Susannah Mushatt Jones
Susannah Mushatt Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | Susannah Mushatt Jones[1] July 6, 1899 (age 124 years, 337 days)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Supercentenarian |
| Title | Oldest living resident of New York |
Susannah Mushatt Jones (born July 6, 1899)[1] is an American supercentenarian who is, at the age of 124 years, 337 days, the oldest living resident of New York,[2][3][4] and the third oldest living American (behind Gertrude Weaver and Jeralean Talley). She is among the 100 verified oldest people ever and is currently the world's fourth oldest living person.[5] She has received tributes from the United States House of Representatives[6] and from the Alabama House of Representatives "for a remarkable lifetime of exceptional achievement lived during three centuries".[1]
Biography
Susannah Mushatt was born in Lowndes County, Alabama on July 6, 1899.[4] Her parents were sharecroppers who farmed the same land as her grandparents (one an ex-slave). As a young woman, she worked in fields but she was determined to escape that hard existence.[1] On March 4, 1922, she graduated from the Calhoun Boarding High School and was accepted to Tuskegee Institute's Teacher's Program. However, her parents did not have enough money to pay for her college, so in 1923, she moved to New York during the early stages of the Harlem Renaissance.[1][2][7]
In 1928 she married Henry Jones but the marriage did not last long, saying that she "didn't know what became of him,"[8] and she had no children. She worked for wealthy families taking care of their children until she retired in 1965. During this time, she supported many of her relatives as they moved to New York.[2]
She is blind, partially deaf, and uses a wheelchair.[2] She resides at the Vandalia Senior Center in East New York, Brooklyn.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Representative Jackson. "COMMENDING SUSANNAH MUSHATT JONES FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS". The Alabama Legislature. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Flengenheimer, Matt. "A Milestone in Brooklyn: 112 Birthdays". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ "Oldest New Yorker Honored at Vandalia Senior Center". New York City Department for the Aging. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c Bond, Michaelle (July 12, 2013). "Oldest Woman in New York Celebrates Birthday No. 114". New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ^ "Current Validated Living Supercentenarians". Gerontology Research Group.
- ^ Edolphus Towns. "A TRIBUTE TO SUSANNAH MUSHATT JONES ON HER 113TH BIRTHDAY -- HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS (Extensions of Remarks - July 11, 2012)". Congressional Record 112th Congress (2011-2012). Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ Underwood, Khalea and Bill Hutchinson. "Susannah Mushatte Jones is the oldest person in New York City and still going strong at 113". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ "A Milestone in Brooklyn: 112 Birthdays". Retrieved June 13, 2013.