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Magee had four wives, three of whom he outlived. He fathered 7 children, the last at the purported age of 107. His father reportedly lived to 123, his mother to 122. In a 1966 interview, he stated that he had never drunk alcohol, nor uttered a swear word, although he smoked cigarettes for 108 years.
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and Union armies as a servant and laborer. No documentary evidence has been found for this. Alfred P. Andrews, founder of the
Jackson Civil War Round Table and its president elect for 1965–66, helped Magee be classified as a Civil War veteran although no service records for him could be found. In
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in 1841 to slaves
Ephraim and Jeanette, who were held and worked on the J.J. Shanks plantation. He said that he was purchased at the age of 19, just before the American Civil War, by plantation owner Hugh Magee at a slave market in
690:
Forty years after his funeral, Sylvester Magee of
Columbia - who is considered the last American slave - will be getting a headstone on his grave because the Marion Historical Society and Stacy Nolan of Southern Monument in
294:. History professor Max Grivno, who has studied Magee's life, characterized the claimed age as "possible ... but extremely unlikely", noting that there was "only one documented case of a person living into their 120s."
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wrote that, according to historians, "it would have been impossible for a person who neither reads nor writes to have related the stories of the Civil War in such detail as Magee without having served in the conflict".
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283:. His funeral was held at John the Baptist Missionary Church on October 19, 1971. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Pleasant Valley Church Cemetery in nearby
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188:. Sylvester adopted the Magee surname, a common practice among enslaved people at the time. Shortly afterward, he was sold again, to Victor Steen of
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quoted a historian who stated that Magee talked with "rare intelligence and seldom rambled" in telling of his participation in the Civil War.
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for another televised appearance. He was proclaimed as the oldest living United States citizen by a life insurance company and received a
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March 1966, when Magee was suffering from pneumonia, Andrews helped him obtain treatment from the
Mississippi Veterans Hospital.
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In his later years he made a living selling automated needles and digging graves. In 1966, he divorced his wife Marie.
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349:(died 1948), one of the last living African Americans proven to have been born into slavery in the United States.
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declared it "Sylvester Magee Day". Many national news articles reported on Magee's life and longevity, including
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155:(allegedly born May 29, 1841 – died October 15, 1971) received much publicity as the last living former
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846:"124-Year Old Former Slave Believed To Be Last Survivor of Civil War", Ocala Star-Banner, May 31, 1965.
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Magee's purported age of 130 has never been verified, as persons born into slavery typically lacked
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held a party at a country grocery store, complete with a five-layer cake and 124 candles. Governor
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Last of the Blue and Gray: Old Men, Stolen Glory, and the
Mystery that Outlived the Civil War
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Magee remarked that in 1863, he ran away from the Steen plantation and enlisted in the
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Bobbie E. Barbee and
Leahmon L. Reid, "Why 125-Year-Old Husband Sues for Divorce",
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159:. He was accepted for treatment by the Mississippi Veterans Hospital as a
767:. Copy in State of Mississippi Archives: Self Published, 1994. p. 44.
343:(died 1935), one of the last survivors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade
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external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into
287:. In 2011, the Marion County Historical Society provided a marker.
872:, Special Collections at the University of Southern Mississippi.
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University of
Southern Mississippi Collection on Sylvester Magee
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747:"Funeral Services Held Tuesday For The Last American Slave",
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Magee mentioned that he had been forced to serve in both the
562:"At the age of 125, dignity is the untarnishable possession"
337:(died 1951), one of the last surviving enslaved Americans
801:
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Alfred P. Andrews
Sylvester Magee Research Collection
865:"Black Confederates", by Charles Kelly Barrow, p. 80.
