Longevity claims

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Longevity claims are claims to extreme longevity (usually 110 or older) that either cannot be verified or for whom only some evidence is available. Longevity claims differ from existing verified supercentenarian cases, and also from longevity myths in that either some evidence exists, the case has not been proven false, and/or the claim was not constructed as a result of a longevity myth, which tends to focus on the village elder concept, fountain of youth concept, nationalist mythology, racial mythology, patriarchal mythology, etc. One test of this is the idea, put forth by William Thoms in the 1870s, of the 100th birthday test: is there evidence of the person claiming to be age 100 some 10 or more years prior to their claim? This test does not prove a person's age (indeed, Susie Brunson passed this test, but later was shown to have exaggerated her age well before this time). However, this test does separate the typical pension-claim longevity exaggeration (which tends to run to about age 115 up to 125) and the myth of longevity claim, whereby a spontaneous claim is made that a certain village elder is 150 or 167. E.g.: Bir Narayan Chaudhuri may have claimed to be 141 years old in 1998, but there was no evidence of a 100th birthday party 41 years earlier.

Contents 1 Problems with the documentation process 2 Lists of longevity claims 2.1 Partially-validated cases (presumed to be living) 2.2 Recent claims with no records (presumed to be living) 2.3 Limbo cases (no updates within at least two years) 2.4 Longevity claims of the past (115+) 3 False and exaggerated claims (living) 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Problems with the documentation process

In the transitional period of record-keeping, records tend to exist for the wealthy and upper-middle classes, but are often spotty and non-existent for the poor. In the United States, birth registration did not begin in Mississippi until 1912 and was not universal until 1933. Hence, there is the problem of many cases whereby no actual birth record exists. Since some were recorded in the census, however, there may be obtainable evidence that tends to support the age claim. Sometimes, however, a single year may be off. In the case of Susie Gibson, for example, the family (and Susie herself) claimed her to be born on October 31, 1889, but no birth document has (yet) been located. The earliest record available, the 1900 census, lists her as born in October 1890. Hence, since the 1900 census is a proximate record (not written in 1890), it can be said that there is a near-certainty that Susie was at least 115, and it's still possible that she was in fact 116. In a similar, related case, inconsistent records suggested that Maggie Barnes was at least 115, but possibly a year older. Documentarians tend to 'err on the side of caution'. Thus, Barnes claimed to be 117, and was at least 115, but could have been 116.

In some cases a person may just miss the standards required for acceptance. For example, Rosa Williams of College Park, Georgia died in January 2001, allegedly born in May 1886. The 1910 census listed her as 22, suggesting she was born in May 1887 or May 1888. Hence, we cannot be certain of her age, but some evidence exists to support the claim. This type of case is said to be partially validated, although she was at least 112, so a supercentenarian regardless.

In another type of case, the only records that exist are late-life documents. Because age inflation often occurs in adulthood (to avoid military service; to apply for a pension early, or because the government began record-keeping during their mid-lifetime), unverified claims also exist. Unverified claims are less likely to be true (because the records are written later), but are still possible. However, because demographic mortality tables show ages above 130 to be extremely unlikely to be true (on the order of trillions to one odds), it would be best to assume that unverified claims to age 130 and above are automatically false, and hence best served by longevity myths. The purpose of longevity claims, then, is to serve as an inventory for the grey area between validated (certainly true cases) and mythical (cases improbable in the extreme that nonetheless may be accepted as valid under non-scientific discourses, such as religion). For example, Hanna Barysevich of Belarus, who claimed to have been 118, can neither be verified nor debunked, and the age claim was within the realm of possibility (the maximum proven age being 122). Hence, her case was a longevity claim.

[edit] Lists of longevity claims

The below lists are meant to show the present and past range of longevity claims, in the grey area between verified and impossible. The lists should be viewed as a spectrum, with the lower ages being more likely to be true and the higher ages less likely to be true.

