In 1957, the  Troy Messenger published this story of Susan Blackman as she was nearing her 102nd birthday. 

Mrs. Susan Rebecca Blackman, Troy’s oldest citizen, come Christmas Even 1957, will be 102 years of age.  She is thought to be the oldest person in Pike County, and certainly one of the few in the county to reach such a ripe old age.

Mrs. Blackman lives at 807 S. Brundidge Street, Troy, the family home for many years, with a son, Louie Blackman, who gives unstintingly of his time to look after and care for his invalid mother. She has one other son, Arthur Blackman, who lives in Montgomery.

The Bible in Psalms 90:10 makes reference to the span of life in these words:  “The days of our life are three score years and ten: and if by reason of strength, they be four score years, yet is there strength, labor and sorrow.”  Mrs. Blackman has passed the limit set by the Psalmist by 22 years, and although she has experienced suffering and sorrow during her eventful life, with it all, she has remained cheerful and hopeful.  She has mingled the bitter with the sweet, never forgetting the welfare of others.

About 20 years ago, Mrs. Blackman had the misfortune to fall and break her hip, from which she never recovered sufficiently to walk again.  She has spent much of the time in bed, but could be placed in a rolling chair and move about the house to relieve the monotony.  She can still sit in the chair for short intervals, but most of her time, she is confined to bed.  Despite this, her eyes are bright, and still sparkle with the old time gleam, and her mind is acute.

Mrs. Blackmon was born in Clintonville, Coffee County, on December 24, 1855.  Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. F. B. Johnson, and she moved with them to Pike County shortly after the close of the Civil War and lived near Spring Hill.

Early in life, Mrs. Blackman united with the Baptist Church in Spring Hill, where she is still a member.

Shortly after coming to Pike County, Susan Rebecca Johnson was married to Frank Blackman, and they settled on a farm between Spring Hill and Troy, where the family was reared.  Many years ago, they moved to Troy, but the house they lived in remains intact, and the family still owns most of the land.

Members of Mrs. Blackman’s family lived to be old people.  Her grandmother and her great-grandmother lived to be about 100 years of age, and her mother was 79.  She is the last of a large family of seven girls and six boys.

“Aunt Susie,” as she is known to her friends, has always liked company and music.  Often her friends would gather in the home and sing sacred songs for her entertainment.  Now her hearing has become so impaired that she cannot hear the sounds of voices, but she likes for people to gather in her room so she can see them talking, even though she cannot hear.

These articles can be found in previous editions of The Troy Messenger.  Stay tuned for more.  Dianne Smith is the President of the Pike County Historical, Genealogical, and Preservation Society.