of those Irish centenarians gave occupations on census. Old Age Pension wasn't introduced until 1909 so maybe they were really still working.
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I thought I'd found (on an online tree) a distant relative in U.S. who'd lived to 115. Further investigation revealed him to have been confused with his son of same name. Census for a year when he would have been in his 70s showed his wife as a widow.
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My oldest person in my tree is my great uncle who is still living at 102 didn't make the 1911 census but only got 4 years to appear on the 1921
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The contender in my tree is by no means the oldest on this thread, but he did pretty well as far as living through the reigns of various monarchs. John Pearle was born in Rattlesden, Suffolk, in 1541, died in 1637, aged 96 years, and his timeline runs thus:
1541 - Birth of John Pearle, during the reign of Henry VIII.
1543 - Copernicus published his 'On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres' in which he postulated that the Earth went round the Sun and not as had previously been supposed.
1547 - Death of Henry VIII, accession of Edward VI.
1553 - Death of Edward VI, accession of Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary).
1558 - Death of Mary Tudor, accession of Elizabeth I.
1603 - Death of Elizabeth I, accession of James I.
1625 - Death of James I, accession of Charles I.
1637 - Death of John Pearle
So during his lifetime there were six reigning monarchs and he only narrowly missed the English Civil War by about five years. I've often wondered, living as he did in a fairly remote Suffolk village, how much he knew of what was happening in the country, and in the world generally.
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Of the 400 individuals in my files with both birth and death dates, the average lifespan was 56.3 years. Of these, 227 males averaged 56.8 years, and 173 females averaged 55.7 years. Those families having children had an average of 2.9 children per family...
If anyone reached beyond child bearing age, they often got into their 80's. I only have two who got to 100.....
Pall
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In the cemetery of Llangwyfan Church North Wales is a grave with the name of the deceased and the inscription - 'LIVED IN THREE CENTURIES.' He was born in 1799 and died 1901. (or it may be 1699 to 1801)
Long time since I saw it and I didn't make notes at the time.
My grandfather lived to be 90 (died in 1970) - pre-deceasing three of his sisters who lived to be 99 - 105 - 108.
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In the cemetery of Llangwyfan Church North Wales is a grave with the name of the deceased and the inscription - 'LIVED IN THREE CENTURIES.' He was born in 1799 and died 1901. (or it may be 1699 to 1801)
Long time since I saw it and I didn't make notes at the time.
The grave of Foulk Jones, 1699-1801, apparently.
https://mobile.twitter.com/wicicymru/status/780388966218555392
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Thanks Paul,
yes that's the one
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There is a Duncan Munro aged 105 on the 1841 census in Argyll, Scotland. Although I have him at 103 going by his parish baptism record of 1738.
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I did find a 99 year old man in the 1850 US census born c1751 in England.
I did mention my 102 year old ancestor in 1841 Suffolk but as yet have not found a baptism to properly verify she was 102, as we all know how ages recorded could differ to their actual ages.
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There are several transcription errors on FamilySearch where families seem to have centenarian children!
I wonder how accurate the age is for this lady:
record identifier: GBC/1911/RG14/18370/0017/7
Aston Union Workhouse, Erdington, Warwickshire
Sarah CHAPMAN, 110, widow, formerly a laundress, born Coventry.
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My Ayres and Cornwell ancestors are renowned for their longevity. My great grandmother Emily Cornwell aunt of WW1hero Jack Cornwell VC was 91 at her death in 1941.My mother Emily Ayres(1903-2003) was 99 years and 14 weeks in January 2003. Her older sister Winifred (1898-1997) died 3 weeks before her 99th birthday, but to my knowledge no one has yet reached 100. Two of my cousins both in late 80s may be the first.
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My 8x Great Grandmother survived until she was 105 years old. She was born in 1746 and in the 1850 census before she passed away the next year she was 104 years old. I think she is the oldest ancestor I have.
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I have a group picture of 3 of my great aunts taken 1990 - total age at time of photo 297 years.
The eldest lived to be 108 - next to be 105 and the youngest died aged 99.
(My grandfather was a mere youngster of 90 when he died!)
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My Ayres and Cornwell ancestors are renowned for their longevity. My great grandmother Emily Cornwell aunt of WW1hero Jack Cornwell VC was 91 at her death in 1941.My mother Emily Ayres(1903-2003) was 99 years and 14 weeks in January 2003. Her older sister Winifred (1898-1997) died 3 weeks before her 99th birthday, but to my knowledge no one has yet reached 100. Two of my cousins both in late 80s may be the first.
Sadly one of my surviving quoted above as "in his late 80s' passed away in March at the age of 92 years and 26 days. My other cousin is now 90, I am 82 and my brother 77.
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I have a family friend who thought it was wonderful that she was showing on the 1921 census and the 1939 National Register. She’s now 102.
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I have a family friend who thought it was wonderful that she was showing on the 1921 census and the 1939 National Register. She’s now 102.
What a shame there's no realistic prospect of her living to see herself on TWO censuses that have been released to the public!
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The oldest relative that I have found on a census was my x3 great grandmother, Anne Wilkins who was 87 years old on census day, 1911, living with her niece and two great-nephews. She died in 1914 at the ripe old age of 91.
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Well, my great x4 grandfather Anthony Holcomb was born in 1792, and only just failed to make it onto the 1891 census.
He died in 1890, at the ripe old age of 98.
The entry ABOVE his in the burial register was for his granddaughter ... herself a grandmother!
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A small area of Boston Lincs Park Road and Wyberton West Road has produced the following.
Centenarians Mrs Adcock. Mrs Farmer and Mrs Robinson
Nonagenarians
Mrs Luffman (my mother) 99
Mrs Booth 96
Any many others in their 90s.
Something in the water?
Always women though perhaps they wear the men out?
Any others in the same small area?
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Well, in the 1851 census there's Esther Allen, widow, needlewoman residing at Dyer Street, Christchurch, Southwark. Her recorded age is 119.
The only thing is ... her relation to the head of household was given as mother-in-law: so I think he was just having a laugh.
The same applies for Mary Benton at West Moor, Elton, Stockton. She is also said to be 119 years old. But she's the grandmother of the head of household Richard Almond, and he was only 22 years old. So I think HE was having a laugh, too.
In Pitlake, Croydon, there's ANOTHER 119 year old Eliza Dickson, widow and head of the household. But her daughter Eliza Dickson, a schoolmistress, is only 33. So I think again, the census form was completed by the literate daughter, who decided to have a laugh.
FindMyPast gives a fourth 119 year old too ... but that one is clearly a transcription error.
On the other hand ... Martha Dunsdale of Nelson Square, Southwark, born in Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire does appear to have a legitimate claim to be the oldest person on the 1851 census. She is the only person in her household so must have completed the return herself (or given her answers to the enumerator in person) ... and she is 112 years old.
Of course, once you're that age your memory does tend to go a bit ...
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I have a family friend who thought it was wonderful that she was showing on the 1921 census and the 1939 National Register. She’s now 102.
What a shame there's no realistic prospect of her living to see herself on TWO censuses that have been released to the public!
Unfortunately for those of us who were born between 1935 and 1945 there is no prospect of our ever seeing ourselves on a census.