http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07182008-143721/unrestricted/young_robert_d_200808_masters.pdf

Plus, age exaggeration often begins well before old age. Sometimes it is a mistake. Carrie White (who Guinness accepted, but probably mistakenly) was alleged to be 116. Her first piece of evidence was a record from when she was first abandoned by her family and institutionalized. She was estimated to be 35, but she had a disorder that pocked her face, interfering with age estimation efforts. The only credible match in the 1900 census suggests that she was only 21 when admitted in 1909, meaning she died at 102 (there appears to be no credible 1880 census match, and her alleged birthdate matches the admission day and month, suggesting that her age was made up).

Motives for intentional age exaggeration include avoiding military service (or more rarely, to be allowed to serve), collecting a pension early, hiding or making more respectable a teenage pregnancy, etc.

Regarding Mary Ramsey Wood, her claim was proven false. The only reasonable match in the 1880 census suggests she died at age 96.The same is true for Susie Brunson (she passed the 100th birthday test, but was shown to have demonstrably exaggerated her age long before that time). Here is the important link (look for the “false and exaggerated claims” table).
http://www.grg.org/Adams/G2.

Please note that a birth certificate is not automatically required to start verification, only proof from within the first 20 years of life, such as an ORIGINAL baptismal certificate or a CENSUS match (example: Elizabeth Bolden had no birth certificate, but was listed as nine years old in the 1900 census and 19 years old in the 1910 census). Maria Esther Capovilla’s authentication started with a baptismal certificate. Many documents are then required to prove that the person on the early-life record is the same one as alive. The documents I mentioned before help do that (church marriage records and other church records can work as well). In fact, many of Marie Louise Meilleur’s records were church records. The article below describes the process.
http://www.demogr.mpg.de/books/odense/6/11.htm

Maria Do Carmo Geronimo could not prove the baptismal certificate in the registry actually belonged to her and not another person with the same or similar name. Many have used the records of older relatives (possibly even other people) to support similar claims. That is what might have happened in the disputed case of Shigechiyo Izumi (he might have been named after an older sibling who died young, and the older sibling’s birth certificate might have been the one used to support his claim).
Regarding Mary Ramsey Wood, her claim was proven false. The only reasonable match in the 1880 census suggests she died at age 96.
Here is the link, and you can see Carrie White in the list as well:

You should join the yahoo group “World’s Oldest People” to learn more.

I too have a new grandson born this year. Congratulations to you and me He’s my second. Grandchildren can change us in amazing ways. Being a grandmother is an amazing experience.