HAMDEN — Funeral services for Mary Electa Bidwell, 114, a Watertown native who was recognized by the U.S. edition of the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living American in November, 1995, were scheduled to be private. Burial was to be in Lawn Cemetery, Shelton.
Mrs. Bidwell died Thursday, April 23, at a Hamden convalescent home, two weeks before she would have turned 115. She was born in Watertown on May 9, 1881, when James Garfield was president and Queen Victoria ruled half the world. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, who traveled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 with Thomas Hooker to found Hartford. She was a former schoolteacher in Watertown, and she had said her main loves in life were books and her family. Her husband of 69 years, Charles, died in 197S at the age of 93. Their only child, Charles Bradford Bidwell, died in 1945. Last November, Mrs. Bidwell said she did not have the answer to her longevity, according to the Associated Press, but that she never drank nor smoked. She said she loved fresh fruit, hot coffee, and being recognized by the Guinness book. "Think of it. I feel must be very good indeed," she told the New Haven Register in a interview. "I want to set an example." Guinness considers Jeanne Calment of Aries, France, to be the oldest living person in the world. She celebrated her 121st birthday in February. Mrs. Bidwell would have been included in the next edition of Guinness had she lived, according to the publisher of the U.S. edition. Mrs. Bidwell, who used a wheelchair, began to fail physically in the mast two months, her grandson William Bradford Bidwell said last Thursday. Once asked by the Hartford Courant to name the greatest achievement attained by women, she replied "The vote!" She said she cast her first ballot at age 39, when she voted for Warren G. Harding in the 1920 presidential election.
She is survived by her two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Town Times – May 2, 1996
∼Mary Electa Noble (Bidwell) Bidwell died at age 114 years 352 days on April 25, 1996, making her the 28th oldest verified person ever. She was also the oldest person ever to die in Connecticut.
Her parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Bidwell worked as a teacher in a one-room school house for six years. She married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, a distant cousin, in 1906.
Bidwell lived on her own in North Haven, Connecticut until she was 110. Bidwell died at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut. She was the last surviving person documented as being born in 1881.
Mrs. Bidwell died Thursday, April 23, at a Hamden convalescent home, two weeks before she would have turned 115. She was born in Watertown on May 9, 1881, when James Garfield was president and Queen Victoria ruled half the world. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, who traveled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 with Thomas Hooker to found Hartford. She was a former schoolteacher in Watertown, and she had said her main loves in life were books and her family. Her husband of 69 years, Charles, died in 197S at the age of 93. Their only child, Charles Bradford Bidwell, died in 1945. Last November, Mrs. Bidwell said she did not have the answer to her longevity, according to the Associated Press, but that she never drank nor smoked. She said she loved fresh fruit, hot coffee, and being recognized by the Guinness book. "Think of it. I feel must be very good indeed," she told the New Haven Register in a interview. "I want to set an example." Guinness considers Jeanne Calment of Aries, France, to be the oldest living person in the world. She celebrated her 121st birthday in February. Mrs. Bidwell would have been included in the next edition of Guinness had she lived, according to the publisher of the U.S. edition. Mrs. Bidwell, who used a wheelchair, began to fail physically in the mast two months, her grandson William Bradford Bidwell said last Thursday. Once asked by the Hartford Courant to name the greatest achievement attained by women, she replied "The vote!" She said she cast her first ballot at age 39, when she voted for Warren G. Harding in the 1920 presidential election.
She is survived by her two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Town Times – May 2, 1996
∼Mary Electa Noble (Bidwell) Bidwell died at age 114 years 352 days on April 25, 1996, making her the 28th oldest verified person ever. She was also the oldest person ever to die in Connecticut.
Her parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Bidwell worked as a teacher in a one-room school house for six years. She married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, a distant cousin, in 1906.
Bidwell lived on her own in North Haven, Connecticut until she was 110. Bidwell died at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut. She was the last surviving person documented as being born in 1881.
