Mary Ramsey Wood
Mary Ramsey Wood | |
---|---|
![]() Wood on July 26, 1907 | |
Born | May 20, 1787/circa 1810 |
Died | January 1, 1908 (aged 120, disputed) |
Resting place | Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery 45°31′14″N 123°00′22″W / 45.52045°N 123.00599°W |
Known for | Supposed oldest living person |
Spouse(s) | Jacob Lemons (died in 1839) John Wood (died in 1867) |
Children | 4 |
Mary Ramsey Wood, also known as Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood (May 20, 1787/circa 1810 (disputed) – January 1, 1908), was an American pioneer known as the "Mother Queen of Oregon". She was reported to be the oldest living person in the United States when she died, supposedly aged 120. It is said she traveled to the Oregon Territory across the Oregon Trail aged 66. There is evidence this age claim was inaccurate or exaggerated, however, and she may have been between 96 and 98 when she died.[1]
Biography
According to obituaries published in 1908,
Aged 12, Ramsey joined the Methodist church, and in 1804 she married Jacob Lemons in Tennessee. The couple would raise four children on their farm in that state. The children were Mary Jane Lemons (1806–1904), Isaac Lemons (1809–1866), Nancy Ellen Lemons Bullock (1816–1868), and Catherine Bridgette Lemons Southworth Smith Reynolds (1830–1909).[6] In 1837, the family moved to Alabama followed by Georgia the next year. In 1839, Jacob died, and in 1849 Mary Lemons moved to Missouri.[2]
Lemons moved to the Oregon Territory with her daughters Nancy and Catherine and their families in 1852.[7] The family brought 12 slaves with them to Oregon. Wood rode her horse Martha Washington Pioneer the entire journey along the Oregon Trail aged 66, and as a midwife she delivered at least one baby during the trip. The family arrived in Oregon in 1853, and settled in Washington County at Hillsboro in the Tualatin Valley. She married John Wood on May 28, 1854, in Hillsboro. He built the first frame hotel in Hillsboro, the Commercial Hotel,[8] in which Mary tended bar at the in-house saloon.
Around 1865, the couple sold the hotel to Mary's daughter Catherine. John Wood died in 1867. Mary Wood then served as postmaster of Hillsboro before retiring to her daughter's residence. In 1879, she suffered from
According to obituaries of the time, "Grandma" Mary Ramsey Wood died aged 120 on January 1, 1908, at five o'clock in the morning. At the time of her death she was thought to be the oldest living person in the United States. She was also referred to as the "oldest Methodist in the world".[13] Wood was buried at the Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery. Her death and her supposed age were widely reported across the country at the time.
A 1908
Longevity claim
Although both historic and contemporary sources repeat the claim that Wood was 120 years old at the time of her death, according to
If Mary Ramsey Wood had lived to be 120, as claimed, she would have been the world's oldest person at that time, and would be the oldest American on record even today. That distinction, however, according to Guinness World Records, belongs to Sarah Knauss, who died at age 119.
Census data
In addition to the longevity records, census data may show a discrepancy between Mary Wood's claimed age at death and her actual age. Three U.S. census records for Hillsboro list a Mary Wood with data that match parts of Mary Ramsey Wood's biography. The
There is a Mary Wood listed in the
The
If the Mary Wood listed in the 1860, 1880, and 1900 censuses is the same person as Mary Ramsey Wood, then, owing to a slight discrepancy in the stated ages, she would have been between 96 and 98 years old at the time of her death.
Legacy
Wood's hotel, at the northwest corner of 2nd and Washington streets, burned down in 1912.
January 1, 2008, was named Mary Ramsey Wood Day by the City of Hillsboro. Local historian James Andrew Long advocated for this recognition of Wood.[20]
Modern news stories about Wood, published as recently as 2014, mention that there is some dispute about her age at death but continue to state her age of 120 years at her death as fact.[5][8][17]
Note
- ^ This section is based mainly on two 1908 obituaries for Mary Ramsey Wood and a 1906 story on the occasion of her birthday.[2][3][4] These sources were likely mistaken about her being born in 1787, as described at #Longevity claim, thus, many of the age-related facts may be inaccurate.
References
- ^ a b c d "Washington County". Population schedules of the tenth census of the United States, 1880, Oregon [microform] ([197-]). p. 28.
- ^ The Morning Oregonian. January 2, 1908.
- Capital Journal.
- The Morning Oregonian. May 20, 1906. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ a b "Living a Dozen Decades". Albany Democrat-Herald. December 31, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ Engen, Edna (October 19, 1976). "Pioneer's 121 Years Spans Three Centuries". The Hillsboro Argus.
- ^ Stephenie, Flora. "Emigrants to Oregon in 1853". The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ a b "The Woman Whose Life Spanned 3 Centuries, 1787 to 1908". The Beaverton Resource Guide. June 1, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- The J.K. Gill Co.
- ^ Note: Women later nominated "Mother Queen" included Otelia Cullen Polk DeWitt and Nancy Kincaid
- The Morning Oregonian. July 4, 1907. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ Transactions of the 37th–41st Annual Reunions. Oregon Pioneer Association. 1913. pp. 1, 59, 493.
- ^ "Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths: The Nashville Christian Advocate 1908–1910 (cached)". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ a b "Washington County". Population schedules of the eighth census of the United States, 1860, Oregon [microform] (1967). 1967. p. 27.
- ^ a b c "Washington County". 12th census of population, 1900 [microform] : Oregon (1978). 1978. p. 4307.
- ^ "The Hub: Mother, Son Died in 1912 Blaze Which Burned Commercial". The Hillsboro Argus. October 19, 1976. p. 12.
- ^ ISBN 9780738571829.
- ^ "Mary Ramsey Wood: Hillsboro's Pioneer and Longest-Lived Citizen". The Advisory from Washington County Disability, Aging & Veteran Services. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Society to propose 'Mary Ramsey Wood Fountain'". The Oregonian. December 1, 2005.
- ^ Suh, Elizabeth (December 27, 2007). "Hillsboro, Past and Present". The Oregonian Metro West Neighbors.
External links
- "Oldest Woman on the Pacific Coast". The Sunday Oregonian. December 27, 1903. (story about Wood with photo of her and her family)
- Image of postcard of Wood circa 1906, "sold for her benefit"
- Image of Mary Ramsey Wood from Washington County Heritage
- July 1907 image of Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood riding in an automobile from FamilySearch
- Image of Old Commercial Hotel from Washington County Heritage