| Margaret Skeete | |
 Margaret (left, age 114) and her daughter Verne (right) on before Margarets 115th birthday in 1993. | |
| Birth: | 27 October 1878 Rockport, Texas, USA |
| Death: | 7 May 1994 Radford, Virginia, USA |
| Age: | 115 years, 192 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Margaret S. "Mattie" Skeete (née Seward; 27 October 1878 – 7 May 1994) was the oldest living person in the United States from the death of Delphia Welford on 14 November 1992, until her own death two years later. Skeete is also the Texas state longevity recordholder, and the last verified person born in the year 1878.
Biography
Margaret Seward was born in Rockport, Texas, on 27 October 1878, to Henry and Margaret Smith Seward. She married Renn Skeete in Harris, Texas, in January 1908. The couple had 3 children.
After her husband's death in 1953, Margaret moved from Texas to Virginia, to live with her daughter Verne. Skeete died on 7 May 1994, six weeks after a fall. She was survived by her daughter Verne, who went on to become a centenarian herself, passing away in 2009, aged 100.
At the time of her death, Skeete was the oldest living person in the United States, and the second-oldest person in the world, after Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment.
Longevity Records
On 14 November 1992, she became the oldest living person in the United States after the death of Delphia Welford aged of 117.
On 17 March 1993, Skeete became the second-oldest living person in the world (behind Jeanne Calment) after the death Charlotte Hughes from United Kingdom aged of 115.
On 14 April 1993, she became the last survivor born in 1878 and the last American survivor of the 1870s after the death of Odie Matthews who was just 2 months younger than her.
On 27 October 1993, Skeete celebrated her 115th birthday becoming the sixth person in the history to reach this age (after Augusta Holtz in 1986, Easter Wiggins in 1989, Jeanne Calment and Delphia Welford in 1990 and Charlotte Hughes in 1992).
On 15 January 1994, she surpassed the age of Augusta Holtz to become the 5th-oldest validated person ever. She's currently the 44th-oldest validated person ever.
She died on 7 May 1994 ath the age of 115 years and 192 days. At the time of her death she was the second-oldest living person in the world (behind Calment, 119-years-old, who outlived her by 3 years). She was also the 5th-oldest person ever (behind Jeanne Calment and Delphia Welford, Easter Wiggins and Charlotte Hughes). Skeete was the last survivor born in 1878 and she's the oldest person to die in 1994. Skeete remained in the top 10 oldest Americans of all-time until Dina Manfredini surpassed her age on 14 October 2012. She is also the oldest person born in the Texas. She remained the oldest person to die in Virginia until Ella Miller surpassed her age on 16 June 2000.
Following Skeete's death, Wilhelmina Kott became the oldest living person in the United States.
Gallery
References
- Gerontology Research Group
- Margaret S. “Mattie” Seward Skeete Find A Grave
- Margaret S Seward (1878 - 1994) FamilySearch