Mary Ramsey Wood

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Mary Ramsey Wood
Born	May 20, 1787/1811? Knoxville, Tennessee
Died	January 1, 1908 Hillsboro, Oregon
Burial place	Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery 45°31′14″N 123°00′22″W / 45.5206, -123.006Coordinates: 45°31′14″N 123°00′22″W / 45.5206, -123.006
Spouse	Jacob Lemons (died in 1839) John Wood (died in the 1870s)

Mary Ramsey Wood (May 20, 1787 or 1811 (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 at the supposed age of 120, and it is said she traveled to the Oregon Territory across the Oregon Trail at the age of 66. There is evidence this age claim was inaccurate or exaggerated, however, and she may have been 97 when she died.^[1]

Contents 1 Oregon pioneer 2 Longevity claim 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Oregon pioneer

This section is based mainly on two 1908 obituaries for Mary Ramsey Wood.^[2][3] Those obituaries were likely mistaken about her being born in 1787, as described below; thus, many of the age-related facts may be inaccurate.

At the time of her death, Mary Ramsey was reported to have been born on May 20, 1787 on a farm near Knoxville, Tennessee. The child of brick maker Richard Ramsey and his wife, Kate, Mary grew up in Tennessee. Her parents were born in England and immigrated to North America after they were married. In the American Colonies they settled in Tennessee and raised ten children. Mary was child number six. Her mother was reported to have lived to the age of 110, while her father lived to be a few years younger. Richard built the first brick home in Knoxville, and the family was wealthy and owned slaves. In her early years she danced with General Andrew Jackson, for whom her father fought in the War of 1812.

At the age of 12, Mary joined the Methodist church, and at 17 married Jacob Lemons in Tennessee in 1804. The couple would raise four children on their farm in that state. The children were Mary Jane Lemons, Isaac Lemons, Nancy Lemons Bullock, and Mrs. Catherine B. Reynolds.^[4] In 1837, the family moved to Alabama followed by Georgia the next year. In 1839 Jacob died, and Mary moved to Missouri in 1849.^[2]

In 1852, Lemons moved to the Oregon Territory with her youngest daughter Catherine. She rode horseback the entire journey at the age of 66, and the family brought 12 slaves with them to Oregon. She named her horse Martha Washington Pioneer. The family arrived in Oregon in 1853 after following the Barlow Road into Oregon City, 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, in which Mary tended bar at the in-house saloon.

Around 1865, the couple sold the hotel to Mary’s daughter Catherine, and John Wood died in the 1870s. Mary then served as postmaster before retiring to her daughter’s residence. In 1879, she suffered from typhoid fever and lost the sight in her left eye. In 1904, she testified in a trial concerning a 40-year-old land deed, where she was noted for having a "keen" memory. In 1907, Wood was crowned as the "Mother Queen" of Oregon by former Oregon Senator George Henry Williams and the president of the Oregon Pioneer Association, J. D. Lee.^[5]

Still according to contemporary obituaries, Mary Ramsey Wood died at the age of 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".^[6] She was buried at the Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery.^[7] The Hillsboro Civic Center was built at the former site of Wood's hotel, and there is an informational plaque in the plaza of the center about Wood.^[8] In 2005, it was proposed that a fountain at the civic center be named for Wood.^[9]

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.^[10]

[edit] Longevity claim

The claim that Mary Ramsey Wood lived to 120, though long accepted as fact, appears to be incorrect.

Had she truly lived to age 120, as claimed, Mary Ramsey Wood would have been the world's oldest person and would still hold the record as "oldest living American" even today. She does not, however; that distinction, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, belongs to Sarah Knauss, who died at age 119.^[11]

There is a Mary Wood listed in the 1880 Hillsboro census, however, whose age is stated as 69 years old. This age would place her date of birth in 1811, making her 96 years old at the time of her death.^[1]

The 1880 census listing includes the following matching points: this "Mary Wood" was born in Tennessee; had both parents born in England; and had a daughter named "Catherine". There is no other "Mary Wood" living in Hillsboro, Oregon recorded in the 1880 census.^[1]

The 1900 census also lists a Mary Wood in Hillsboro, again with several details that strongly suggest she is the same woman. She was listed as having been born in May 1809, which would have made her 98 at the time of her death.^[12]

[edit] See also

• Longevity claims
• Longevity myths
• Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lemons Family: Pioneer Family of the Month December 1997/January 1998 from End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive center, with photo of Wood
• Image of postcard of Wood circa 1906, "sold for her benefit"
• "On This Day in Oregon" May 20 listing featuring Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood