Fred Hale

Fred Hale - 113 years, 354 days, United States
There is no validation report for Fred Hale but good records can be found online. His age was recorded with perfect consistency in all five available census returns from 1900 to 1940, and at his marriage. The 1900 census confirms that he was born in December 1890. There is no birth or baptism record, but his draft card from 1918 gives his exact birth date correctly. Although he married at 19 after the birth of his first daughter, his age was recorded earlier and consistently so age exaggeration is not a factor.

He had only one brother and he was older. Two of his sons outlived him and the third died of influenza as an infant. There are therefore no opportunities for switches within the family circle. Family testimony confirms his identity [69].

His parents lived to 91 and he had many living descendants. He was married for 69 years and only travelled extensively after his wife’s death. It is unlikely that a late-life switch would be possible given the size of his family, but a DNA test would have eliminated any possibilities of out-of-family switches.

Although a written validation report and some photos would have helped to confirm that nothing has been missed, we can conclude from our own searches that the fortunate circumstances make this validation reasonably robust.