Oldest American

Jet, May 16, 2005

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Caption: OLDEST AMERICAN: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bolden, a 114-year-old grandmother, enjoys a visit from her grandson John Louis "Jack" Bolden, 74, at the Senior Services Health Care Center in Memphis, TN. Ms. Bolden has been recognized by local, state and even national government officials for her centenarian status, and now she is on her way to being identified as the oldest-living American. The Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group has listed the Memphis resident as the oldest American and second-oldest living person in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records officially accepted a Mississippi woman, Bettie Rutherford Wilson, as the oldest living American. However, Gerontology Research Group later found that Bolden's Aug. 15, 1890, birthday makes Bolden about a month older than Wilson, whose birthday is Sept. 13.