Worlds apart: two women born in 1899 still alive

Published Jul 3, 2015

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When Susannah Mushatt Jones and Emma Morano were born in 1899, there was not yet world war or penicillin, and electricity was still considered a marvel. The women are believed to be the last two in the world with birth dates in the 1800s.

The world has multiplied and changed drastically in their lifetimes. They have seen war destroy landmarks and cities and have seen them rebuilt. They witnessed the Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, and the dawn of civil rights, the rise and fall of the fascists and Benito Mussolini, the first polio vaccines and the first black president of the US.

Jones, who lives in Brooklyn, tops a list of supercentenarians, or people who have lived past 110, which is maintained by the Los Angeles Gerontology Research Group. The organisation tracks and maintains a database of the world’s longest-living people. Morano, of Verbania, Italy, is

Emma Morano: Born on November 29, 1899, in Verbania, Italy

Morano has lived on her own ever since she left her husband in 1938 because he beat her. Now 115, she resides in a neat one-room flat in Verbania, a mountain town overlooking Lake Major in north-west Italy. She is cared for by her village: The mayor gave her a TV set, her niece stops in twice a day and her physician of more than 25 years checks up on her regularly.

Morano attributes her longevity to her unusual diet: Three raw eggs a day (now two raw eggs and 150g of raw steak after a bout of anaemia) – a diet she’s been on for decades after a sickly childhood.

Her physician today, Dr Carlo Bava, is convinced there’s a genetic component as well.

“From a strictly medical and scientific point of view, she can be considered a phenomenon,” he said, noting that Morano takes no medication and has been in stable, good health for years.

“Emma seems to go against everything that could be considered the guidelines for correct nutrition: She has always eaten what she wants, with a diet that is absolutely repetitive,” Bava said.

“For years, she has eaten the same thing every day, not much vegetables or fruit. But she’s got this far.”

Morano’s sister, whom Bava cared for as well, died at 97. On a recent visit, Morano was in feisty spirits, displaying the sharp wit and fine voice that used to stop men in their tracks. “I sang in my house, and people on the road stopped to hear me singing,” she recalled, before breaking into a round of the 1930s Italian love song Parlami d’amore Mariu.

“Ahh, I don’t have my voice anymore,” she lamented.

And even though her movements now are limited – she gets out of bed and into her armchair and back again, her eyesight is bad and hearing weak – she does seem to sneak around at night.

“Her niece and I leave some biscuits and chocolates out at night in the kitchen. And in the morning they’re gone, which means someone has got up during the night and eaten them,” he said.

Susannah Mushatt Jones: Born on July 6, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York

Now 115 years old, Jones spends her days in her one-bedroom flat in a public housing facility for seniors in Brooklyn, where she has lived for more than three decades.

She sticks to a strict daily routine: Every morning she wakes up at about 9am, takes a bath and then eats several slices of bacon, scrambled eggs and grits.

Jones, who wears a yellow turban on her head and a nightgown most days, watches the world from a small recliner. Posters from past birthday parties, letters from local elected officials and a note from President Barack Obama fill the surfaces.

She was born in a farm town near Montgomery, Alabama. She was one of 11 siblings and attended a school for young black girls. When she graduated from high school in 1922, Jones worked full time helping family members pick crops. She left after a year to begin working as a nanny.

“She adored kids,” Jones’s niece, Lois Judge said of her aunt, though Jones never had any children of her own and was married for only a few years. Judge said she believes her aunt’s longevity is thanks to growing up on a rural farm where she ate fresh fruits and vegetables.

After she moved to New York, Jones worked with a group of her fellow high school graduates to start a scholarship fund for young African-American women to go to college.

Despite her age, she only sees a doctor once every four months and takes medication for high blood pressure and a multivitamin every day. Aside from that, she has had a clean bill of health for years, Judge said. Jones is blind after glaucoma claimed her eyesight 15 years ago and is also hard of hearing.

She will turn 116 next week. Family members plan to throw her a party.

ANA-AP

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