755:"America's Oldest Citizen Dies in Mississippi at 130"
515:"America's Oldest Citizen Dies in Mississippi at 130"
397:"CR roundtable claims they have found the oldest man"
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On Magee's purported 124th birthday, the citizens of
355:(died 1979), another individual who claimed to be a
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796:may not follow Knowledge's policies or guidelines
886:People of Mississippi in the American Civil War
184:. Hugh Magee owned the Lone Star Plantation in
647:Daily Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina)
279:On October 15, 1971, Sylvester Magee died in
8:
761:, 4 November 1971, p. 10, reprinted in
359:born into slavery, who died later than Magee
330:List of the last surviving American slaves
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832:Learn how and when to remove this message
765:The Magee Family History; As I Found Them
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51:October 15, 1971 (aged 130 - speculated)
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252:, and was also recognized by president
113:being the last surviving American slave
896:People from Clarke County, Mississippi
705:"Man claimed to be 130-year-old slave"
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16:Claimed last surviving American slave
7:
926:People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
740:"Gerontology: Secret of Long Life",
537:"Voices of slavery in Marion County"
430:. Smithsonian Institution. p.
668:Wolfe, Buster (December 3, 2011).
471:. Pelican Publishing. p. 77.
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906:People from Florence, Mississippi
901:People from Columbia, Mississippi
781:
763:Magee, Kenneth F. (April 1994).
736:, March 30, 1967, pp. 46–49
304:
199:, taking part in the assault on
676:. pp. 1, 3. Archived from
616:Bothwell, Dick (May 23, 1967).
591:"The plight of sylvester magee"
670:"Last Slave to Receive Marker"
1:
911:African-American centenarians
856:"Divorced: Sylvester Magee",
535:Watts, Chris (Feb 20, 2010).
383:. Gerontology Research Group.
186:Covington County, Mississippi
175:Magee was said to be born in
643:"At 125, He wants a divorce"
422:Serrano, Richard A. (2013).
325:Slavery in the United States
377:"Oldest American Claimants"
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751:obituary, October 21, 1971
513:Staff (November 4, 1971).
242:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
190:Rankin County, Mississippi
36:May 29, 1841 (speculative)
921:Baptists from Mississippi
916:American men centenarians
851:1965 Press Photo of Magee
566:Philadelphia Daily News
335:Alfred "Teen" Blackburn
182:Enterprise, Mississippi
860:, May 11, 1967, p. 46.
201:Vicksburg, Mississippi
285:Foxworth, Mississippi
281:Columbia, Mississippi
234:. He appeared on the
55:Columbia, Mississippi
802:improve this article
709:Hattiesburg American
595:Hattiesburg American
465:J.H, Segars (2010).
220:Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
216:Collins, Mississippi
814:footnote references
649:. December 10, 1966
146:last American slave
749:Columbian-Progress
674:Columbian Progress
618:"Living to be 100"
541:Columbian-Progress
468:Black Confederates
292:birth certificates
165:American Civil War
842:
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703:Ciurczak, Ellen.
680:on March 30, 2019
478:978-1-4556-0123-3
441:978-1-58834-395-6
250:Lyndon B. Johnson
240:and was flown to
237:Mike Douglas Show
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135:Jeanette (mother)
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78:Other names
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858:Jet Magazine
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712:. Retrieved
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678:the original
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627:15 November
601:15 November
572:15 November
546:15 November
407:15 November
347:Eliza Moore
208:Confederate
86:Citizenship
70:Nationality
880:Categories
714:2020-03-05
484:10 January
447:10 January
364:References
197:Union Army
121:7 children
102:Occupation
806:excessive
691:Foxworth.
684:March 30,
94:Education
62:Monuments
381:Archived
298:See also
118:Children
73:American
800:Please
792:use of
726:Sources
163:of the
161:veteran
126:Parents
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453:magee.
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143:Awards
65:Statue
105:Slave
89:U.S.A
42:, U.S
686:2019
655:2019
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603:2019
574:2019
548:2019
486:2020
473:ISBN
449:2020
436:ISBN
409:2019
228:and
225:Time
171:Life
97:None
48:Died
29:Born
808:or
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519:Jet
432:193
265:Jet
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