File:107 year old woman, probably Elizabeth Leatherton, Leighton Buzzard, 1870s (3016496965).jpg

English: An amazing shot of an amazing woman! According to the caption in the album, this is a "Leighton Buzzard Woman, 107 years of age". Surely that has to be something quite extraordinary given that I would date this carte de visite to about the 1870s?

Thanks to some wonderful detective work by Barbara Tearle at bedfordshirehistory.blogspot.com/ there is a strong suggestion that the lady depicted is Elizabeth Leatherton who is listed in the 1871 census as aged 102, living at the Red Lion in Tring. Letters were published in The Times in 1874 about "The Tring Centenarian" Elizabeth or Betty Leatherland and a detailed article about her appeared in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 5, 1876 pp82-101 (under the name Leatherlund). It says "The people of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire have been generally familiar with her stooping figure, red cloak, and stick for the last fifty years, particularly in harvest time, when this tough old gipsy was very handy with the sickle. Her last effort of this description, in the field, was witnessed by large numbers of persons, a photograph of her, with a sheaf of wheat on her knees, being taken by Mr Piggott of Leighton Buzzard. For the last twelve years she lodged at Mr Saw's, Frogmore Street, Tring ...". The article (published in 1876 but written a little earlier) refers to her death in January 1875 aged 112.

Whilst it is clear in this photograph that the sitter could have something clutched in her hands, there is not enough detail to see if there may be a wheatsheaf. The photograph is published by the London Stereographic & Photographic Company, but they were one of the biggest distributors in those days and there's no indication here who the actual photographer was, so it is possible, though somewhat speculative a suggestion, that this photograph may be by Piggott.

It is puzzling that the date of birth based on the census record would be c. 1769, whilst that from the age at death would suggest c. 1763. The physical evidence from the style of the card would suggest it was taken, or at least this version was printed, in the mid 1870s; as she died in 1875 then it it is likely to have been taken very shortly before this date. So if she is indeed 107 in the photograph, as the annotation suggests, then that would give a data of birth of 1768 or earlier, but at the end of the day it's only a handwritten note on a photograph.

And what of the name? Leatherton, Leatherland, or Leatherlund?

Clearly the mystery is not 100% solved!