The ‘Queens of Reva’ Supercentenarian Dollie Booten and her
sister Laura’s legendary legacies It is likely that sisters Laura and Dollie
Booten were both born at home on the Burgess farm in Reva — maybe with the aid of a midwife or neighbor, but certainly not with help of a doctor. Laura was only two at the time of
Dollie’s birth in 1914, but she was old enough to claim the newborn as her own personal treasure. T eir personalities were quite diff erent. Dollie seemed content to have the supervision and devotion off ered by her older sister. At times, such as when they were tasked with picking berries, Laura would take charge showing Dollie just where to fi nd the biggest and juiciest delicacies and how to fi ll her bucket without much searching. She would teach her
Dollie Booten
about gathering eggs, washing clothes, collecting fi rewood and when the time came, walking with her to school. In return, Dollie looked to Laura as her most trusted companion and protector. When their father’s illness prevented him from drawing a paycheck, Laura quit school and went to work. “My teacher told me I was good at math,
particularly fractions. I thought I could be a math teacher or a secretary.” However, the only work she could get
was as a domestic. She had a reality-check phrase for things that were out of her control, “T at was just the way it was.”
Sisters Dollie and Laura Booten witnessed a century of Culpeper history. Dollie’s journey took a very diff erent
path. Her mothers sister lived in New York City and requested that Dollie come to live with them and be a companion to her daughter. Dollie was noticeably quiet and thought to be frail. Little did anyone realize the strength of resolve and integrity that lay beneath her outward appearance. Nonetheless, it was decided: it would be a better environment for Dollie’s nature than the rural life of an African American in the Jim Crow south. Laura and Dollie were raised in a culture
of faith and resilience, and they put that to work as they cherished one another from afar. Dollie got along well with her
ZANN NELSON
cousin and attended Textile High School in Manhattan, becoming an accomplished seamstress and fashion designer. She worked for a large department store, as well as growing a devoted clientele for her skills in creating anything that someone could describe. Later in life she worked as a social worker for the City of New York. Dollie never stopped making clothes for others as well as her own family. In 1936, Dollie Booten and Arther
Berry were married in New York City and would giſt the world with two children, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. During a lifetime in New York, Dollie never forgot her roots
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