River Bourgeois
Richmond County, Nova Scotia
Canada
I HAVE SOME ORGANIZING OF INFORMATION TO DO REGARDING THIS PAGE BUT IN THE MEANTIME ... ENJOY LEARNING ABOUT A REMARKABLE LADY!
Sr. Anne is shown in the picture with Sr. Helen Burke, also a member of Les Filles de Jesus. Both Sisters were born in River Bourgeois.
The following item was published when Sr. Anne was just 112 years of age. Following that is one that was published when she 113!
Sister Anne Samson was born in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, on Feb. 5, 1891.
Aging nun's long wait to join God Born in River Bourgeois 112 years ago, sister may be one of world's oldest
By Chris Morris / The Canadian Press/ Moncton
When she could still speak, Sister Anne Samson would tell the people looking after her that she was afraid God had forgotten her.
Now, whether it's because of divine indifference, rare chemistry or the love of those caring for her, Sister Anne is still among us at the amazing age of 112 and will soon celebrate her 113th year.
She lives in a convent in Moncton, surrounded by other sisters in her order, the Daughters of Jesus. They are the ones who tell Sister Anne's story since the frail nun rarely speaks, can't see or hear very well and is bedridden. "She would often say, 'I really think God has forgotten me. I don't know why He isn't coming to get me,' " says Sister Rita Poirier. "I think she's anxious to begin her new life in God."
No one is quite sure where Sister Anne ranks in the exclusive international club of people over 110 years of age. She is certainly one of the oldest people in Canada and if she carries on, she will soon be a challenger for the title of oldest in the world.
That position is currently held by an American woman, 114-year-old Charlotte Benkner of Ohio, who inherited the distinction earlier this month after Mitoyo Kawate died in Japan at the age of 114.
The Guinness Book of World Records says the oldest man whose birth can be authenticated is Joan Riudavets Moll, a 113-year-old man in Menorca, Spain.
Scientists estimate the outer limit of human life at around 120 years. The oldest authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years and 164 days, by Jeanne-Louise Calment, who died in a nursing home in France in 1997.
Dr. Shmuel Bergman, medical director of the Longevity Health Aging Research Group in Toronto, says humans have come a long way since 1830 when the average life span was 30 years. It's now about 75.
But Bergman says too many people are reaching advanced ages in nursing homes, suffering from numerous afflictions and limitations. "We live longer, but we don't feel well," he says. "Too many of my patients tell me it's a punishment to be old."
Sister Anne has lived in three centuries. She was born in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, on Feb. 5, 1891, at the dawn of a new age. Canada was still in its infancy. It was the last year in office, and in life, for the nation's first prime minister, John A. Macdonald. In Europe, Queen Victoria ruled Britannia with vigor and determination. But in the dark streets of London, Jack the Ripper terrorized women of the night. His last victim was killed on Feb. 13, 1891, then he vanished into the pages of history.
That same year, the first automobile was invented in France; Canadian James Naismith came up with the idea for basketball and a young Harry Houdini decided he'd try his hand at professional magic.
"She kept up with what was happening," said Sister Rita. "But it was a bit hard for her to accept all the changes." Sister Anne was a schoolteacher. She entered the Normal College in Truro in 1912, the year the Titanic sank. After teaching for a while in Cape Breton, she entered the convent, taking her vows in 1917.
"She taught for 30 years," says Sister Rita. "She was firm, but very kind. Her pupils really loved her." Sister Anne enjoyed writing poetry. She sent poems to relatives and former pupils serving overseas during the two world wars. Her poems, collected and published by Garvie Samson of Dartmouth, a distant relative, are remarkably revealing. "I needed the quiet so He drew me aside; into the shadows where we could confide," she wrote in one poem published last year in Poems and Lyrics by a Centenarian.
In the Pre-1950's PictureTrail album on this site you will find a picture of a young Anne Samson - 1909
This is a picture of Ann Samson from River Bourgeois, a teacher in Poulamond -- a fine day in June of 1909 when this picture was taken.
