Photos: Sonoma County’s centenarians throughout history

At nearly 115-years-old, Willits resident Edie Ceccarelli is now the third oldest living person in the world.

Over Sonoma County’s storied past, only a few dozen people have lived long enough to witness a century of history and regale the rest of us with their time capsule memories.

They lived through handfuls of wars and presidents, scores of innovations and disasters. They were immigrants and natives, gold rush settlers and survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Most of the county’s centenarians shared certain habits, such as going on daily walks, remaining social, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and enjoying activities like gardening and dancing.

Polly Reynolds — “Aunt Polly” to all who knew her — was one of the county’s earliest centenarians. She was an active member of the Sotoyome Literary Club, a proficient seamstress and “diligent seeker after knowledge,” as noted in an Aug. 27, 1924, Petaluma Argus-Courier article announcing her 100th birthday.

Reynolds was born in 1824 in Essex, Vermont, eventually settling in Petaluma in 1851, a time when horses and dirt roads predated vehicles and highways.

“While I love to think of the pioneer days and the good times I had, still you people of today should be glad you are living in this wonderful age, with your fine automobiles, radio, telephone, and the other remarkable inventions,” she said in a May 10, 1925, article in The Press Democrat. “We never even dreamed of such things coming to pass.”

Reynolds died at nearly 102 years old on March 1, 1926.

There have been a number of other centenarians who lived in the county since Aunt Polly set the precedent for a long, rich life.

Louisa Marie Trowbridge was born on June 9, 1834, in Cleveland, Ohio, and died Jan. 22, 1937, in Santa Rosa, where she was known lovingly as “Grandma Trowbridge.” Over her life of 102 years, she was a witness to the Civil War, a loyal patriot to the Union and ardent supporter of President Abraham Lincoln. Trowbridge outlived her own children, but had 25 grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Andrew Marion Ornbaun, born in October of 1842, was a beloved Cloverdale resident who loved to garden. He was the last surviving veteran of the Civil War in this part of state and contributed regularly to the Red Cross and war relief agencies before his death at 102 years old in January 1945.

Then there was Mary Elizabeth “Mamie” McKinney, one of the oldest people in the area’s history. McKinney was born on May 30, 1873, in Sacramento and lived most of her life in San Francisco, but considered Petaluma her second home. She spent many birthdays at Sonoma Joe’s in Petaluma, and it was at these parties she displayed her love of dance.

McKinney lived under 21 presidents, once sat on Italian actor Rudolph Valentino’s lap and was in her 30s during the infamous 1906 earthquake.

“I’ve lived in the most interesting period of history, from the horse and buggy age to the exploration of other planets,” she said in a June 9, 1979, Petaluma Argus-Courier article.

McKinney died on Feb. 2, 1987, at the age of 113.

See the gallery above for photos of some of the county’s centenarians over the years.