Age validation of Louisa Ruffin (1866-1976)
Louisa (also known as Louise) Hopkins was born February 15 1866 in Lafayette County, Louisiana, USA to Benjamin and Marie (nee Victor) Hopkins. She had at least five siblings. Around 1896, Louisa married Joseph Ruffin in Louisiana and they went on to have an unknown number of children, all of which she is thought to have outlived.
By 1940, Louisa was living in Jefferson County, Texas and was widowed. She never remarried. Louisa spent the rest of her life in Texas, passing away in a hospital in Jefferson County aged 110 years, 39 days on March 25 1976.
Validation
From at least the year 1900, Louisa had been understating her age. In the 1900 census she claimed birth in 1872. This is also the case with her social security correspondence later in life. However, her obituary gives her age as 110 and her death certificate gives her date of birth as February 15 1866. As this ties in with early life documentation, Louisa has been accepted as validated by the GRG today; February 8 2025. It is thought she may have started understating her age to appear a similar age to her husband, who was around eight years younger than her.