Garvie Samson has written several books on the poetry of Sr. Cecile Marie - Annie Adele Samson, daughter of Philomene Bourque and Thomas Samson. I have one of the books compiled by Garvie, entitled "Poems and Lyrics by a Centenarian" and Sr. Annie is definitely to be celebrated.
The Poulamond School Photo that you will find in the album is courtesy of Olive Dawson.
AN ARTICLE BY CHRIS MORRIS OF THE CANADIAN PRESS
Science raises glass to Sister Anne, 113 - February 12, 2004
By Chris Morris / The Canadian Press
Fredericton - The 113th birthday party for Sister Anne Samson will be subdued today and her fellow sisters at the New Brunswick convent where she lives won't be wishing her many more.
Sister Anne is one of the oldest people in the world but the endurance race of life holds no appeal for the aged nun who quietly fears she's been overlooked by God.
"We're not going to have a big celebration," said Sister Rita Poirier at the Daughters of Jesus Convent in Moncton, N.B.
"She can't enjoy it enough. We will wish her a happy birthday. I won't say we'll wish her many more because she wouldn't care much for that."
Sister Anne is bedridden and rarely speaks, but her health remains good and there's no telling how many more birthdays she will see.
"She hasn't been ill," said Sister Rita. "She didn't get the influenza that went around."
Born in River Bourgeois on Feb. 5, 1891, Sister Anne has lived in three centuries.
The sisters at the convent believe she is the oldest person in Canada, but officials at Statistics Canada and Health Canada were unable to confirm that Wednesday.
Dr. Thomas Perls of the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts said that as a super-centenarian, Sister Anne is a member of an extremely exclusive group.
"Centenarians average about one per 10,000 in the population," Perls said. "For super-centenarians, it's about one per 10 million of the population. They're rare. I would say 113 is up there in terms of approaching the oldest in the world."
The 2001 census enumerated 3,795 people aged 100 and over in Canada - a 21 per cent increase compared to the 1996 census. Among these individuals, 3,055 were women and only 740 men.
Statistics Canada says the exceptional longevity of centenarians is probably due to a combination of genetic predisposition, good environment and healthy lifestyle.
As director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest genetics study of centenarians in the world, Perls is a leading expert on what it takes to reach 100 and more.
He thinks there's a strong genetic component.
"The holy grail for us would be to find one of the longevity-enabling genes, a gene that would slow down the rate of aging and decrease your risk overall of a whole cadre of age-related diseases."
Scientists estimate the outer limit of human life at around 120 years.
The oldest authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years and 164 days, by Jeanne-Louise Calment, who died in a nursing home in France in 1997.
The Guinness Book of Records says the oldest living woman is 114-year-old Charlotte Benkner of Ohio.
Perls said his goal is to discover the factors that enable people to live healthier, longer lives.
"To live an extra 20 or more years beyond the age of 80 in good health, to go beyond what the average set of genes is capable of achieving for us, I think you need this genetic booster rocket, this genetic advantage," he said.
He said people with the genetic advantage to reach 100 years and more fall into three groups that he calls survivors, delayers and escapers.
Perls said survivors are people who reach the 100 mark despite having experienced a major illness or disability. Delayers don't have serious health problems until late in life, and escapers reach 100 with no serious health impediments.
"About 40 per cent of the centenarians are survivors; another 40 per cent are delayers and the remaining 20 per cent are escapers," Perls said. "To become a super-centenarian, my guess is most were escapers at 100. We would love to find out how people do that."
** Just a little added note ... Garvie Samson deserves a lot of credit for his celebration of Sr. Anne's life ... sharing her poems through the books he has published.
GARVIE SAMSON has authored The River that Isn't as all River Bourgeois folks know -- but he has also captured Sr. Anne's poetry and verse in several books. To learn more, you may contact Garvie:
The remarkable Sr. Anne Samson, 113 years of age died at the convent of Les Filles de Jesus in Moncton on November 29, 2004.
SR. ANNE'S STATUS AS 7TH OLDEST IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO LOUIS EPSTEIN:
Louis Epstein gave us the information that Sr. Anne was listed as the seventh oldest person in the world and the six older than her were:
Hendrikje Van Andel (June 29 1890), Emma Verona Johnston (August 6 1890),Ura Koyama (August 30 1890), Bettie Wilson(September 13 1890),Maria do Couto Maia Lopes (October 24 1890),and Susie Potts Gibson (October 31 1890).
