South Carolina Archives

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Armida Sholar of the United States at age 111. She was born in Sumter, South Carolina, United States on 9 August 1905. Sholar worked as a desk clerk at Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro. Sholar was a member of Starmount Presbyterian and Westminster Presbyterian Churches. She moved to the White Stone independent apartments in 1978, where she volunteered to tend to the rose and flower gardens. Sholar was a sister, a wife, and a mother to 4 children.

Following a hip fracture, Sholar spent 17 years in the Care Center. One of her hobbies was playing bingo, and she rarely missed playing three times each week. She had cancer twice. She smoked until the age of 103, only deciding to quit after a fall resulted in a broken hip. Despite this, Sholar occasionally indulged in smoking until 2013 when her retirement community implemented a smoking ban on the premises. At the age of 109, she had trouble hearing and seeing, but she was still lucid. On 19 November 2016, following the death of 111-year-old Ruby Clodfelter, she became the oldest known living resident of North Carolina.

On her 111th birthday.
(Source: Facebook/LiveatWhiteStone)

Sholar passed away in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, on 4 April 2017, at the age of 111 years, 238 days. Following her death, Hester Ford (who was only six days younger) succeeded her as North Carolina’s oldest living resident. She was survived by her son Bill, 12 grandchildren, as well as numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

LongeviQuest congratulates Armida Sholar’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Sholar’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Ernest Peronneau of the United States at age 112. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States on 7 March 1902. He was a husband and a father to 2 sons.

As a young man.
(Source: NY1)

Peronneau was a civil rights activist who worked for the NAACP, which was located at Abyssinian Baptist Church on 138th Street in Harlem. He worked with civil rights activists like W.E.B. Du Bois and Walter Francis White. Peronneau was actively involved in the Marcus Garvey Movement. His travels took him to various parts of the world, including Africa, Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, and, as he put it, “every place Africans were transported to during slavery.” In January 1948, Peronneau also joined the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. He worked as a bricklayer on the construction of many iconic buildings in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. However, he was forced to retire at the age of 66 due to a brain aneurysm.

In September 2013, following the death of Salustiano Sánchez Blázquez, he became the world’s oldest living man. However, at the time of his death, it was believed that Peronneau was a year younger and born in March 1903, based on information from census records. Consequently, the title was passed to Arturo Licata, who was nearly two months younger and would survive Peronneau by just under a month.

On his 112th birthday in 2014.
(Photo credit: Riyad Hasan/New York Post)

On his 112th birthday, his great-grandniece remarked on how he had never smoked or drunk alcohol, and quoted one of his favorite sayings, “Take care of your body, and your body will take care of you.” Peronneau passed away in Brooklyn, New York, USA, on 26 March 2014, at the age of 112 years, 19 days. Following his death, Alexander Imich became the oldest living man in the United States.

LongeviQuest congratulates Ernest Peronneau’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Peronneau’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest has validated the age of Mary Gibson at 110 years old. She was born Mary Elizabeth Highland on 6 June 1909 in Clio, South Carolina, USA, one of eight siblings.

She moved to Jersey City, New Jersey at the age of 21 years old and later married a man named Pell Edward Gibson, with whom she had four children. She held many jobs ranging from domestic work to production line, and at one point she even became an inspector. After retiring, she remained active in volunteer work.

On her 110th birthday. (Source: Peace Care NJ)

At the time of her death on 22 April 2020, Mrs. Gibson was considered the oldest (known) living person in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. She was survived by three children, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

For more information, please view Mrs. Gibson’s Directory Profile here.