Jackson Pollock (supercentenarian)

Jackson John Pollock (1869? – 1995) was an American longevity claimant.

Life

He was born on a farm near Hawkinsville, Georgia, the son of former slaves. He claimed his family lived near Finleyson, Georgia. He never married or had any children. He claimed to a reporter to have been born in 1866. Social Security records showed a date of birth of December 25, 1869, though Pollock likely wouldn't have had a birth certificate and Social Security might have been using a date provided by Pollock.[1] He also claimed to have worked as a mail carrier to support his thirteen siblings, and that he served in the Army during both the Spanish–American War and World War I.

In the Los Angeles Times interview, he also suggested that his father lived to 99 years of age and his mother to 107. In Mount Air Baptist Church Cemetery, where he (and supposedly his parents) is buried, a certain George and John Pollock are buried, according to Find A Grave.[2] John Pollock was born March 13, 1882 and died April 23, 1981, aged 99. George Pollock died, according to his grave, on June 21, 1967, while his date of birth remains unknown. The census of 1910 does mention a George Pollock, having an estimated birth date of 1860, married with Lulu Pollock (who has an estimated birth date of 1865), in Finleyson.[3]

If this George Pollock was indeed born in 1860, and that this is the same George as the one buried in Mount Air Baptist Church Cemetery, he would have died at the age of 107 years. Since these two are buried in the same cemetery as Jackson Pollock, and the death ages of 107 and 99 years reoccur, it could well be that these two are related to Jackson Pollock and that Jackson Pollock could have confused the death ages with that of his father and mother. In fact, there is a reasonable chance George Pollock is actually the father of Jackson (and John maybe the brother), because if it is true that the father and mother are buried at the same cemetery, then the number of people who could be the father or mother severely declines. Find A Grave only list five people named Pollock who are buried in Mount Air Baptist Church Cemetery and who were born before 1900 (excluding Jackson and including George).[2]

In 1972, he began living at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. He had formerly resided in Dublin, Georgia and was brought to Central State when neighbors feared that he could not live on his own. At one point, records had him listed as Jackson Pollard.[4][5]

Death

Pollock died in 1995 in Baldwin County, Georgia. He was buried next to his parents. His tombstone was provided by John Middleton Co. as he was known to be a fan of their Prince Albert tobacco.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Robert Byrd (January 14, 1990). "'Oldest Man' a Teetotaler Who Loves His Pipe". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved September 12, 2009. Pollock has no birth certificate; not many blacks born in rural Georgia two years after the Civil War got one. The Social Security Administration lists his birthday as Dec. 25, 1869, but Pollock insisted it was really 1866. Either would make him the oldest human, but longevity experts say Social Security records can be based largely on a person's word and are considered unreliable.
  2. 1 2 "Find A Grave Search Results". Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  3. ↑ ""United States Census, 1910". Family Search. Retrieved October 27, 2017. Database with images, FamilySearch, George Pollock, Finleyson, Pulaski, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 79, sheet 9B, family 20, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 208; FHL microfilm 1,374,221
  4. ↑ Staff (December 25, 1991). "If Jackson Pollock could prove it, he'd be world's oldest man". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Byrd, Robert (June 20, 1990). "'World's Oldest Man' has plenty of useful energy". The Free Lance-Star.
  6. ↑ Staff (November 6, 1995). "Jackson John Pollock, Oldest Living Person, Dies at 128". Jet. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
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