These lists also serve the purpose of showing the wide range of distribution of extreme claims, which refutes the contention that such claims are particular to only certain "longevity villages". The lists also help to dispel the notion that one claimant should be accepted (without records) while ignoring all the other claims out there (which would also have to be accepted if records weren't required). Finally, because a few of the claims may be true but records do not exist or have not been found, the lists serve the third purpose of categorizing those grey area cases (such as the one of Maria Strelnikova of Russia) that could be true, but have not (yet) been proven as such.

[edit] Partially-validated cases (presumed to be living)

These cases have some evidence of validity, but do not meet the criteria for full validation. F.e.: the person may be listed in the 1930 census or Social Security Death Index (in the U.S.).

Name	Claimed birth	Alleged age	Sex	Residence
Richard Washington	April 13, 1893	&0000000000000115.000000115 years, &0000000000000063.00000063 days	M	Darlington,  South Carolina,  United States
Virginia Call	January 4, 1894	&0000000000000114.000000114 years, &0000000000000163.000000163 days	F	Illinois,  United States

[edit] Recent claims with no records (presumed to be living)

These cases have no publicly available early-life records to support them, but have been made in the press. At the very least, the person should have a claimed year, month and day of birth to be listed here. Claims that don't should be listed in the article about longevity myths. Only claims of at least 113 are included here. Note: the current oldest verified living person is Edna Parker from the United States.

Name	Claimed birth	Alleged age	Sex	Residence
Moloko Temo	July 4, 1874	&0000000000000133.000000133 years, &0000000000000347.000000347 days	F	South Africa
Habib Miyan	22 May 1878	&0000000000000130.000000130 years, &0000000000000024.00000024 days	M	India
Maria Olivia da Silva	28 February 1880	&0000000000000128.000000128 years, &0000000000000108.000000108 days	F	Brazil
Ida Stewart[1] [2]	5 November 1886	&0000000000000121.000000121 years, &0000000000000223.000000223 days	F	Jamaica
Goshada Tsallaeva[3][4]	November 15, 1886	&0000000000000121.000000121 years, &0000000000000213.000000213 days	?	Russia
Józef Piotrowski	7 September 1887	&0000000000000120.000000120 years, &0000000000000282.000000282 days	M	Poland
Pearl Gartrell[5]	1 April 1888	&0000000000000120.000000120 years, &0000000000000075.00000075 days	F	Florida,  United States
LaJean Smith[6]	15 June 1889	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000358.000000358 days	F	Arkansas,  United States
Floripes Luzia Damasio	13 December 1889	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000185.000000185 days	?	Brazil
Clara MacLeash	1 January 1890	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000166.000000166 days	F	Jamaica
Pa Igboezu Asoegwu	20 April 1890	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000056.00000056 days	?	Nigeria
Magomed Labazanov[7]	1 May 1890	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000045.00000045 days	?	Russia
Khabibamal Khamitova[8]	1 July 1890	&0000000000000117.000000117 years, &0000000000000350.000000350 days	?	Russia
Baji Safaorva	3 July 1890	&0000000000000117.000000117 years, &0000000000000348.000000348 days	?	Azerbaijan
Amai Cering[9]	16 March 1891	&0000000000000117.000000117 years, &0000000000000091.00000091 days	?	China
Sostenes Martinez[10]	22 April 1891	&0000000000000117.000000117 years, &0000000000000054.00000054 days	M	Mexico
Elias Athanasiades	14 May 1891	&0000000000000117.000000117 years, &0000000000000032.00000032 days	?	Greece (born in  Turkey)
Angel Alberto Rengifo Cerquera	31 December 1891	&0000000000000116.000000116 years, &0000000000000167.000000167 days	?	Colombia
María Díaz Cortés	4 January 1892	&0000000000000116.000000116 years, &0000000000000163.000000163 days	F	Spain
Rebecca Lanier[11]	24 March 1892	&0000000000000116.000000116 years, &0000000000000083.00000083 days	F	Ohio,  United States
Carmen Catrileo Hualla	18 July 1892	&0000000000000115.000000115 years, &0000000000000333.000000333 days	F	Chile
Elizabeth Johnson	25 December 1892	&0000000000000115.000000115 years, &0000000000000173.000000173 days	F	Mississippi,  United States
Ellen Spencer	3 January 1893	&0000000000000115.000000115 years, &0000000000000164.000000164 days	F	Jamaica
Lu Zijian[12]	15 October 1893	&0000000000000114.000000114 years, &0000000000000244.000000244 days	?	China
Tatekulu Wilhem Shinima Niilenge[13]	6 April 1894	&0000000000000114.000000114 years, &0000000000000070.00000070 days	M	Namibia

