Mary Ramsey Wood aka Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood (May 20, 1787/circa 1810 (disputed) – January 1, 1908) was an American

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

known as the "Mother Queen of Oregon". She was reported to be the oldest living person in the United States when she died, supposedly at the age of 120. It is said she traveled to the Oregon Territory across the Oregon Trail at the age of 66. There is evidence this age claim was inaccurate or exaggerated, however, and she may have been between 96 and 98 when she died.

Biography

According to obituaries published in 1908, Mary Ramsey was born on May 20, 1787 on a farm near Knoxville, Tennessee. The child of

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

maker Richard Ramsey and his wife, Catherine (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Gann), Mary Ramsey grew up in Tennessee. Her parents were born in England and immigrated to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

after they were married. In the

American Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

, they settled in Tennessee and raised ten children. Mary was the sixth child. Ramsey's mother was reported to have lived to the age of 110, and her father had died just a few years before his wife. Richard Ramsey built the first brick home in Knoxville, and the family was wealthy and owned

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. In her early years Mary Ramsey danced with General Andrew Jackson, for whom her father fought in the War of 1812. At the age of 12, Ramsey joined the Methodist church, and in 1804 she married Jacob Lemons in Tennessee. The couple would raise four children on their farm in that state. The children were Mary Jane Lemons (1806–1904), Isaac Lemons (1809–1866), Nancy Ellen Lemons Bullock (1816–1868), and Catherine Bridgette Lemons Southworth Smith Reynolds (1830–1909). In 1837, the family moved to Alabama followed by Georgia the next year. In 1839, Jacob died, and in 1849 Mary Lemons moved to Missouri. Lemons moved to the Oregon Territory with her daughters Nancy and Catherine and their families in 1852. The family brought 12 slaves with them to Oregon. Wood rode her horse Martha Washington Pioneer the entire journey along the Oregon Trail at the age of 66, and as a midwife she delivered at least one baby during the trip. The family arrived in Oregon in 1853, and settled in Washington County at Hillsboro in the Tualatin Valley. She married John Wood on May 28, 1854, in Hillsboro. He built the first frame hotel in Hillsboro, the Commercial Hotel, in which Mary tended bar at the in-house saloon. Around 1865, the couple sold the hotel to Mary's daughter Catherine. John Wood died in 1867. Mary Wood then served as postmaster of Hillsboro before retiring to her daughter's residence. In 1879, she suffered from typhoid fever and lost the sight in her left eye. In 1904, she testified in a trial concerning a 40-year-old land deed, where she was noted for having a "keen" memory. In 1907, Wood was crowned as the first "Mother Queen" of Oregon by former Oregon Senator

George Henry Williams George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. senator, and serve ...

and the president of the

Oregon Pioneer Association The Oregon Pioneer Association (originally known as the Oregon Pioneer Society), first established in October 1867, was a fraternal and lineage society and historical organization for early American settlers of the Oregon Territory. The Associat ...

, Joseph D. Lee. Henry L. Pittock presided over the ceremony on July 4, 1907, at which Wood was represented by a large photograph by Frederick H. Kiser due to her frailty; the story was reported nationally. Mary Ramsey Wood 1787 to 1908

According to obituaries of the time, "Grandma" Mary Ramsey Wood died at the age of 120 on January 1, 1908, at five o'clock in the morning. At the time of her death she was thought to be the oldest living person in the United States. She was also referred to as the "oldest Methodist in the world". Wood was buried at the Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery. Her death and her supposed age were widely reported across the country at the time. A 1908 '' Oregonian'' story, which claimed her age was authentic, stated that Wood's daughter had written to relatives in Missouri for a record of the family Bible. The reply, which the ''Oregonian'' claims was viewed by their reporter, excerpted the bible record that showed Wood's age would have been 120 the previous May. The letter, however, was lost and the relatives moved, making it "impossible" to contact the letter writer again. At the time of Wood's death, George Putnam, editor of the '' Capital Journal'', republished a 1905 interview with Wood conducted when he worked for '' The Oregon Journal''. He believed that she may have been the oldest woman in the world.

Longevity claim

Although both historic and contemporary sources repeat the claim that Wood was 120 years old at the time of her death, according to United States Census records and modern longevity research, this

longevity claim Longevity claims are unsubstantiated cases of asserted human longevity. Those asserting lifespans of 110 years or more are referred to as supercentenarians. Many have either no official verification or are backed only by partial evidence. Cases ...

is highly likely to be false. If Mary Ramsey Wood had lived to be 120, as claimed, she would have been the world's oldest person at that time, and would be the oldest American on record even today. That distinction, however, according to '' Guinness World Records'', belongs to

Sarah Knauss Sarah DeRemer Knauss (; September 24, 1880 – December 30, 1999) was an American supercentenarian. She is the oldest person ever from the United States and, on April 16, 1998, became the world's oldest living person. She remains as the third ...

, who died at age 119.

Census data

In addition to the longevity records, census data may show a discrepancy between Mary Wood's claimed age at death and her actual age. Three U.S. census records for Hillsboro list a Mary Wood with data that match parts of Mary Ramsey Wood's biography. The 1860 Census lists a Mary Wood, aged 50, and a John Wood, aged 71, living in Hillsboro, alongside Charles and Nancy Bullock, aged 38 and 27 respectively. John's occupation is "landlord". There is a Mary Wood listed in the

1880 Census The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census. The Mary Wood listed in the census data was born in Tennessee and lived with her daughter, Catherine Smith. Her parents were from England. The 1900 Census lists a Mary Wood with a birthdate of May 1809 (age 91) living with her daughter Catherine Reynolds, whose birthdate was October 1832 (age 67), in Hillsboro. The Mary Wood in the 1900 census was born in Tennessee with parents born in England. Although Mary Ramsey Wood was called a "great reader", the Mary Wood in the 1900 census could not read or write. If the Mary Wood listed in the 1860, 1880, and 1900 censuses is the same person as Mary Ramsey Wood, then, owing to a slight discrepancy in the stated ages, she would have been between 96 and 98 years old at the time of her death.

Legacy

Wood's hotel, at the northwest corner of 2nd and Washington streets, burned down in 1912. Today the HART Theatre is located on the site. The nearby

Hillsboro Civic Center The Hillsboro Civic Center is a government-built, mixed-use development in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The development includes the city hall for the county seat of Washington County, located west of Portland, Oregon. Covering , ...

has an informational plaque in its plaza about Wood. In 2005, it was proposed that a fountain at the civic center be named for Wood. January 1, 2008 was named Mary Ramsey Wood Day by the City of Hillsboro. Local historian James Andrew Long advocated for this recognition of Wood. Modern news stories about Wood, published as recently as 2014, mention that there is some dispute about her age at death but continue to state her age of 120 years at her death as fact.

Note

References

External links

* (story about Wood with photo of her and her family)
Image of postcard of Wood circa 1906, "sold for her benefit"Image of Mary Ramsey Wood
from Washington County Heritage
July 1907 image of Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood riding in an automobile
from FamilySearch
Image of Old Commercial Hotel
from Washington County Heritage {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Mary Ramsey People from Knoxville, Tennessee People from Hillsboro, Oregon 1908 deaths Longevity claims Burials at Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Year of birth uncertain Oregon pioneers Oregon postmasters 20th-century American women