HAMDEN — Funeral services for Mary Electa Bidwell, 114, a Watertown native who was recognized by the U.S. edition of the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living American in November, 1995, were scheduled to be private. Burial was to be in Lawn Cemetery, Shelton.
Mrs. Bidwell died Thursday, April 23, at a Hamden convalescent home, two weeks before she would have turned 115. She was born in Watertown on May 9, 1881, when James Garfield was president and Queen Victoria ruled half the world. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, who traveled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 with Thomas Hooker to found Hartford. She was a former schoolteacher in Watertown, and she had said her main loves in life were books and her family. Her husband of 69 years, Charles, died in 197S at the age of 93. Their only child, Charles Bradford Bidwell, died in 1945. Last November, Mrs. Bidwell said she did not have the answer to her longevity, according to the Associated Press, but that she never drank nor smoked. She said she loved fresh fruit, hot coffee, and being recognized by the Guinness book. "Think of it. I feel must be very good indeed," she told the New Haven Register in a interview. "I want to set an example." Guinness considers Jeanne Calment of Aries, France, to be the oldest living person in the world. She celebrated her 121st birthday in February. Mrs. Bidwell would have been included in the next edition of Guinness had she lived, according to the publisher of the U.S. edition. Mrs. Bidwell, who used a wheelchair, began to fail physically in the mast two months, her grandson William Bradford Bidwell said last Thursday. Once asked by the Hartford Courant to name the greatest achievement attained by women, she replied "The vote!" She said she cast her first ballot at age 39, when she voted for Warren G. Harding in the 1920 presidential election.
She is survived by her two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Town Times – May 2, 1996
∼Mary Electa Noble (Bidwell) Bidwell died at age 114 years 352 days on April 25, 1996, making her the 28th oldest verified person ever. She was also the oldest person ever to die in Connecticut.
Her parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Bidwell worked as a teacher in a one-room school house for six years. She married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, a distant cousin, in 1906.
Bidwell lived on her own in North Haven, Connecticut until she was 110. Bidwell died at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut. She was the last surviving person documented as being born in 1881.
Mrs. Bidwell died Thursday, April 23, at a Hamden convalescent home, two weeks before she would have turned 115. She was born in Watertown on May 9, 1881, when James Garfield was president and Queen Victoria ruled half the world. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, who traveled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 with Thomas Hooker to found Hartford. She was a former schoolteacher in Watertown, and she had said her main loves in life were books and her family. Her husband of 69 years, Charles, died in 197S at the age of 93. Their only child, Charles Bradford Bidwell, died in 1945. Last November, Mrs. Bidwell said she did not have the answer to her longevity, according to the Associated Press, but that she never drank nor smoked. She said she loved fresh fruit, hot coffee, and being recognized by the Guinness book. "Think of it. I feel must be very good indeed," she told the New Haven Register in a interview. "I want to set an example." Guinness considers Jeanne Calment of Aries, France, to be the oldest living person in the world. She celebrated her 121st birthday in February. Mrs. Bidwell would have been included in the next edition of Guinness had she lived, according to the publisher of the U.S. edition. Mrs. Bidwell, who used a wheelchair, began to fail physically in the mast two months, her grandson William Bradford Bidwell said last Thursday. Once asked by the Hartford Courant to name the greatest achievement attained by women, she replied "The vote!" She said she cast her first ballot at age 39, when she voted for Warren G. Harding in the 1920 presidential election.
She is survived by her two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Town Times – May 2, 1996
∼Mary Electa Noble (Bidwell) Bidwell died at age 114 years 352 days on April 25, 1996, making her the 28th oldest verified person ever. She was also the oldest person ever to die in Connecticut.
Her parents were Charles Woodruff Bidwell and Alice Beach Nobel. She was a descendant of John Bidwell, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Bidwell worked as a teacher in a one-room school house for six years. She married Charles Hubbell Bidwell, a distant cousin, in 1906.
Bidwell lived on her own in North Haven, Connecticut until she was 110. Bidwell died at the Arden House, a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut. She was the last surviving person documented as being born in 1881.
Family Members
Children
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
