Susannah Mushatt Jones’ 100 Nieces, Nephews Credit 116 Years To Generosity, Love Of Family


Susannah Mushatt Jones has done something few of us will ever do. On Monday, the Brooklyn native celebrated her 116th birthday, making her the oldest person in the entire world, Guinness World Records announced.

Her life has spanned three centuries.

When Susannah was born in 1899, the Spanish-American War was winding down, people were still getting used to the automobile, and William McKinley was president, NBC New York reported.

These days, Mushatt Jones boasts 100 nieces and nephews — hence her nickname “T,” for auntie — is usually sporting a nightgown and yellow turban at a public housing facility in Brooklyn, and eats bacon, eggs, and grits for breakfast, USA Today reported.

Glaucoma has made her blind, and she can’t hear very well, but she sees a doctor only once every few months and only needs medicine for high blood pressure.

As far as she’s concerned, all one needs to get to 116 is plenty of sleep, no partying, and no drinking.

“I never drink or smoke. I surround myself with love and positive energy. That’s the key to long life and happiness,” Mushatt Jones told Guinness.

Her life has been quite amazing. Born to a sharecropper and his wife in a small Alabama town, she had 10 siblings and went to a special school for young black girls. Her father, Callie, picked cotton to support his family, and after graduating high school, she worked with her family in the fields for a year, USA Today added.

During the Roaring Twenties, Mushatt Jones found her way north to New York City. She worked as a nanny and moved up to New Jersey, then the Big Apple, where she was as a live-in housekeeper and childcare provider.

“She adored kids,” Jones’ niece, Lois Judge said. However, Susannah was only married for a few years and had no children of her own.

This didn’t stop her caring for others’ kids, either — while Susannah lived in New York, she and some fellow high school grads started a scholarship fund so young African American women could go to college.

Though Mushatt Jones credits her longevity to moderate behavior, her many nieces and nephews credit the accomplishment to their aunt’s love of family and generosity. To celebrate the milestone, the family will give her a party on Monday, and another will be held Tuesday with friends.

Susannah was recognized as the world’s oldest person on Friday, and takes the title from a 116-year-old woman named Jerlean Talley from Michigan, who passed away in June. Now also the oldest female in the world, she has a few years before she can brag that she’s the oldest woman who ever lived.

That honor goes to French woman Jeanne Calment, who died at the incredible age of 122 and 164 days.

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