Woman Believed to Be Oldest American Dies at 114
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<i> Reuters</i>
HAMDEN, Conn. — Mary Electa Bidwell, who at 114 years old was believed to be the oldest living American, died at a convalescent home here, a family member said Friday.
Bidwell--who once said she never drank, smoked or bobbed her hair--had been in failing health recently and died Thursday, apparently from “old age,” said her grandson, William Bradford Bidwell.
A former schoolteacher, Bidwell was born in Watertown, Conn., on May 9, 1881, when James Garfield was president.
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