What happened in 1892? Grover Cleveland was elected to serve his second presidential term, Congress extended the Chinese Exclusion Act and Ruby Drakeford was born.
Drakeford, Trinity College '12, celebrated her 112th birthday with family and friends at Hillcrest Convalescent Center Sunday. She is the oldest documented person in North Carolina.
Drakeford was born in Durham on Morris Street, the oldest of six children, and has been a life-long Durham resident, aside from living one year in Mt. Olive. She graduated from Durham High School in 1908 and went on to attend Trinity College.
After graduating from Trinity, which would later became Duke University in 1924, Drakeford worked as a school teacher for 40 years in the Durham school district, spending many of those years teaching fifth grade at Edgemont Elementary School.
She met her husband, William Drakeford, at a bridge party. William Drakeford passed away in 1957--they had no children.
In 1991, Drakeford was admitted to Hillcrest to recover from a broken hip. "When she recovered she liked the attention so much she decided not to go home," said Curtis Booker, whose mother is Drakeford's cousin. As a school teacher, Drakeford made a number of friends who, when coming to visit family, stop to visit with her as well.
Members of the First Baptist Church, where Drakeford is a member, had planned the party for January 25, her actual birthday, but the celebration was postponed due to inclement weather. The celebration was at Hillcrest Convalescent Center, where Drakeford has been a resident for 13 years.
"She's been looking forward to [the party]," said Erin Perillo, activities director for Hillcrest. Guests included old friends and young ones. Sloane Gunter, 2-years old, came to give her great-great aunt a home-made birthday card.
"As a child, I visited Ruby all the time. She had a wicked sense of humor which was great," Booker said. "She is just a consummate lady."
Drakeford's father, James Markham, worked as a mail carrier and her mother, Anna Leigh Markham, was a school teacher. Her mother was born at Leigh Farm, which was acquired in 1995 by Triangle Land Conservancy to be part of a planned 86-acre historic and environmental park.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.