Discover the Oldest Person to Ever Live in Alabama

Southern hospitality is a part of Alabama’s culture just as much as barbecue and pecan pie. This state’s history is rich, and today, its roots are reflected in its music and traditional southern cooking. It’s where the Civil Rights Movement started, and those from this state hold a deep reverence for its history. Not all get the opportunity to live through more than a century, but those who do have firsthand accounts of pivotal historical moments. Who was the oldest person to ever live in Alabama? Discover the details below!

The Oldest Person Born in Alabama

The oldest person born in Alabama was Susannah Mushatt Jones. She was born on July 6, 1899, and passed away on May 12, 2016, at the age of 116 and 311 days. Jones was born in Lowndes County but lived in New York when she died. She was one of 11 children, born third. One of her grandparents was a slave, and when she was born, her parents were sharecroppers. When she was young, she also worked in the fields but had bigger dreams for her future.

Eventually, she was accepted into a teaching program but moved to New York without sufficient funds to attend college. Here, she was married for five years and then focused on caring for children and helping all those she knew who moved to New York. She finally retired in 1965, the proud aunt of over 100 nieces and nephews. She spent time in senior homes, in relatively good health though she did lose her vision and was partially deaf in her later years. She passed away in her home in East New York.

The Oldest Person Who Died in Alabama

Susie Gibson is the oldest person who died in Alabama. She was born in Corinth, Mississippi, on October 31, 1890, and passed away on February 16, 2006, at the age of 115 years and 108 days in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She married in 1915, and she and her husband, James W. Gibson, moved to Sheffield. He passed away in 1955, and their only son eventually passed in 1987, leaving Gibson alone. She remained alone until age 104, when she decided it was best to settle into a nursing home.

The Oldest Man From Alabama

The oldest man from Alabama was Frederick Frazier. He was born in Mobile on January 27, 1880, and moved to New York in 1900. He stayed in New York for several more years until he and his wife decided to move to Louisiana in the 1930s. Eventually, he returned to Mobile, where he died on June 14, 1993, at 113 years and 138 days old.

Oldest Person to Ever Live in Alabama: Life Expectancy in Alabama

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alabama’s life expectancy is 73.2 years. The leading cause of death in Alabama is heart disease. The secondary cause of death is cancer. Additional leading causes of death include COVID-19, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, accidents, diabetes, influenza/pneumonia, and kidney disease.