Julie Bertrand of Quebec was the second-oldest living Canadian as of the end of November, 2004 when Mr. Epstein sent the information.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 B7
Halifax Chronicle Herald
Oldest citizen dies at 113
By DAVENE JEFFREY
Staff Reporter
Sr. ANNE SAMSON'S NOTICE:
Canada's oldest citizen died Monday night in Moncton.
Born in River Bourgeois, Richmond County, Sister Anne Samson died quietly at the Daughters of Jesus Convent less than three months shy of her 114th birthday surrounded by the nurses and sisters who have taken care of her for decades.
"It was the most peaceful death," Sister Rita Poirier, archivist for the motherhouse, said Tuesday. "She was like a candle and just went out."
Born in River Bourgeois, Richmond County, Sister Anne Samson died quietly at the Daughters of Jesus Convent less than three months shy of her 114th birthday surrounded by the nurses and sisters who have taken care of her for decades.
FROM ANOTHER SOURCE REGARDING SR. ANNE'S STATUS AS 'ONE OF THE OLDEST' IN THE WORLD ...
According to the Gerontology Research Group in Atlanta, Sister Anne was the eighth-oldest person on the planet.
The title of oldest Canadian now belongs to Julie Winifred Bertrand of Quebec. She turned 113 on Sept. 16. Sister Anne's great-niece, Joan: Sheehan of Dartmouth, took her daughter and two sisters to visit their, oldest relative this past summer.
"We knew her time was coming to an end," Ms. Sheehan said Tuesday. They found the elderly nun in bed, as she had been for about a year. "She was lucid on and off for about the whole two-hour visit," said Ms. Sheehan, who is the granddaughter of Sister Anne's brother Charles.
Although Sister Anne didn't see or hear very well, she still liked her treats, her great-niece remembered. "When we mentioned chocolate, she came right off her pillow. Their visit carried over to lunchtime, and Ms. Sheehan was surprised at how much the old woman, who no longer had any teeth, enjoyed the pureed meal.
"She ate a wonderful lunch. She couldn't wait for the next mouthful,"Ms. Sheehan said with a laugh. "I think that one of the factors in her on longevity was her good nutrition." Sister Anne had four brothers and 3 five sisters, but Ms. Sheehan does not know where her great-aunt fell in the away in family order.
"She did have an older sister, who just died a couple of years ago," she said. Ms. Sheehan knows little of that sister except that she too was a nun and died in a motherhouse in the United States.
Sister Anne's first language was French and she attended high school in Arichat. After completing her Grade 10, "which was a high level of education in those days," Sister Rita said, she trained to become a teacher. She taught in Port Felix, Guysborough County, and then in Isle Madame until 1918, when she decided to join the Daughters of Jesus.
She trained in Quebec for two years and then returned to Cape Breton, where she taught in Arichat for 23 years and in Cheticamp for seven before retiring in 1947. "She was a bit tired," Sister Rita said. "She spent about 10 years (back in Quebec) just getting back on her feet."
Sister Anne returned to Cape Breton in 1957 and worked part time with the Daughters of Jesus until 1976 when she fully retired and moved to Moncton. Ten years later she fell and broke her hip. "It was hard for her to accept that she couldn't walk anymore even though she was already 95," Sister Rita said. Sister Rita, who is 75, first met Sister Anne in 1966. "She was witty and she had a great respect for people."
She wrote poems and songs for special occasions even when she was past 100 years old, Sister Rita recalled.
From time to time, after she became bedridden, Sister Anne would tell her nurses that during the hours when she could not sleep. she had been traveling the globe, praying for world leaders.
Her great-niece remembers the first time she met Sister Anne, who had come to visit her brother Charles in River Bourgeois one summer day. "She was very tall and slender and was wearing a full habit." During this summer visit, Ms. Sheehan saw that her great-aunt was still long and slim.
To Return to the Main Page:
Mary & Henry Fougere's River Bourgeois Family and Friends
© 2007 Helena Fougère McCay