113 in 1928? Validation of Delina Filkins as the First “Second-Century Teenager”

Abstract

Delina Filkins was born May 4, 1815 in Stark, Herkimer County, New York, a small village of less than 2000 persons in the Hudson River Valley, Upstate New York. Her father, William Ecker, and mother, Susanna Herwick, were descended from Dutch and German settlers that came to the Mohawk Valley, New York, in the 1700s. Living her entire life in the same area within a ten-mile radius, her life spanned over 113 years. With the exception of her great age and her generally good health, Delina’s life was rather ordinary: she lived most of it on the family farm, helping with family tasks such as spinning yarn and making clothes. Delina married John Filkins, a local farmer, at age 18 and they had six (possibly seven) children together, two of whom outlived her. Delina was noted for her age in very late life, with local coverage from about 1916, then reaching national attention in the 1920s. With the understanding that Delina’s age was generally considered to be reliable by the press at the time, her case is a candidate for the earliest validated person to reach age 113+. This chapter takes a closer look at the case and the documents available and concludes that the amount and consistency of the available documentation suggest that Delina Filkins did indeed reach age 113 in 1928.