Johnson Parks

Johnson Parks died on 17 July 1998 in Florida, outlived by his daughter Julia Forrest and son Willie Worwell according to the obituaries. His claim as a supercentenarian was later identified in a US government survey of social security records. Based on ab SSA claim from 1960 his birth date was taken as 16 October 1884. A 1940 census record from Pike Georgia appears to confirm this birth year and a wife’s name of Mattie, but this Johnson Parks matches a death record on 16 Jan 1954.

Another SSA record that included his daughter gave his wife’s name as Carrie M Lewis. With these names we find them on the 1930 census at 12 Lumpkin, Stewart, Georgia. Julia B. Parks and her brother Arthur J Parks are living with the maternal grandparents nearby. Johnson’s age is given as 29 which would indicate a much later birthdate of 1901, but the couple have a marriage record from 1913. His wife Carrie can be found on the 1900 census which gives her birth year as 1896.

Looking at their address in the 1920 census we find a family with same given names, but the surname of Richardson is used instead of Parks. The birthdate for Johnson is then 1896. He also used the name Richardson on his WWI draft card with a birthdate of 25 Oct 1895. He appears at the same location in the 1900 census with an extended Richardson family aged 5.

We conclude that the US government survey has once again misidentified this individual in the US census and the correct age of Johnson Park at death was 102.