Herlda Senhouse

BIOGRAPHY

Senhouse was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, USA, on 28 February 1911. She was one of ten children. In 1927, at the age of 16, she moved to Woburn, Massachusetts, to her uncle and aunt.

In 1931, Senhouse became the first in her family to graduate high school. She was one of only two black students in the school (Woburn High School). She wanted to become a nurse, but the City Hall City Hospital had spots for only two black nurses at the time. She had to redirect her career path, becoming a domestic worker instead. In 1933, she married William Senhouse. They were married for 62 years, until her husband passed away. She lived in New York with her husband for some time, where they even resided in Amelia Earhart’s house for a while.

Later in her life, Senhouse founded what was Boston’s Clique Club, a social club of dancers and musicians to help educate Black students. She helped countless Black students pay for everything from books to college tuition. She traveled a lot during her life, to Europe, to Africa, and finally to Greece in 2001.

Senhouse passed away on 16 November 2024 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 113.

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RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Stefan Maglov, and validated by LongeviQuest on 18 January 2023.

On 25 May 2023, following the passing of 114-year-old Hazel Plummer, she became the oldest living person in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, at the age of 112 years, 86 days.

At the time of her passing, she was the second-oldest (known) living person in the United States, behind Naomi Whitehead.