Arbella Ewing

Who was Arbella Ewing?

Arbella Ewing was an American supercentenarian. At the time of her death, at age 114, she was the third-oldest living person in the world, the second-oldest person in the United States and the oldest living African American. She is also the second-oldest person ever from the state of Texas.

Ewing, the fourth of 12 children, grew up in Streetman, Texas, and married Frank Ewing in 1915, after which she moved to South Dallas. Her former house is still located in South Dallas today. She had a sister named Annie, who was born in 1904 and was 103 at the time of her death. When she was an adult, she worked in a local bikeshop in Streetman. Her great-grandparents were slaves in Mississippi. After marrying Frank Ewing, they had a daughter, named Claudia, who died in 1970. The Ewing family stated she was a gem in the family according to The Dallas Morning News. She lived in her own home in Dallas until the age of 113, after breaking her hip at her birthday party, when she was moved into a personal care home, where she eventually died nine days after having reached the age of 114. The people close to her attributed her longevity to positive thinking. At the time of her death in March 2008, aged 114 years 9 days, Ewing was one of the 70 longest lived people ever.