Katie Hatton

BIOGRAPHY

Hatton claimed to have been born in Spanish Camp, Texas, USA, on 18 December 1877, as the eldest daughter of Harrison Jefferson (1840–1910) and Nellie Hooks (1853–1909). She had at least two brothers: Harrison Jefferson (1890–1918) and George W. Jefferson (1891–1960). As a girl, she assisted her father on the farm. Her parents were freed slaves. She went to school in the Camp Zion Community at Spanish Camp and later attended Guadalupe College in Seguin.

At some point, she married John Hatton (1874–1957). The couple had two children: John Harrison Hatton Jr. (1920–2014) and Naomi Berry (1922–2015). She had another son from her previous marriage, named Zennie Ray. She was a member of the Camp Zion Baptist Church for more than 75 years.

Hatton passed away in Spanish Camp, Texas, USA, on 24 January 1992. She was survived by her three children, 13 grandchildren, and a number of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Jimmy Lindberg, et al., and validated by LongeviQuest on 10 November 2023. Upon her validation, it was determined that she held several titles during her life. These are as follows:

At the age of 111, she surpassed Martha King‘s final age, becoming the oldest person ever to live in Texas. Subsequently, she likely became the first person in Texas to reach the ages of 112, 113, and 114. She held this title until (at least) 8 November 1995, when her final age was surpassed by Irene Frank.

Following her death, Kate Bottom (1881–1992) became the oldest (known) living person in Texas.

Was Hatton even older?

While the evidence in her case is inconsistent, the Global Validation Commission concluded that her claimed date of birth and the claimed final age of 114 years and 37 days represent the youngest age that can be definitively proven. Further evidence would be necessary to confirm whether she was, in fact, older than her claimed age. However, the located evidence suggests that Hatton may have been older than claimed. In the absence of the original birth registration or baptismal record, the earliest located document used in the validation was the 1880 census record, dated to June of that year. The record lists her age as 4 at the time of enumeration. When taking into account her claimed month of birth (December), the record indicates a birth year of 1875, potentially making her two years older than claimed. The later documentation is fairly consistent with a birth year of 1877, although there is some age deflation noted in a couple of documents.