Former slave, said to be 129 years old, dies in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Maria do Carmo Jeronimo, a former slave whose lack of a birth certificate prevented her recognition as the world's oldest woman, has died. Church records list her age as 129.

Jeronimo died of a stroke late Wednesday at the University Hospital in Itajuba, 200 miles northwest of Rio, hospital officials said Thursday.

According to baptismal records, Jeronimo was born on March 5, 1871 in the southeastern town of Carmo de Minas, in Minas Gerais state. Brazil then was a monarchy under Emperor Pedro II, and Jeronimo, who was black, was born into slavery.

She was 17 when Brazil finally abolished slavery, but never left Minas Gerais. For six decades she worked as a housemaid for the Guimaraes family, which in recent years tried unsuccessfully to have her recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest woman.

''They said the baptismal registry of the church in Carmo de Minas wasn't enough and demanded a birth certificate,'' Agostinho Guimaraes said in a recent interview. ''The problem is there were no certificates back then, especially for slaves.''

The publication requires a birth certificate or other undisputed proof of age, because some past claims of longevity have turned out to be phony.

The oldest person ever with authenticated records was Jeanne Calment of France, who died Aug. 4, 1997 at age 122.

Still, local record books listed Jeronimo as the world's oldest woman, and she was honored at a Carnival parade in Rio commemorating the abolition of slavery. In 1997, Pope John Paul II personally blessed her during a visit to Rio.

At the age of 127, she finally saw the ocean.

In her final years, Jeronimo had a series of strokes that left her in a nearly vegetative state. But her resistance surprised Guimaraes family members, who took care of her when she no longer was able to work.

''We saw her go through many crises, many delicate situations and survive,'' Thereza Guimaraes told the newspaper Hoje em Dia. ''We ended up thinking that it would go on forever.''