BIOGRAPHY

Rowland was born in Newport, Arkansas, USA, on 16 March 1879. She grew up in Village Township, Jackson County, Arkansas.

In the early 1900s, Rowland married Noah Tidwell, and together they had four children: Johnnie in 1910, twins Bemora and Demora on 16 April 1916, and Madie on 31 July 1919. Following the passing of her first husband, she married Waymon Rowland. Apart from short visits to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, she spent the majority of her life in Post Oak and Diaz, Arkansas.

Rowland died in a hospital in her hometown of Newport on 26 December 1990 at the age of 111 years, 285 days.

RECOGNITION

Rowland was the oldest known living person in the U.S. state of Arkansas for an uncertain amount of time. Upon her death, she was most likely succeeded by Lillie Gaddy.

Rowland’s age was verified by Anri Kusaku and Jimmy Lindberg, and validated by LongeviQuest on 4 February 2024.

In the earliest census record, Rowland’s age was recorded as “1” in the June 1880 enumeration, aligning with her claimed age. However, in the 1900 census, she was enumerated twice, and her reported months of birth were April and July, contradicting her claim of being born in March. However, the reliability of the 1900 census record is known to be questionable, particularly concerning the reporting of the month of birth. In her case, she was enumerated twice within a span of just 7 days, with her age reported as 19 and 22 respectively. Given that her claimed date of birth aligns with the earliest located record, and considering that this record dates back to when she was just a year old, she was validated with her claimed date of birth. The certainty of this date is somewhat tentative, as it cannot be definitively confirmed without a birth or baptismal record, which may not even exist. However, what can be reasonably validated is that she did, in fact, reach the claimed age of 111.

ATTRIBUTION

* Florence Thompkins Rowland – Find A Grave

GALLERY