[edit] Limbo cases (no updates within at least two years)

Name	Claimed birth	Alleged age (if living)	Country	Notes
Feime Hassanova	April 14, 1879?[14]	&0000000000000129.000000129 years, &0000000000000062.00000062 days	Bulgaria	Last known to be living in April 1999 at the alleged age of 120.
Noninji Elizabeth Bete	21 May 1886?	&0000000000000122.000000122 years, &0000000000000025.00000025 days	South Africa	Last known to be living in December 2005, no updates since then.
Amelia Costa dos Santos	15 May 1888?	&0000000000000120.000000120 years, &0000000000000031.00000031 days	Brazil	Last known to be living in April 2005, no updates since then.
Marfa Salaikijskaja	10 September 1889?	&0000000000000118.000000118 years, &0000000000000279.000000279 days	Lithuania	Celebrated her alleged 115th birthday in September 2004, no updates since then.

[edit] Longevity claims of the past (115+)

Note: only claims with a claimed birth and death date, and an age between 115 and 130 are included. For this article, claims above 130 are considered to be longevity myths. Disproven claims should also be listed in longevity myths. This list here represents the 'grey' area of cases on the cusp of believability.

Name	Claimed birth	Death	Alleged age	Sex	Country
Maria Do Carmo Geronimo[15]	March 5, 1871?	July 14, 2000	129 years 101 days	F	Brazil
Mary Ewen[16]	May 5, 1878?	April 10, 2007	128 years 340 days	F	Jamaica
Cruz Hernández[17]	May 3, 1878?	March 8, 2007	128 years 309 days	F	El Salvador
Elizabeth Israel	January 27, 1875?	October 14, 2003	128 years 260 days	F	Dominica
Swami Kalyan Dev	June 26, 1876?	July 12, 2004	128 years 16 days	?	India
Tshinyelo Dora Muzila[18]	May 4, 1880	January 14, 2008	127 years 255 days	?	South Africa
Benito Martínez Abrogán[19]	June 19, 1880?	October 11, 2006	126 years 114 days	M	Haiti/ Cuba
Jackson Pollard[20]	December 15, 1869?	October 25, 1995	125	M	Georgia,  United States
Juan Ramos	June 24, 1880?	January 24, 2006	125 years 214 days	M	Cuba/ USA
Aberewa Grace[21]	August 16, 1878?	January 18, 2004	125 years 155 days	?	Ghana
Alberta Davis	December 24, 1881?	January 27, 2007	125 years 34 days	F	Georgia,  United States
Anna Visser	December 25, 1878?	January 8, 2004	125 years 14 days	F	Namibia
Augusta Watts	August 15, 1876?	July 9, 2001	124 years 328 days	F	Florida,  United States
Maria Etelvina dos Santos	July 15, 1878?	March 8, 2003	124 years 236 days	F	Brazil
Armando Frid[22]	May 24, 1866?	July 28, 1990	124 years 65 days	M	Argentina
Ana Martinha da Silva	August 27, 1880?	July 27, 2004	123 years 337 days	F	Brazil
Arthur Reed[23]	June 28, 1860?	April 15, 1984	123 years 292 days	M	South Carolina,  United States
Hava Rexha[24]	August 22, 1880?	November 8, 2003	123 years 78 days	F	Albania
Mark Thrash[25]	December 25, 1820?	December 17, 1943	122 years 357 days	M	South Carolina,  United States
Oberia Coffin	December 1, 1883?	October 18, 2006	122 years 321 days	F	Texas,  United States
Dora Jacobs	May 6, 1880?	January 19, 2003	122 years 258 days	F	South Africa
Mamie Evans	July 2, 1872?	January 15, 1995	122 years 197 days	F	North Carolina,  United States
