World’s oldest person, the last American born in the 1800s, dies at age 116
RT.com
13 May, 2016
Susannah Mushatt Jones, the granddaughter of slaves who held the title of “world’s oldest living person” and “the last American born in the 19th Century”, has died at the age of 116.
Born July 6, 1899, she passed away Thursday in a Brooklyn nursing home where she had lived for three decades.
Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, Jones was born the same year the word “automobile” first appeared in text – and lived through two world wars, 20 US presidents, and unimaginable Jim Crow racism.
Jones credited her long life to not drinking, smoking, or partying, a family member told NBC, adding that the fresh fruit and vegetables she ate during her childhood helped maintain her health.
One of 11 siblings, she graduated from school in 1922 before working full-time picking crops with family members on the same land her grandparents farmed as slaves.
Her grandmother lived to be 117 years old, according to US census data.
She was accepted into Tuskegee Institute’s teaching program, but as her parents couldn’t afford the tuition fees, she left for New Jersey and eventually New York where she found work as a nanny and housekeeper.
Education remained her passion though, and she helped establish The Calhoun Club, a college scholarship fund for African American students.
The Rest…HERE
