100 Years Plus

 After my November 2022 article telling about Aunt Peggy's 100th birthday party, I decided it was high time I write about my OWN grandmothers who have surpassed the century mark.

As I have done research over the past years, I have been fascinated by two of my grandmothers who lived for over 100 years.  

First, my 2x great-grandmother, Martha Jane ALMOND Johnson.   She was born on 10 January 1846 in Kentucky, the fourth child of William ALMOND and Nancy Spradling ALMOND.  By 1855 her mother had died, her father had remarried, and the family had moved to Illinois.

Martha married Joseph Henry JOHNSON in 1872 and their six children were born in Illinois.  By 1900, the Johnson family had migrated to Oklahoma, residing in Saline, Alfalfa County, for many years.  Their children included a set of twins, Alma Jane and Alta Ann, born in 1981.  Alma survived less than one year.  Alta Ann was my great-grandmother, the mother of my maternal grandfather, James Henry Walton. 

Martha lived a very long life, passing in 1946, seven months past her 100th birthday.  Her life started during the Mexican American war and ended after World War II.  Her life of almost 101 years in Oklahoma qualifies me (and my siblings, kids, and grands) for pioneer status in Oklahoma!

Second, my 3x great-grandmother, Sarah BORTON Shaffer, lived from 1834 to 1936, passing just one month shy of her 102nd birthday.  She was born on 20 September 1834 in Ohio, daughter of Asa Borton and Elizabeth Hazen.  In 1852, Sarah married David Shaffer, and their first four children were born in Ohio.  By 1867 they had moved to Michigan, and my 2x great-grandmother, Emma, was born there along with two younger siblings.

Grandma Shaffer was honored by the Charlotte, Michigan newspaper on her 101st birthday, with the article saying she was Eaton county's oldest resident.  A party was held in the home of her daughter, Lillian Ives.  She married at age 18, and told of cooking on a fireplace when first married, picking wool and spinning yarn for mittens and stockings for her family.

At the age of 102, she had 111 descendants, including 4 (of 8) children, 25 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren, and 27 great-great-grandchildren.  What a woman she must have been!

Keep up the good work on your research, dear readers!