The only reliable instance of an eighty third anniversary is reported in the Guinness Book of World Records. Ed and Margaret M Holler celebrated their eighty third anniversary on May 7, 1972, having been married in Kentucky in 1889. A longer United States marriage, however, has been reported in the New York Times. Otto and Annie Shipp of Sylvester Georgia observed their eighty fifth anniversary in 1976, having been married in 1891. At the time of their wedding, Annie was fourteen and Otto was eighteen. When asked about the ingredients in a successful marriage, Annie Shipp stated that “there are no secrets. Just do right and treat him as he is .. . a man.” Otto proclaimed that “every day I live with her, I like it better and better.” Words to live by.
Very few marriages elsewhere in the world have matched Otto and Annie Shipp’s record in terms of either longevity or grace. Only four have been reported that rival the record of the Shipps. Sir Temulhi Nariman, an Indian physician, and Lady Nariman, were married for eighty-six years, although she was only five years old when they were wed and was a cousin of Sir Temulhi. Two Serbian marriages of extraordinary length have been recorded in modern times. In 1932, two Yugoslavian peasants claimed to be celebrating their one hundredth anniversary. More than one hundred descendants were present at the celebration. We don’t know their names. In 1934, a second couple, Stoyan and Yelka Dimitriyevitch, were reported to have observed their one hundredth anniversary. Stoyan was 123 years old at the time and Yelka was 119. They were married in 1833. A third couple, Mr. and Mrs. Akmed Adamov also reportedly celebrated their one hundredth anniversary (in 1956). He was a 121-year-old farmer who lived with Mrs. Adamov near the Caspian Sea in what was then the Soviet Union.
None of these marriages have been formally acknowledged as world records, though they speak to a remarkable span of time during which two people have lived together and observed and coped with profound social and cultural change. Imagine living together from 1833 to 1934! Or were the changes really so great—given that these men and women lived in small Eastern European villages? Could longevity on the part of any of these couples be dependent at least in part on the absence of major change in their world? To what extent are we likely to see long-term relationships of this length in contemporary times? Despite advances in health care, we may never again see 80 to 100-year relationships, given the inability of virtually any couple in the world today to remain sheltered from profound, turbulent change.
