| Sophia DeMuth | |
 | |
| Birth: | 30 June 1866 St. Joseph, Missouri, USA |
| Death: | 2 December 1977 Ayr, Nebraska, USA |
| Age: | 111 years, 155 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Sophia Marion DeMuth (née Papst; 30 June 1866 – 2 December 1977) was an American validated supercentenarian.
Biography[]
Sophia DeMuth was born Sophia Marion Papst in St. Joseph, Missouri on 30 June 1866.
She claimed to have known the notorious Jesse James when she was a child. She later moved to California to work in a shirt factory during the Spanish-American war. Her salary was $11 a week. She became the world's oldest person on 16 November 1976 after the death of Marie-Virginie Duhem.
Personal life[]
In 1899, she married farmer and cattleman Oliver Demuth and the couple lived in various places such as South Dakota and Illinois before settling down in Ayr, Nebraska. Demuth became a widow in 1965 after Oliver's death at age 101. Sophia then started living with her daughter.
On her 110th birthday, it was reported that she still was able to make rugs, that her mind was still sharp and that her physical condition was good. On the other hand, it was also mentioned that she never left the house and that her eyesight was poor.
DeMuth died on 2 December 1977, at the age of 111 years, 155 days. She was the oldest living person in the world at the time of her death. Three of her daughters were still alive then. One of them, Marie Fulkerson, lived to be 108 years old.
References[]
- Arizona Republic, July 22, 1976
- The Lincoln Star, December 4, 1977
- Times Daily, December 5, 1977
- News-Press Now, January 8, 2009
- Sophia Marion Papst Demuth Find A Grave
- Sophia Marion Pabst (1866 - 1977) Ancestry