Imagine you’re a time traveler – you’ve stepped out of the year of 1909, when President William Howard Taft was in office. 

Most homes in your time had little to no electricity yet – it was newly invented, only 20 years prior, and not readily available.

You land in 2023 – a world that runs on electricity, technology and, let’s be honest, a constant cacophony of sound. I wonder what that traveler would think about a world like ours.

While time travel isn’t real, there is a way to find out. All you’d have to do is ask Elizabeth Francis, who just turned 114 years old.

Born in 1909, Francis is considered to be the second oldest living supercentenarian – someone older than 110 years of age – in the United States. Records also show that she is the 7th oldest person in the world.

This photo from Elizabeth Francis’s scrapbook shows her at age 26, circa 1935. Photo courtesy of Ethel Harrison

And, according to the plaque she received from the state of Texas, Francis is the oldest living Texan.

I guess I would have to say the Lord has blessed me in my young age,” joked Francis, whose birthday was July 25th.

The longevity doesn’t just stop with Francis. Her daughter, Dorothy Williams is 94.

Ethel Harrison, 68, is Francis’ granddaughter, as well as caretaker for both her mom, Dorothy, and Francis.

Francis was born in Louisiana. But, Harrison said, she can’t remember what town it was because it was too long ago. After Francis’ mother died when she was young, she and her five brothers and sisters were all sent to live in different homes. 

“But for years, her oldest sister lived right next door — she made it to age 106,” Harrison said. “They were extremely close for many years.”

Francis was a single mother and ran a coffee shop in Houston for more than 20 years until her retirement in 1975. 

“She never learned to drive, so she took the bus to work or people in the family would give her a ride,” Harrison said. “She also did a lot of walking, so maybe that explains some of her longevity.”

“Her life was always pretty simple: early to bed, early to rise, work hard, then come home and make a nutritious meal and be with family,” Harrison added.

Elizabeth Francis is visited by friends and neighbors on her birthday. Photo by Emmanuel Rodriguez

She never let worry or stress get in the way of her having a good life.

“She was always focused on family more than anything else,” Harrison said, adding that her grandmother has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

Ben Meyers, the chief executive of LongeviQuest, which tracks the oldest living people in the world, said that Francis likes to joke that eating what she likes is her secret to a long life.

But he said, “what (the oldest living people) all have in common is a healthy relationship with stress,” Meyers said.

There are, he said, only 35 supercentenarians in the United States. 

They’ve reached a stage where everyone born when they were is now gone, but they’re able to cope and persevere by focusing on the positive,” Meyers said.

Francis’ take on life, he said, entertains him.

“I asked for her advice, and she said, ‘Speak your mind and don’t hold your tongue,’” he said. “She also told me, ‘If the Lord gave it to you, use it.’”

“That’s something we could all take to heart,” Meyers said.

For Francis, though, she knows it’s a privilege to have made it this long in life.

“I’m the oldest living person in Houston, and I’d like to thank God and all of the people who have surrounded me and loved me throughout my life,” she said. “They helped to get me here.”

When ask what it felt like to be 114, she responded simply. “I don’t know, I just thank the good Lord for keeping me.”

Watch below for a look at this amazing woman and her long life!

Sources: Washington Post | People