David Peterson	November 22, 1850?	May 31, 1973	122 years 190 days	M	Texas,  United States
Sarah Hoover	June 25, 1874?	December 15, 1996	122 years 173 days	F	Texas,  United States
Lich Nguyen	December 4, 1876?	December 11, 1998	122 years 7 days	?	Vietnam/ United States (died USA)
Mary Duckworth	June 4, 1861?	April 19, 1983	121 years 319 days	F	Mississippi,  United States
William DuBerry	February 7, 1870?	November 14, 1991	121 years 279 days	M	South Carolina,  United States
Annibal Camoux	1638?	1759	121 years	M	France
Fred Greenwell	January 26, 1880?	January 22, 2001	120 years 362 days	M	Tennessee,  United States
Joseph Brunner [26]	November 26, 1706?	November 19, 1827	120 years 358 days	M	Bavaria,  Germany
Atidje Starkova	May 12, 1875?	January 24, 1996	120 years 257 days	?	Bulgaria
Du Pinhua[27]	April 22, 1886	December 11, 2006	120 years, 233 days	F	China
Ruperto Hernandez[28]	June 13, 1887?	August 10, 2007	120 years 58 days	M	Nicaragua
Li Cairong[29]	November 12, 1885?	May 10, 2005	119 years 178 days	?	China
Emma Bodie Begay	November 3, 1887?	April 6, 2007	119 years 154 days	F	New Mexico,  United States
Józef Buszyło[30]	October 7, 1887	March 8, 2007	119 years 152 days	M	Poland
Hanna Barysevich	May 18, 1888?	February, 23 2007	118 years 281 days	F	Belarus
Rose Peter[31][32]	February 21, 1883	September 26, 2001	118 years 217 days	F	Dominica
Alberto Yoip	May 12, 1886	July 23, 2004[33]	118 years 72 days	M	Cuba
Varvara Semennikova	May 10, 1890	March 9, 2008	117 years 304 days	?	Russia
Dominga Pantoja Nique[34]	May 11, 1889?	February 14, 2007	117 years 279 days	F	Peru
Maria Andersson	December 24, 1828?	August 24, 1946	117 years 243 days	F	Finland
Li Ada	April 11, 1889?	September 27?, 2006	117 years 169? days	?	China
Katie Bruce[35]	March 11, 1890?	July 16, 2007	117 years 127 days	F	Mississippi/ Missouri,  United States
Nellie Chee[36]	October 15, 1889?	November 14, 2006	117 years 30 days	F	New Mexico,  United States
Anton Adner[37][38]	1705?	1822	117 years	M	Bavaria,  Germany
Amanda Aguilar[39]	May 3, 1890?	February 14, 2007	116 years 287 days	F	Nicaragua
Nils Ohrberg	January 10, 1700?	October 12, 1816	116 years 276 days	?	Sweden
Hryhoriy Nestor[40]	March 15, 1891	December 14, 2007	116 years 274 days	M	Ukraine
Clementina Rodriguez Quiros[41]	November 13, 1891	March 23, 2008	116 years 131 days	F	Panama
Minnie Lee Nave	August 15, 1890?	November 21, 2006	116 years 98 days	F	Mississippi,  United States
Paweł Parniak	February 27, 1890?	March 27, 2006	116 years 28 days	M	Poland
Franz Josef Eder[42]	1794?	May 5, 1911	116 years	M	Germany
Maria Strelnikova	March 15, 1890?	May 3, 2005	115 years 49 days	F	Russia

[edit] False and exaggerated claims (living)

These are claims that have been shown to be exaggerated:

• Rosa Brown of Pleasantville, New Jersey alleged to be born Mar 15, 1890; now said born in 1901

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The idea of the demographic transition of longevity claims can be found in books published by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research at [2].
• Lists and further discussion of cases may be found at [3] or [4].

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