BIOGRAPHY

Bettie Antry Rutherford was born on 13 September 1890, in Mississippi.  She was the daughter of slave parents and the youngest of nine siblings.

Growing up, she had little formal education and taught herself to read and write. She married Rufus Rogers, and the couple had a son before Rufus died. She then married the Rev. Dewey Wilson in 1922, and the couple had two children. They remained married for 72 years until his death at the age of 93. Her brother-in-law Elder Roma Wilson (1910–2018) lived to be 107.

In her later years, Wilson was interviewed by the University of Mississippi and Georgia State University and her recollections are now a part of the oral history archives at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. Wilson’s cane was said to be hand-carved by slaves. She was featured in the 2005 book “Wisdom of the World’s Oldest People” by Jerry Friedman.

Wilson died from congestive heart failure on 13 February 2006. She was survived by her son Willie Rogers (1908–2008), who died in October 2008, just six days before his 100th birthday. Her death came just three days before another supercentenarian from Mississippi, Susie Gibson, who died on 16 February, also at the age of 115.

RECOGNITION

Mrs. Wilson was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

Information in this article was sourced from contributions to the Gerontology Wiki.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY